Tag: Neighborhood Guessing Game

Interiors
08/21/08 11:58pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Held Over: This Naked House

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Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 21: Porch

Sure, this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game is a tough one. But none of you have come anywhere close to the right answer. By one calculation, the closest guess anyone has made is almost 10 miles away.

So we’re gonna blow past our regular Thursday deadline — and give you just a little more time to guess. If you’ve been holding back because you thought someone else had maybe already figured it out, take a stab at it yourself. If you’ve already made a guess . . . try another one!

Here’s a hint . . . but it’s one you probably know already: Try to ignore all that decor. Just strip this house naked . . . in your mind. Where could this naked house be?

Photo: HAR

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Interiors
08/19/08 3:48pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game: Something Fishy

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Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 21: Porch

And now it’s time to take a break from Houston’s continuing real-estate train wrecks to bring you the week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. If the home portrayed in this post were a residence somewhere in or around Houston (and it is), where would it be?

Care to guess? Just look through the photos below and add your comment. If it’s your first time playing, read the rules first.

 Ready?

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Interiors
08/14/08 2:24pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Netherworld

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Neighborhood Guessing Game, Westwood
4 Comments

Neighborhood Guessing Game 20: Living Room

The house with the red carpet prompted a wide range of neighborhood guesses this week: 2 each for Willowbend, Lindale Park, and Spring Branch (one of them specifying the area near Long Point or Gessner). Plus: River Oaks, Afton Village, Champion Forest, Oak Forest, Pasadena, Irvington, Meyerland, Sharpstown, Houston Country Club Place, Simms Woods, Hampshire Oaks, Mason Park Terrace, Glenbrook Valley, the East Side, the near East Side, the North Side, the near South Side, and Briarcroft.

But that wasn’t all. A larger number of you this week provided longer descriptions for the neighborhoods. Are we running out of names? These included the I-45/Tidwell/Airline area, the Tidwell/I-45 area close to Luna St., “the cultural cavity that is bounded by I-45/59/I10/610″ (??), the North Side near the Hardy Toll Road, East Westbury off Bellfort, “north of 610 N between the toll road and 45,” the Gulfgate area “east around the brewery or on the other side of the east loop,” “the post-oak so main area in the netherworld between the loop and the beltway,” “Stella Link/Willowbend – to the east of Post Oak and South of the Loop,” off Irvington Park Blvd. just north of 610, “East Side, south of the Lawndale/Telephone nexus but well inside the South Loop,” Riverside (Terrace)/MacGregor, OST/Griggs/South Loop area, “Mykawa/South Acres/Bellfort/Almeda Genoa-kind-of-area,” Mangum/290, and Westbury Sq./W. Airport.

Whew. Those Willowbend guesses . . . so close! The winner was tcpIV, who impressed the judges with this more specific entry:

Poor Granny. We loved her so. I’m hoping for the Stella Link/Willowbend area – to the east of Post Oak and South of the Loop. She was quite a housekeeper though. Gosh I miss her.

tcpIV edged out Chuckles, who drew a slightly larger boundary around

the post-oak so main area in the netherworld between the loop and the beltway

and went home with the Silver. Actual subdivision name: Westwood.

An honorable mention goes to marmer, who wrote:

This looks a lot like my mom’s house, which was built in 1952. The attic fan switch and heater filter detail are identical. Lots of other bathroom elements and little architectural touches are similar. Unfortunately for this particular Guessing Game, she doesn’t live in Houston. Fortunately for me, she’s still alive and has neither the money nor the bad taste to do this to her house. Mid-to-low priced postwar tract house. Not a bungalow. Pre-MCM. Could be almost anywhere.

After the jump: The gory details.

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Interiors
08/12/08 1:11pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game: Red Carpet Treatment

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Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 20: Living Room

Here we go with that Neighborhood Guessing Game again! All that distracting furniture’s been cleared out, so you can focus on the house itself this time. Just one question: Where is this place?

Take a look at all the photos below, then let us know what neighborhood you think it’s in . . . and why. If you’ve never played before, please take a look at the rules before you post. There are a few twists!

