09/03/09 5:05pm

Looks like the barn door’s closing on this one. . . . Do we have a winner of the prizes from this week’s sponsor: the HIWI: Ike book, the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book? The “Hunkered Down” stencil kit?

Sadly, no. This one stayed just a bit out of reach.

Your guesses for the home in this week’s game: Oak Forest (3 of you), Sharpstown (3), Meyerland (2), Briargrove, Westbury (2), Spring Branch (3), Old Spring Branch, Glenbrook Valley (2), Mangum Manor, “one of the Willows,” Lindale Park, Afton Village, Westview, Spring Valley (2), Braes Heights, Timbergrove Manor (2), Braeswood, Old Braeswood, Riverside Terrace, Tanglewilde, Southgate, Memorial Plaza, “between Meyer Park and Westbury Square,” “Simsdale — the area across the bayou north of Garden Villas, around Reed Rd. south of Bellfort, east of Mykawa,” Midtown, Walnut Bend, Robindell (2), the “Robindell/Maplewood area,” Shadow Oaks, Lazybrook, Ella around 11th, Larchmont, Afton Oaks, Oak Estates, River Oaks, “between West Alabama, Weslayan, the 59 feeder, and Drexel,” Memorial Bend, Ayrshire, Norhill, and “on Brays Bayou, or very close to it, along North or South Braeswood, between Kirby and Stella Link.”

Any Modern-friendly enclaves missing from this list?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/01/09 3:50pm

Who’s sponsoring the prize for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game?

New Swamplot advertiser Houston. It’s Worth It. Guess the right neighborhood this week and you’ll win a copy of Houston It’s Worth It’s brand new hot-off-the-presses book, HIWI: Ike — featuring accounts, photos, and mementos of this town’s Hurricane Ike adventure last year, contributed by actual Houstonians.

But that’s not all: Win now and HIWI will also throw in a copy of the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book, plus your very own HIWI-model “Hunkered Down” stencil kit, so next time you can let everyone know when — and where — you’re hunkering.

How can you win all these hometown-branded riches? By guessing where the pictured home is. If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess will get the prize.

If you already know this property, or if you find the listing online, please don’t ruin the game for everyone else by blurting out the answer. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing, so we know that you know. Then submit a fake guess that sounds really good. If you do this well, throwing other players off in the process, you’ll get special recognition when the actual location is revealed. And if nobody has guessed the correct neighborhood, you could win the prize!

So let’s look at the photos, shall we?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/27/09 11:04pm

A lot of you had a lot to say about this week’s mystery property. But only one of you is walking away with that shiny new Rice Design Alliance membership!

There were 2 guesses each for South Houston, the Memorial Villages, Pasadena, Clear Lake, and Deer Park. The rest of your guesses? Bunker Hill, Piney Point Village, “far out Memorial,” “the area around Bellfort and Broadway,” Oak Ridge North, Meyerland, “the New Caney/Roman Forest/Porter area,” Humble, Porter, New Caney, Katy, Glenbrook Valley, “Northwest between Hollister and Sam Houston Tollway,” “just outside Beltway 8 around Briar Forest,” Fondren Southwest, “outside the North Belt,” “any subdivision,” Alvin, Alief, T.C. Jester or Ella Blvd. near 610, “southwest side,” “very close to Blue Ridge Mountain,” “somewhere southeast,” “somewhere off 2920, between 249 north and I-45 north,” “somewhere across Hempstead from Delmar Stadium near Freed Park,” “somewhere south of Hell,” Park Glen, Meadowcreek, Quail Valley, Oak Forest, Maplewood South, Sugar Land, Pearland, Northampton in Spring, “the Inwood area,” Oakbrook West, Friendswood, Baytown, LaPorte, Sharpstown, Northwest Houston, Candlelight Plaza, Shepherd Park Terrace, “the older parts of Champions,” “off Wilcrest below Lakewood,” and Huntwick.

The winner of a one-year individual membership in the RDA is JC, for this brilliant entry:

Why would you put a cooktop underneath a kitchen window? Even if it’s a downdraft cooktop, I’d feel more comfortable with the traditional kitchen sink underneath that window. Plus, the tile floors look somewhat newer, possibly replacing linoleum or carpet in some parts. What was dead on was movocelot’s guess that the makeshift home theater was the converted garage. With the amount of paneling still intact in the living room, I’m going to guess the house was built in the 70s, and judging by the kitchen cabinets and countertops, I’m going to go against my better judgement and say 1977.

You can notice details of upgrades here and there, mostly noticed by the mirror and sink/counter in the hall bath, which looks to be the same material underneath the bottle of McCormick vodka…

This house has the look of one that would be outside of the beltway. However, I’m going to take a guess here and say this one is in the Inwood area.

Congratulations, JC! This week’s runner-up, miss_msry, aimed just a little too far to the west.

The real prize this round, though, is Claire de Lune — who not only wrote in to suggest this listing in the first place, but came back to concoct this cock-and-bull story to try and throw y’all off:

There are so many places this could be, its hard to choose just one. But it strongly resembles a lot of the homes I saw when I lived in the Clear Lake area. Probably built in the 60s, and redecorated by the second wife (who had theatrical aspirations) in the mid 80s, judging from the abundance of floral crap and faux greenery. The toys belong to the visiting step-grandchildren. That sunken tub probably hasn’t been used in years.

I’m going to place this in Oakbrook West, or possibly the older sections of Friendswood. Whoever lives there is retired, has been in that house a LONG time, and takes “home theater” just a little too seriously. Anyone who would do that with what seems to be a renovated garage has WAY too much time on their hands. Good luck selling this litte gem!

What’s the real story on this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/25/09 3:04pm

Who do we have to thank for this one? The Swamplot reader who suggested this property — and the Rice Design Alliance, for sponsoring the prize for the winner. That’s right: If you guess the location of this home correctly, you’ll win a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

If more than one player guesses the correct location, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

What if you already know this home? What if you find the listing? Please don’t spill the beans and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing — so we’ll know what you’re doing. Then post an incorrect guess, but try to be convincing when you make it, to throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll win special recognition for your efforts when the prize is announced. And if no one guesses the actual neighborhood, that RDA membership could be yours!

Ready to see more of this place? Let’s take a little peek behind the curtain!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/20/09 11:48pm

Where is this house?

Two of you guessed River Oaks and 2 more guessed Old Town Spring. And here were the rest of your guesses: Shady Acres, Nottingham, “one of the Villages out in Memorial,” “an early Memorial development,” “close to or on Kimberley, Barryknoll, Kirkwood, or Wilcrest,” Ashford Forest, Woodcreek off Aldine-Westfield, “between Shepherd and Montrose, Westheimer and Gray,” Bellaire, “somewhere on the bay,” Bellville, Brookshire, Columbus, Brenham, “Tomball-ish,” Wilchester, Wilchester West, on Chimney Rock near Memorial, Cypress, “along 1960 areas that are older,” “older parts of Deer Park or somewhere over there,” Galveston, “off Westview across the freeway from Memorial,” Friendswood, “the oldest part of Kingwood off Northpark,” Porter, “up high on a bluff in Morgan’s Point,” “in the vicinity of Holcombe and Greenbriar,” Braes Heights, and “somewhere around Braeswood.”

This week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game was just for the glory. And the winner? Glory, glory, it’s elnina, who caps off a remarkable streak of dead-on entries with a third win this year. (There were a couple of second-places in there too.) Here’s the vague but closer-than-anybody-else winning entry:

This looks like a country, two-story house, with large floor plan on a lot with a pool.
The spacious rooms downstairs have brick floors and upstairs bedrooms – wood floors. Nice stencils accents throughout the house.
No clocks, radios or TV’s, except a small unit in the bedroom (lol).
I can spot few recent updates – like windows, kitchen appliances, nice marble counter in the bathroom, plantation shutters. But when I look at the brick floors, the condition of the wood on the floors and stairs, the fireplace and the painted paneling, I would say that this house is probably 40-50 years old.
I guess it is sitting in a flood zone, close to bayou or the coast. The picture with the ship makes me think that big water is not far away. Maybe somewhere on the bay?

Congratulations, elnina! You’ve won . . . first prize!

Our runners-up this week are Miz Brooke Smith, with a close-but-wrong-bank Morgan’s Point guess, and Jessica1, who wrote this:

I don’t know what y’all are thinking with the nottingham, wilchester, etc. guesses – I grew up out there and never saw anything quite like this. The wood floors are too old, at least for my part of the neighborhood. And those furnishings! Not energy corridor. I’m saying older parts of Deer Park or somewhere over there, only because I think I saw identical stuff in an antique store in LaPorte.

Ready for the real answer? Here it is:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/19/09 10:36am

The 2-story 1939 brick home at 1504 N. MacGregor Way, on the banks of Brays Bayou in Idylwood, has completed the Swamplot trifecta. In July of last year the home made its first appearance, as the subject of a Neighborhood Guessing Game (answer revealed here). In September, after the pre-Hurricane Ike storm surge brought about 2 feet of water in for an extensive tour of the first floor, the home was featured again: an after-Ike-cleanup poster house, still on the market for $359,000.

And then, this morning, a third and likely final showing on Swamplot: in our Daily Demolition Report.

A quick look back at the home’s better (and not-so-much better) days:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/18/09 4:08pm

Whaddya get if you win this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? First prize!

And the admiration of your hard-guessin’ peers. While our prize sponsors take a break, let’s see what y’all can come up with for this one!

The object, as always: guess the neighborhood where this property is located. If you guess correctly, you win! If more than one player is dead-on, the player who provided the best explanation wins.

If you already know this property, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, you’ll need to play a slightly different version of the game. Please don’t post the answer — you’ll just ruin the game for everybody else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing. Then post an incorrect guess, but make it sound plausible. If you do this well — throwing other players off their game — you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner might be you!

Here’s a bit more of a tour:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/13/09 11:48pm

Do we have a winner of that free one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Oh, yes we do!

Your guesses in this week’s game were all over the place: “south of Rice University between Holcombe and University, either side of Greenbriar,” Montrose, Fondren Southwest, Briargrove, “outer Memorial toward the Energy Corridor,” Nottingham Forest, Westchester, Meyerland, “along Long Point,” “off Navigation,” the neighborhoods north of Channelview,” Flintstone, Jersey Village, greater Champions, Clear Lake, “around Westpark, just outside the Loop,” “HBU/Chimney Rock vicinity,” Southwest Houston, Alief, Sharpstown, Bellaire, Deer Park, Richmond, near Pecan Grove, “290 and Beltway-ish,” Spring, Tomball, Conroe, “Spring Branch West, in the area bordered by Hammerly, I-10, Gessner, and the Beltway,” Magnolia Park, Baytown, Galena Park, “off Hempstead Highway,” Montgomery, Hempstead, “around Stuebner Airline,” “the near Southeast side,” Champions/1960, Hobby Airport area, and Pasadena.

The winner — for the second time this year — is MariaO, for this entry:

Definitely this monstrosity must be on a busy street, in an area that saw some building in the early 60s and then they kept on adding “features” throughout the decades. And it is not in an expensive area, or they would have redone the metal staircase in the entry. And several other things.
I’ll guess the northwest side, perhaps off Hempstead Highway?

Got a friend or family member you’d like to have join you as an RDA member, MariaO?

So many colorful guesses this week! This remarkably accurate one from elnina earns a close second place:

I think this is modern two story residential building from the 60’s. The house is large, and the owner, maybe in construction/remodeling business converted part of it to office space, maybe with a separate apartment and rented out.
Upstairs area looks definitely more contemporary, with updated windows and new floors, light and bright. But the remodeling is still in progress – the big room has new pergo floors but still old wood paneled walls in different color.
The sliding door from the living room upstairs leads to big terrace, and maybe to the partially enclosed whirlpool.
The other part of the house is more traditional, with lots of paneling and mirrors, brick wall accents, stone fireplace, old fashion wet bar and tile/terrazzo floors. The bathroom is a headache – he can’t decide which direction he wants to go (lol)
Definitely outside the loop but inside the Beltway, probably in semi-residential area.
It could be around Montgomery, Hempstead or Stuebner Airline – just a wild guess.

Also very close: Jeff, who went with “290 and Beltway-ish,” then added:

I think they pieced together remnants of several homes left in their yard after Hurricane Ike.

A special commendation goes to Porchman, who wrote to Swamplot with the actual listing, then threw out only this note of encouragement to fellow players:

Hard to believe it’s one house!

But it is! Well, sorta . . . kinda . . . maybe . . .

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/11/09 4:52pm

Think you’ve got what it takes to win a membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Ordinarily, an individual membership only takes 45 bucks. But if you want to win one through Swamplot, you’ll have to guess the location of this home. Guess correctly, and you’ll be the newest RDA member!

If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, the prize will be awarded to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you know this property already, or if you see the listing while the game is being played, don’t ruin the fun for everyone else by blurting out the answer. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing. Then submit your own brilliantly argued incorrect guess. If you do this well, maybe throwing a few fellow players off the scent, you’ll earn special recognition when we announce the winner. And if nobody guesses the correct neighborhood, you could walk away with the prize!

Ready to play, players? Then dig these photos:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/06/09 11:46pm

We know what you’re wondering: Which Swamplot reader is gonna walk slide away with that gift basket of personal lubricant products?

Yes, this week’s prize — you’ll remember — is sponsored by Wet International. Shall we recap what’s in it? There’s the bottle of Wet Original, the Wet Kiwi Strawberry flavored lubricant, the Wet Together couples lubricant, and the Inttimo by Wet Total Body Shave Cream for Men.

First though, your guesses: There were 5 each for the Heights and Midtown, 4 for Rice Military and the Baldwin Park area, and 2 each for Montrose, Montrose near Nino’s and Vincent’s, “West Alabama/Bammel Lane,” Sugar Land, the West End, Bellaire, Memorial Heights, and Royal Oaks. The rest: The First Ward, Lakes of Stonehenge, Missouri City, Southdale Addition, “just outside of the West U chimney,” St. George’s Place, Southside Place, Bissonnet east of Weslayan, “somewhere over there in West Southside University Place,” on Fountainview or Augusta between San Felipe and Westheimer, “around the Augusta, Bering area between Westheimer and Woodway,” Greatwood, First Colony, Cottage Grove, the Astrodome area, Shady Acres, Pearland, Silverlake, Katy, “near the Toyota Center,” Lazy Brook, Timbergrove, Timbergrove Court, Clear Lake, Bay Pointe, “north of Beltway 8, near Ella,” “11th at Hempstead,” “the area adjacent to Audubon Place in the neighborhood bordering the sunken section North of 59,” “off Pin Oak, behind the middle school and HCC on 610,” “between the rail tracks and the West Loop east of the Galleria,” “somewhere in the Galleria/Woodway area,” and “Gillette-Sutton” in Midtown.

Happily for all of us, the winner is significantly tickled by the prize:

omg, lube! it’s my lucky day!! not even kidding!!

so sad when a family wants to make the compromise between the suburbs and the city and just doesn’t quite get there, as can be seen by the little ikea kid table at the end of a tiny kitchen that wishes to be like the ones in kingwood. sniff. story of my life

here goes: inside the loop, but just barely. timbergrove and lazybrook were too old and icky so these guys bought in the new developments in the area. maybe across from sterling elementary school so they can pretend they are providing a yard to their kid, even if it is owned by hisd. timbergrove court, maybe it’s called? if not right there, then further down 11th at hempstead in those new suburbia wannabe neighborhoods that back up directly to the railroad. still thinking it’s across from sinclair though.

my guess is that they hate this place, are sucking it up and moving out to the burbs for the schools.

Congratulations, brandy c! Yes, this is your lucky day. Enjoy!

A somewhat drier congratulations to all of you who came real close in one way or another: those of you who spotted the telltale signs of Perry Homes; of a freestanding structure; those of you who called the early aughts.

We had two entries worthy of special recognition: Carolyn — who happens to be the listing agent — sent readers not-too-far away with this fake guess:

I think it is definitely a Perry Home but possibly in Shady Acres or maybe Baldwin Park.

Then there was this second faker-outer, hoping to encourage more of you to guess farther afield:

Having lived in the burbs for 12 years this one is a no brainer. In fact I think I’ve been in this house in Clear Lake somewhere in my younger days for a house party. I’m guessing Clear Lake – the neighborhood has ‘Bay’ or ‘Brook’ in the name, which is every neighborhood in Clear Lake. I’ll go anything off Clear Lake City Blvd – Bay Pointe.

That came from Jessica, the reader who suggested this home in the first place. Great job!

Now how about a closer look?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/04/09 11:43am

Going through a little dry spell with the Neighborhood Guessing Game? Then you’re in luck! This week’s prize is a gift basket of personal lubricant products from Wet International!

That’s right: The winner of this week’s game will receive an assortment of Wet products, including: Wet Original, Wet Kiwi Strawberry flavored lubricant, Wet Together couples lubricant, and Inttimo by Wet Total Body Shave Cream for Men.

Who’s responsible for this? The prize is being sponsored by Wet International, manufacturer and distributor of the world’s best-selling specialty line of personal lubricants and intimacy products.

Slick, huh? Well, here’s how to win: Just guess where the pictured home is located! If you’re right, you get Wet! If more than one person guesses the right location, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess wins the prize.

If you know this home already, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, don’t ruin the fun for everyone else by blurting out the answer. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing. Then enter an incorrect guess, but make it sound perfectly plausible. If you do this well and help to confuse other players, you’ll get special recognition for your efforts. And if no one guesses the actual neighborhood, you could win the prize!

Let’s have a look around:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

07/30/09 11:18pm

Any takers for that Rice Design Alliance membership prize?

