This Former Brooke Smith Bungalow Gone Craftsmannerist Is Asking $850K

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Somewhere within this recently renovated and expanded shingle-sided double-decker home in Brooke Smith lies the 1926 single-story version it sprang from. Can you find it?

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The home’s sellers are a renovator and real estate agent who’ve updated a series of properties in the neighborhood, which is located east of the Houston Heights. This dark-trimmed number has an $849,000 price tag. It’s located 2 blocks west of I-45 and 3 blocks south of W. Patton St.

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The “Craftsman-inspired” home was listed yesterday.

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As does the living room, the dining room features a subtle cross-grain insert in the flooring. The extreme-beamed ceiling, however, is the room’s strongest visual:

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Period flourishes go a bit rogue — as columns — in the family room, found at the back of the 2,460-sq.-ft. home. (HCAD appears not to have caught up to the changes yet; it lists a 1,506-sq.-ft. floor plan and a previous renovation in 1989.)

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The island kitchen’s cherry-wood cabinetry takes storage to the ceiling:

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One of the home’s 3 bathrooms is on the first floor, adjacent to the entry area off the front porch and a fourth bedroom now used as a study. Its paneling complements the prevailing 6-panel door style:

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The master suite has shape-shifting windows:

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Here are the secondary bedrooms upstairs:

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The other full bathroom is rigged to the ceiling as a splash zone:

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A screened porch, part of the layout upstairs, has access from the landing, though one of the bedrooms (the master, it looks like), also has a door:

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Portions of the 5,000-sq.-ft. lot have been pavered as a patio (above); there’s also a camera-shy outdoor kitchen and covered patio. The home has a gated driveway but no garage. There’s a gravel parking area in front of the low-rise fence:

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Homes on this north-south street are mostly single-story — some of them renovated — and range from 887 sq. ft. to 3,340 sq. ft. In September 2012, a listing of this property for $179,900 landed a contract, but it was later withdrawn; that listing expiring in May 2013.

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Porches and Roof Pitches

43 Comment

  • Wow that is gorgeous. I really love that they kept the style pretty consistent throughout the house yet added the must have modern finishes that homes today require. 10/10

  • What a home. Everything is just lovely. The door knobs. If the owner went that deep into detail than I know details that aren’t seen are done right.

  • Is it me or does the furniture in that first secondary bedroom look like it is floating in the air?

  • That is not a craftsman, that is a McCraftsMansion

  • $850k in Brooke Smith? What’s next, $700k renovated shotguns in the Fifth Ward?

  • the outdoor kitchen is in the upstairs porch and the back patio is also screened, in case readers were curious

  • Thanks for the nice write-up, Swamplot! How do you know all you know?? Happy to show it to anyone who is interested.

    Kay (the realtor/owner)

  • While I LOVE Kay’s work, this home seems overpriced. I honestly don’t know why anyone would pay nearly $850K to live two streets away from 45 — and I live in the neighborhood.

  • This House was inspired by Greene and Greene. Greene and Greene was an architectural firm established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868–1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870–1954), influential early 20th Century American architects. Active primarily in California, their houses and larger-scale ultimate bungalows are prime examples of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. While we were unable to match the size and detail of the original Greene and Greene houses due to lot sizes and budget restraints we did our best to build the highest quality house on the market in its price range. Archer is easily the best street in the Brooke Smith subdivision. Four other homes have had period restoration in the past 18 months on this block alone, and our neighbor was on the AIA tour this last weekend. Thank you swampLots for the write up.

  • This is the work of the Contemporary Craftsman. This is grade A work: cedar shingle siding, full inset cabinetry, you name it. The quality of their work is second to none. The only other home renovation company I can think of that comes close is Bungalow Revival. Homes done by the Contemporary Craftsman should sell for a premium. I went to the home on this same street that was on the AIA Home Tour and found myself more interested in this home!

  • The builder has a eye for detail and impeccable taste in design. This area has seen a renaisance in the last few years and will continue to grow as the Houston Economy expands. I beleive this home will be appreciated by someone who understands period construction and has capacity to look into the future and growth in Brookesmith Neighborhood.

  • It’s a lovely house, and it would be worth that price a mile west of there, but two blocks from 45? No thank you.

  • Based on what I’m seeing on Streetview, that street has some very nice properties (most of them). Being two streets from I-45 probably isn’t a problem. There are homes close to freeways all over Houston and every other major city, and prices aren’t usually affected unless the home actually backs up to the freeway. I live only 10 houses down from a freeway in Austin, and even with all the noise, there’s been no reduction in my property value (my mediocre house is worth a fortune).

  • They should make more like these. (But with LEED Platinum certification, of course.)

  • I’d be nervous every time I slid that huge door towards the glass shower enclosure.

  • Wow! Very well done! Don’t know if the pricing is right, but I bet it sells quickly….

  • Congrats, Anthony D. Harnden, for building something beautiful and thoughtful.

  • Am I the only one that finds it suspicious that every time Swamplot features a house and some regulars start critiquing it in a negative way, there seems to be a slew of posts from brand new posters and/or just made up names trying to TALK UP the house? I smell a rat.

  • i am a real person casually posting this comment, and it is my opinion that this house is gorgeous, is a great deal, and the developer should win some sort of trophy or something. i disagree with other posters that being close to the highway is a bad thing, and also aia tour.

  • I don’t know if you call this faux historical, but I love it anyway.

  • I totally agree with commonsense. Definitely a few suspicious posts… but nonetheless this house is stunning! Love it all

  • Its a beautiful house. I know one of the carpenters/project manager. The amount of time and detail that went into building it is unreal. I walked around it with him while it was still in the framing phase, nice to see pics of the finished product. The builder is a Brooksmith resident who is very active in the community, not an anonymous entity; and its a project that plenty of streets would love to have. Kudos to them for supporting good work.

  • I think it is expensive, but maybe that’s understandable considering it’s a renovation. When I-45 gets renovated you can look forward to the freeway being just that much closer.

  • While I appreciate the attention to detail and historic accuracy, I feel as though this renovation misses something. For one thing, it looks more ‘Arts and Crafts’ than most Arts and Crafts homes in Houston. We never fully embraced the style here, and generally speaking, ‘Craftsman’ in Houston isn’t the same as a California Bungalow.

    The end result is a house, which while beautiful, doesn’t resemble the actual historic homes in the area.

  • I didn’t see any negative comments, but I did read a few misinformed opinions. ;-)

  • It amazes me what homes are going for on the east side of Main. You are still down the street from a run down hotel advertising weekly rates and stores with bars in the windows. It just speaks to how insane demand has become in the Heights that anything in the general vicinity has been lifted along with it.

  • it truly is a beautifully done house and i’m sure they won’t have any problems finding some folks who value the character of a house more than it’s precise location. however, you’d be gravely mistaken to think that living next to a highway doesn’t come with some very notable impacts and that yes, it is beyond all reasonable doubt that living next to a highway is a bad thing compared to not living next to a freeway. how much of that carries over into the asking price is all dependent on the buyers of course, but this location comes at the expense of increased noise, light, risk of freeway construction and most importantly of all; pollution and heightened cancer rates. it’s all clearly shown in EPA’s chart of houston smog, but would just also note that in this general area the increased smog from I45 drafts much further west than just the couple blocks encompassing this house.

  • Sarah, if that’s even your real name, I am suspicious of your post in agreement with commonsense that people who have never before posted on swamplost are suspiciously commenting to this post! Where does the conspiracy end??? Is this house real! Is there really an Archer Street? What about Brooke Smith, is that real??? Is swamplot behind it all?

  • The astroturfing going on in this post is ridiculous.

  • Lovely. Outdoor kitchen on the 2nd story porch? Surely, no cooking would be done there!

  • gorgeous house, but I personally wouldn’t pay that much to live in that location. if I didn’t have kids and had to commute to the north side of town, the location would be fine. again, nicely done.

  • In contrast to all the touts here, I find the place cold, dark and institutional, and I’m sure I’ve seen one of the secondary baths in some horror film. Heathcliff would be right at home here. No doubt the place would look more inviting with bright decorating colors, fabrics, etc.

  • First time commenter, but nonetheless i frequently visit swamplot. Its like online porn for real estate junkies like myself. Probably a crude analogy, but whatever. The house looks nice and all, but the price may be above what the current market is in Brooke Smith. I spoke to a realtor just last month who said Brooke Smith was “capped” at $500K and homes selling above that are having a harder time selling. I have two properties in Brooke Smith i bought way before the “boom” in the Heights/Greater Heights so I really do hope this home sells for close to asking, but my guess is it wont. The important thing here is that the owners/builders of this property “tried” to at least compliment the neighborhood instead of crowding the lot with townhouses.

  • Tons of respect for the Harndens – the quality and taste of Anthony & Co’s work is incredible. If I could afford twice the house, they would be the first ones I went to for a custom build.

  • The house is beautiful, but the location is a concern. There are some sketchy motels and SOBs along the frontage road of I45 in that area. Sketchy businesses attract sketchy people who will be wandering your streets.

  • Great house, i’ve been watching it develop and have been very impressed. I think it is worth the price in that location, but it sure would have been nice to have a garage at that price point. (going to limit their clientale for sure).

  • I’m with Darby Mom – an outdoor kitchen on a second floor porch–and check out the pictures–a flare up at the stovetop and nothing to stop it but the cedar shingles.

  • As a former Brooke Smith resident back in the good ol’ days of the 1990s (and who still has family there) I can tell you that the neighborhood has always had relatively low crime, regardless of the motels and bail bond places on the feeder. I used to say it must be safer to live where the criminals live since most probably won’t steal from where they live. We always wondered when the gentrification of the Heights would spill over into the neighborhood, and although it took longer than I thought, what’s happening is happening faster than I could ever anticipate. All the so-called caps on what people will pay to live in what was once a poor hispanic hood will eventually crumble as beautiful homes like this push the boundaries of what makes sense to other people to pay for quality and convenience. I hope the trend to build homes like this outpace the construction of any more slapdash three-story milk cartons.

  • Re: the 500k ceiling…According to nuhabitat, 12 properties have closed this year for $499,000 or higher in Brooke Smith.

  • beautiful home – so many folks are too concerned on pricing on what’s around the home or near by than pricing for work of art — I guess if you think this home is overpriced per the neighborhood you must be used to the cheap suburbs where everything is the same – if you want a special or one-of-a-kind home you have to pay for someone’s art work

  • Brooke Smith is a fine neighborhood, and Anthony and co. are fantastic craftsmen. If I were in the market, I’d buy this in a heartbeat. I’m a realtor, and can say that there is nothing of this quality on the market right now in this price range. In fact, look me up and give me a shout, and I’d love to show it.

  • I too live down the street from this property, and while I flinch every time I get a new appraisal for my much more modest home, I really appreciate watching Anthony’s houses go up, especially as compared to the other houses being built on or near Archer that are all particle board and staple guns.