Ready for more?

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Brazoria County
08/07/08 2:25pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Olympic Sized

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Interiors, Manvel, Neighborhood Guessing Game
15 Comments

Neighborhood Guessing Game 19: Parlor

Looks like this week’s game was a bust. Did we even get any real guesses?

Oh, a few. Your comments mentioned Beaumont, River Oaks, the Westside Tennis Club, Hooks Airport, Waller County, Riverside (Terrace?), the Third Ward, Sharpstown, Fondren, Harwin, and Downtown.

No bluffers showed up.

So no winner this time. But a bunch of you sure had some fun with it! An honorable mention goes to Brad, for this first-rate snark:

The drop ceilings, the steel beam kickouts on the walls, the plastic chandeliers, the ‘media’ room with microwave stand and cafe-style seating, the fantasy executive boardroom with ‘conference’ table, and the executive exercise pool…

This is the Corporate Crimes wing of the Federal Prison near Beaumont where they sent Andy Fastow. The drapes and mini-blinds are covering the bars.

Bravo. And thanks again to the tipster who provided this ripe subject. What are its actual coordinates?

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Interiors
08/05/08 2:03pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game: Draped

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Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 19: Parlor

The reader who suggested the subject of this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game warned that the property may be “too obvious.” Do you recognize this home? If you do, please read the rules carefully before you write any comments!

If you haven’t seen this place before, study the photos below. Then send us your guess! Where is it?

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Interiors
07/31/08 6:39pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Backed Up to the Bank

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Jersey Village, Neighborhood Guessing Game
1 Comment

Neighborhood Guessing Game 18: Entry

There was no furniture to ogle, but a lot of you liked this week’s contest!

Sugarland led the guesses with 5. Bellaire had 4, Katy had 3 (including one specifying Kelliwood), and so did the Energy Corridor. Champion Forest and Kingwood each had 2. The rest: West University, Mid Lane, Bay Oaks, Camp Logan, Sugar Creek, “south-ish and west-ish of the Galleria,” Jersey Village, “off Bering/Augusta between San Felipe and Woodway,” Clear Lake, Conroe, the Woodlands, “a suburb out 59 south,” Briarcroft, Champions, and Mission Bend.

The winner is karen, who pooled the helpful comments of many of you into this enthusiastic entry:

Well, you all have been very helpful! I definitely think this is a vintage ’80s home that has had a kitchen remodel and new floors put down on the first floor. I like that library upstairs, too. Too bad they couldn’t spring for a new master bath.

This home has got to be in the outer reaches and I’m guessing that they’re at the top of the market in their area. I still like Sugarland, but now we’ve got to add Katy and Jersey Village to mix as well. In fact, I like Jersey Village a lot.

Jersey Village to karen: You like us. You really, really like us! Hey, didn’t karen win an earlier match too?

So what helpful comments was karen referring to? Perhaps this Houston real-estate maxim spouted by kjb434:

If all of the first floor is non-carpeted, then I’ll say it’s in a flood-proned area!

. . . and this comment by David W:

Looks like late 80’s/early 90’s to me but with only a light cosmetic update. It still has corian counters and that cultured marble vanity in the bathroom but they added the kooky fans and plantation shutters. It must have been pretty expensive when new to have a Sub-Zero, but I bet it is not in a hot neighborhood or they would have invested in more updates.

. . . both of which win honorable mentions!

After the jump: the full Jersey Village reveal!

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Interiors
07/29/08 12:42pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game: Marble Steps

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Neighborhood Guessing Game
33 Comments

Neighborhood Guessing Game 18: Entry

Where, oh where could this little house be?

Good question. And just in time for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game!

If you’ve got an answer, add it to the comments section below this post. If you’ve never played our game before, please join the fun . . . but check out the rules first. And if you’d like to see a few more photos before you hazard a guess, see below:

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Briargrove
07/24/08 11:49pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Garage Zero

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Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 17: Bedroom

Good work this week! Four of you guessed Briargrove. Meyerland, Tanglewood, and Old Braeswood attracted two guesses each. Fall Creek, Memorial outside the Beltway, the Elkins Lake Country Club area in Huntsville, Fonn Villas, Tealwood, West Grove Court, Buffalo Speedway & Braeswood, Shepherd Park Plaza, and Afton Oaks attracted guesses as well.

