When interior walls came down to open up a former duplex, planks of the original shiplap (top) found new uses within this 1932 bungalow, located in the Alden Place section of North Montrose — sometimes also known as the Reality Bites neighborhood. The retro-rustic property with eyebrow-gable entry popped up on the market for “Pi Day” (as in 3-14) and has an asking price of $549,000.
A couple of Swamplot readers are agog over the spare-no-tile bathroom renovations revealed in the listing posted last week of a 4-bedroom 1940 home in Riverside Terrace. Each of the home’s 3 modestly sized full bathrooms appear to have been wrapped and floored in a distinct pattern of glass or ceramic tiles. Behold:
A futuristic pneumatic vacuum elevator (top) links levels within a 2006 steel-and-stucco townhome developed by Carol Isaak Barden and designed by former filmmaker Francois de Menil, architect of the Menil Collection’s Byzantine Fresco Chapel. Originally, this property was the Two in a duo Barden named the One-Two Townhomes. The bermed-skirted property rises over street-level garages on a site located a block south of Allen Pkwy. and Buffalo Bayou in Temple Terrace. The larger of the units had its resale premiere last week at an asking price of $1.395 million. Back in 2008, it sold for a disappointing $749,000. In the scenes arranged inside, a strategically placed palm tree on the site appears to have been cast in a supporting role.
There may not be a whole lot of wildlife ranging around the grounds surrounding this 1982 property in Piney Point Village. But check out the inside of the home:
Now on its third relisting by the initial agent since 2011, a 2006 Mediterranean-style spread in Lakes at Kings River Estates is sticking to the asking price the property’s been offered at since last April. But the current price ceiling is still a few ticks down from what it was during a year-long sale attempt in 2011, which began at $2.8 million before knocking off $550K. The red-roofed Kingwood-area property, currently seeking $1.99 million, appears notable for its collection of over-the-top ceiling treatments.
If you didn’t get enough time to linger inside during one of the home tours — or if you’ve always been curious about the concrete-block construction at the corner of Peden and Van Buren in Hyde Park — now’s your chance: The “Zen like” home and garden that architect and UH professor John Zemanek built for and by himself in 2000 is now available for lease. Yes, every view and material and juxtaposition has been selected, crafted, and stuck together with care, but there’s only a single bedroom, and the kitchen isn’t exactly made for large baking projects. But at $3,000 per month, this 2,352-sq.-ft. Texas farmhouse–Japanese Teahouse hybrid could be a relaxing place to call home.
A 1940 Southgate home is in the pink — and in the blue, peach, and mint — on a corner lot 4 blocks south of Rice University’s mid-campus entrance on Stockton. Looking a bit like an Amsterdam townhome with wings (and some Floridian overtones of old Coral Gables), the property made its market debut over the weekend and has an asking price of $1.19 million. Confectionery-inspired selections continue inside.
Stainless fittings in the kitchen and steely paint can’t entirely conceal the hand of prolific Houston society architect John Staub, who designed this 1935 Regency-style home in Riverside Terrace. When the property popped up in the listings at the end of February, it did so with a $895,000 asking price — considerably lower than what a Staub home might fetch elsewhere in the city. During renovations back in 2006, which replaced the HVAC, electric system, plumbing, and gas lines, and made a few alterations to the structure and finishes, the attic proved to be a real treasure trove:
