10/23/13 12:00pm

BARS WITHIN A BAR AT LOWBROW IN MONTROSE Eater Houston reports that Lowbrow, the restaurant and bar from Free Press Houston founder Omar Afra, will open tomorrow night here at the corner of W. Main and Mandell in Montrose. This photo shows the mural that’s replacing the former Sophia sign. Inside, there will be even more art: The place will have wallpaper that sports drawings of the Astrodome, Houston Oilers logo, and Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk sculpture at the nearby Menil Collection. And it appears that there will also be a channel of rather meta reality programming for you to watch: “[A] projection screen . . . will play scenes from other local bars.” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Eater Houston

10/16/13 2:20pm

Beneath the Victoriana add-ons (and other embellishments) lies a 1935 Garden Villas home caught here in the throes of lingering renovation by its current owners. The property’s dormer-laden lid and perky gazebo-shaped wings flank a wide front porch with a central entry that’s capped by a cupola. Just a touch of gingerbread trim on the columns and some latticework concealing the pier-and-beam foundation finish off the northwest-facing front elevation. Located on a corner lot 3 blocks south of Sims Bayou, the home has a $199,000 asking price. Some of the finishing touches, though, still need finishing:

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10/14/13 3:05pm

In the market for a historical home inside the Loop but just can’t find one that fits your budget? Why, here’s the 6-bedroom mansion that former Houston Post publisher and Governor William P. Hobby had built in 1929 — it’s only $2,385,000! And it looks nothing like an airport! In Braeswood, just a few blocks from the Med Center, the stately Tudor at 2115 Glen Haven has been available since the middle of August.

Wanna get closer?

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10/07/13 4:45pm

Marshlands ebb and flow just off a 1.3-acre by-the-bay property on the Surf Oaks Marsh side of Pine Gully in Seabrook. Neighbors across the wetlands are pretty quiet — they include rugged Pine Gully Park and Seabrook Cemetery. The porched, patioed, and pavilioned home appeared on the market last week with an asking price of $625,000. Back in 2009, it sold for $400,000 (when the asking price was $449,000).

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10/02/13 2:30pm

Once an orphanage, a gated 1913 Italianate property near downtown and north of Montrose found new life in 2003 as a 15-unit condo re-dubbed Villa Serena. Its historic pedigree encompasses city, state, and national recognition. A corner unit on the ground level quietly made its market debut on Monday, with a $299,000 price tag. The 1-bedroom home last sold in 2010 for $210,000 — down from an asking price of $245,000 at that time.

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10/01/13 3:00pm

A deep-lot pocket of Oak Forest near White Oak Bayou appears to have escaped the area’s new-build frenzy, getting some second-story work instead. This property, for example, added an upstairs master suite with pool-view porch as part of a previous overhaul. The 1955 home landed on the market last month and has a $499,000 price tag. It last sold in 2009 for $359,190, just a tad higher than the $359K asking price.

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