And Briargrove it was! The winner was tcpIV, the first to stake that claim in our comments section — with this pithy entry:

Briargrove?

Yes!

An honorable mention goes to a later Briargrove guesser, BJ, who came up with plenty of story:

The front room with the big window screams ranch. That cavernous master bedroom looks big enough to pull in mom’s Chevy Suburban LT-1 and dad’s 5-series, so it is likely a converted garage. It also looks like the owner dropped a small fortune on antiques in Round Top, white-slip covered furniture and big fancy flat-screens. I also see an orange blanket on one of the kid’s beds–probably Longhorn fans. Lastly, several kids clearly inhabit those rooms–they’re likely playing out front while mom and her friends sip martinis, or at soccer practice at Kinkaid. I say Briargrove all the way!

Special recognition this week for the bamboozling skills of David W, who emailed us the actual listing but whose attempt to throw other players off the scent ended up sounding rather plausible:

Looks like a 60’s subdivision house to me – maybe Fonn Villas? Tealwood? Those aluminum framed bay windows and shiny brass chandelier scream Kickerillo circa mid 60’s. I’m guessing the master bedroom is an add on as well as the breakfast room with skylights. Those rooms almost look like they are from a different house.

Want the scoop on this place?

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Idylwood
07/17/08 9:04pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: By the Bayou

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Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 16: Foyer

More new players in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game . . . but more old guesses, too!

Three of the 4 Montrose guesses were nicely specific: We had Montrose north of Alabama and west of Montrose Blvd., “the northwestern corner of Montrose, east of Shepherd around West Dallas,” and “either off Hawthorne or above Westheimer between Dunlavy and Montrose.” Two of you guessed the Heights, with a third player specifying the “Shepherd/Durham side” of the neighborhood. There was another vote for Woodland Heights.

Six guesses clumped together: Boulevard Oaks, Edgemont, Greenbriar, Southampton, Southgate, off Bissonnet east of Kirby. We had individual guesses of Garden Oaks, River Oaks, “the area around Braeswood and Buffalo Speedway,” and Bunker Hill. Also, single votes for the generic “Eastside,” “around the Medical Center off 288,” Eastwood, Idylwood, Sienna Plantation, Sugarland, Friendswood, Pearland, and Village Grove in Pasadena.

The winner is . . . first-time guesser Chris, who strolled right into the correct neighborhood:

Nicely remodeled…has a 20’s or 30’s style, though I cannot tell if it is designed that way or authentic. Looks like they use every inch for living or storage, which means it *is* probably genuinely old–still, I am not sure of the actual size as the wide-angle lens throws me off. Still, the look is reminiscient of Eastwood’s finer homes, or perhaps Idylwood.

. . . but then kept on going:

Or maybe off Greenbriar around Rice. Now I’m confusing myself.

Come on back to the East Side, Chris!

Another first-time player, Brian, clearly deserves an honorable mention for making these sharp calls:

It looks like the dropped ceilings along the edge of the kitchen were done for the sole purpose of adding air conditioning after construction. The vegetation appears too close, too big, too lush to be new construction. The roof line on the second floor seems more shingle style than victorian, so I doubt the Heights.

After the jump: on the Live Bodies side of Brays Bayou. Plus . . . it’s been snagged!

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Interiors
07/10/08 7:26pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game: All Sewn Up

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Neighborhood Guessing Game, Seabrook
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 15: Sewing Room

You guys are good! And better at this than you think you are. You found all the right clues to this week’s puzzle . . . the problem was just putting them together!

Before we get to our winners, your list of guesses: Oak Forest attracted 4 votes. There were 3 guesses each for Montrose and West University, and 2 each for Bellaire and Lazybrook. We had 4 separate votes for Knollwood, Timberside, Woodshire, and Stella Link. The rest went to Meyerland, Timbergrove, Clear Lake, Kemah, “something out I 45 towards the Gulf,” the Houston Ave./Sawyer/Washington area, Afton Village, Cleveland, the Heights, “that area south of Richmond, east of Shepherd but immediately north of the recessed portion of 59 over by Mt. Vernon,” Alief, and Braes Terrace.

This week’s win goes to two players: CK, who called Clear Lake:

. . . it’s hard to tell if it’s a street outside or lakefront.

Aha!

And Joni Webb, who called Kemah:

It’s old – say 50 years, low ceilings, actually cute for once . . . mature landscaping . . . lots and lots of palm tree type plants and it could be around Kemah – those really cute old houses there. Artsy community.

For this game, Clear Lake and Kemah were close enough. Seabrook would have won it outright, and Ruggles East would have beaten that!

So . . . what were the clues? marmer picked up a few:

The craft room and living room are on the front of the house, and narrow, probably original rooms. Most everything else is an addition. What’s with the weird bedroom with French doors and no window treatment? Do exhibitionists live here?

And so did toadfroggy:

My only thought is that those blue cabinets would never have survived in an area that’s seen much flipping, so it’s unlikely to be in any of the close-in nabes if it’s even in Houston at all.

. . . which earn them both honorable mentions. No interfering liars this week!

After the jump: Around and about that house!

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Champion Forest
07/03/08 8:52pm

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Lonely at the Top

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Champions, Condos, Highrises, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhood Guessing Game
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Neighborhood Guessing Game 14: Living Room

Well, where were we? This week’s mystery sky-pad fetched individual guesses of: Greenway Plaza, Museum District/Med Center, “near Woodway,” Gessner and Memorial, Memorial between Shepherd and Westcott, The Woodlands, Champions, Champion Forest, Riverside Terrace, Sugarland, Missouri City, River Oaks, Glendower Court (actually, “North of Westheimer and probably west of Shepherd, in that town-house filled area south of River Oaks”), and the Galleria.

Some of you guessed particular buildings. Two of you took a stab at Regency House, 2 1/2 fell for Four Leaf Towers, and 2 said it was the Timber Top. We also had guesses of the Huntingdon, the Willowick, Bayou Bend Towers, “the highrise near the Medical Center and Hermann Park” (the Parklane or the Warwick Towers or the Mosaic?), the Endeavour, “a small mid-rise apartment complex” on Augusta between San Felipe and Westheimer, the St. Clair Condos near the Post Oak YMCA, 14 or 15 Greenway Plaza, Hermann Towers (?), and the Spires.

The winner is LawrenceDean, who was first to name the Timber Top highrise in Champion Forest — and threw in this bit of color commentary:

I’m going to go with this being a glimpse of the lifestyle of a (very old) northside baller…..

However, this came after some excellent advance work by Bernard, who is apparently expert in staring out of windows:

I don’t see how it can be “in town”. Take a look out the window. There’s nothing but green space. It’s hard to imagine a high rise in town that wouldn’t have a view of at least a couple tall buildings popping up from the tree tops.

It’s clearly a two story unit. Must be a penthouse. But it doesn’t look too high up. The building can’t be more than 15-20 stories.

Maybe it’s on the west side of town with a west facing view. It would suck to have a penthouse facing the wrong direction. . . .

There are two patches of green out the window. Is that a golf course? Maybe some forward thinking developer stole (I mean borrowed and never repaid) some S&L money and built a mini-high-rise out in The Woodlands or Champions. I don’t know those ares very well.

If only you had! That’s enough for an honorable mention, though!

Special recognition goes to our two fully authorized troublemakers this week — Jeff and GoogleMaster — who identified the listing to us privately and then vied to keep easily swayed guessers focused on inside-the-Loop neighborhoods. This loopy comment by Jeff, in particular, is priceless:

Seriously, only an Inner Looper would have elephant tusks next to their couch.

After some initial overreaching, this Timber Top penthouse has been sitting on the market for quite some time. How long? See our summary:

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