Missouri City and Katy attracted the most guesses in this week’s game, with 3 each. Pasadena, Mission Bend, Sagemont, Aldine and Clear Lake had 2 each. The rest? Briargrove, “that neighborhood along Eldridge Pkwy. just north of Alief-Clodine (Ashford Point?),” Pearland just east of 288 and south of Beltway 8, Spring, Green Tee in Pearland, “the vast hinterlands Southeast of Downtown,” League City, Bear Creek, “the neighborhood southwest of the Fondren/Bellfort intersection,” “out Richmond between Beltway 8 and Highway 6, “somewhere south of Southbelt,” Highland Meadows, “Concord Colony/Bridge off W. Little York between Highway 6 and Eldridge,” “the Seabrook/El Lago area,” Cinco Ranch, Kingwood, Fondren Southwest, Northfield, Deer Park, LaPorte, Silverlake, Alief, “Oak Forest Park Park,” “the Kirkwood/Briar Forest hood,” Bacliff, “off Wilcrest, between Briar Forest and Memorial . . . by the Lakeside Country Club,” “off Newcastle, close to Bellaire Blvd.,” and the Galleria.

For a home that — in the words of one player — “could be anywhere where sub-$130,000 houses may be found,” a number of you came very close. Honorable mentions go to Carol for her eagle “shot in the dark” of Green Tee in Pearland; and to bigtoe, for that Sagemont guess.

The winner? elnina, for this:

Two story house on rather smaller lot, in a mid 1980’s subdivision somewhere south of Southbelt.
Lots of tiles downstairs make me think that this house is located in or close to a flood zone – master bedroom is downstairs and carpeted rooms upstairs. Is Turkey Creek the reason? I guess… Sagemont or Highland Meadows. I would love to see the second bathroom… :)

Congratulations, elnina! You’ve just won . . . a (second!) individual one-year membership in the RDA. Of course, you’re welcome to redirect it to any friend or family member or competitor you choose . . .

Ready to get more of the details?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

07/28/09 4:27pm

What’s the prize for winning the Neighborhood Guessing Game this week? A one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

How can you win it? By guessing the neighborhood of the pictured home. If more than one person guesses the correct neighborhood, the player who gave the best explanation for the guess wins the prize.

That’s it! Except: If you already know this property, or if you come across it or its listing while the game is being played, don’t post the answer and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send us a link to the listing — then post an incorrect guess. But make it sound real plausible. If you do this well — fooling your fellow players — you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

How about studying a few more photos of this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

07/24/09 4:28pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THAT’S MY HOUSE YOU’RE GUESSING ABOUT “What a hoot! CiCi and I have really enjoyed reading all of the comments. Especially about the “fuddy duddy” furniture and balding grandpa. We chose this house because it was so original. It’s our style and had not been monkeyed with too much over the years. Right now, we’re upgrading to a tankless hot water heater and have pulled the rear cover down. Like most good projects, there is always something to do. Jessica1 did well. CiCi is with Greenwood King and I do marketing/branding for Green Bank. We’ve got two daughters (5 and 3) and probably outgrew the house . . . three years ago. Even with the size/rr/bath/power lines/garage issues, we’ve hung in there as the house is comfortable, the neighborhood is the best and location is perfect. Stop by and check it out Saturday between 2 to 4 if you like. I’ll be puttering about and would love to meet some great storytellers.” [Mike Barone, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Other Side of the Tracks]

07/23/09 4:55pm

Ready for the answer?

First: Your guesses in this week’s game: Garden Oaks (2 of you), Afton Oaks (3), Boulevard Oaks, Oak Forest (2), “one of those ’Oaks neighborhoods,” “the neighborhood north of I-10 and east of Antoine, across from Woodlawn Cemetery,” West University, Southside Place, Meyerland, Briar Forest, Bunker Hill, Briargrove, Tanglewood, Highland Village, “Stella Link around 610,” Montrose south of Westheimer, Bellaire (2), Spring Branch, Lazybrook, Timbergrove Manor, Lynn Park (2), Southampton, Knollwood Village, Westbury, Braes Heights, “Galleria area, behind Bechtel, between Sage and Yorktown,” “that area north of Westheimer between Tanglewilde and Briargrove,” “anywhere in the swath ranging clockwise from I-10 and Wirt up to between 290 and 45,” “off the northern parts of Bingle,” Idylwood, “near the ‘pasture land’ in SW Houston,” and Linkwood Park.

Two of you were right! First up was this week’s runner-up, JT, who called the place a

1950’s ranchette in Lynn Park two or three blocks from the epicenter of Drexel and Alabama. Nice blend of the old and new.

First prize, though, goes to this better explained entry from Mike V:

Originally I thought Afton Oaks, but the dining area view with the work shed in the backyard and no obvious view of any other homes in the background makes me think it is down the road on the other side of the train tracks in Lynn Park.

Congratulations! And really, smart and entertaining guesses all around. A little more detail about this week’s showcase:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY