This low-slung sorta Usonian-style home mounted between the Sugar Creek and Riverbend country clubs in Sugar Land was built in 1975 by and for Houston builder H.A. Lott, known for his work constructing the Astrodome, among many other local buildings. The home was designed by local Frank Lloyd Wright devotee Karl Kamrath of MacKie and Kamrath Architects. After a few recent updates of the granite countertop, mosaic tile, and vessel-sink variety, it went on the market last month — for $1,080,000.
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The 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath home measures 4,426 sq. ft., and sits on a 36,041-sq.-ft. waterfront lot.
Wanna see more views?
And what if you wanna see even more? You can: The home is being featured as a Houston Mod “Mod of the Month” this weekend. It’ll be open on Sunday from 2 to 4 pm.
Photos: Parker Bennet
Man, oh, man. I’d buy all of the furnishings, too. Well, everything but the stuff in the baby’s room and the gold satin sheets. This place makes me googly.
How did I not know about this before? This is one of the most beautiful mods I have ever seen.
Yesssss…. there IS a god. Finally someplace in Houston that got old and didn’t get torn down. The updates are exquisitely subtle. This is definitely on my agenda for Sunday.
A mod for sale outside of the loop? I thought that was against code.
Can someone explain the aesthetic appeal of this style.
Fresh Prince — most mods are outside the loop.
And if you have to have the appeal explained to you, you probably won’t ever like the MCM style. That’s okay — there are plenty of other styles for you to like (just hopefully not Texas Tuscan).
“Waterfront” should be “Muddy-Manmade-Puddle-Front”. But still, the house itself is gorgeous and would be damn conveniently close to work.
Too bad Sugarland is so dull, or I’d have a chat with the Mrs about this place.
That is the most austere nursery I have ever seen in my life.
MCM baby…no mobile for you!
MCM baby…no mobile for you!
Maybe the Calder was out for cleaning?
^^^^^^ I nominate Heights Wierdo for C. o’ t. D.
Surely I’m not the only one who read that comment (to myself, silently) in the Soup Nazi’s voice. . .
It makes me kind of sad. I want to crash the open house and throw a bunch of Tickle Me Elmo’s around the room. You know he would match the red accents in the rest of the house.
This has always been the house I’d swear I’d move to Sugar Land for. Unfortunately, I haven’t won the lottery yet. The Fates. So cruel.
Shame they didn’t include a “street view” because the house although very unassuming from the street, grabs your attention as you drive up Sugar Creek – it sits on this little knoll by itself overlooking the lake and the golf course beyond. Probably the best lot in all of Sugar Creek. I’m a little surprised by the list price. The lot alone is probably worth more. And the house itself is, well, spectacular.
Oh, well, maybe I’ll win the lottery…
Handsome Mod, and built as late as 1975! Beautiful. Wish it were mine.
Looks interesting. One of Kamrath’s later houses, so probably not one of his best in details. Personally, the updates and furnishings look horrid and out of character with the house. They also removed the original railings and glassed in the balcony. The price seems really good for a house of this stature and size. Perhaps one could use the savings to undo the “modern” updates.
I was wondering about that granite. What would have been original to the kitchen?
Pye, original kitchen counters in 1975 would probably have been some sort of high-end laminate. Personally I think the granite is just beautiful and a tasteful update.
aarrgghh. Granite is no good for a kitchen! that place where food and plates, pots and knives reside.
Okay for a dessert table.
Or a sort-out-the-take-out-boxes table.
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It’s too cold to sit at, sucking the heat out of your plate and chilling your elbows. It’s too hard, shattering glasses and jars. It’s too porous, and you can never ‘fix’the wine, vinegar, lime stain once it’s migrated into the matrix of crystals.
The only reason marble is traditional for pastry tables is because it’s cold (dense.) And soapstone’s an even better option because impervious; it just wasn’t widely available in the old days.
And THEN there are the fingerprints! You like to finish cooking, wash up and leave the kitchen clean & fresh. But CRAP! there are still more blurry, yucky blotches on your uber-reflective countertops! Who needs that frustration after cooking a meal?
Wow, what a house! Too bad on all of the remodeling. Why try to make a 1975 masterpiece look like 2004 Ikea?
The thing I love about this house is that there isn’t a whiff of Ikea anywhere. It has its place, just not in this house.
Granite is just fine as a countertop. It is sturdy, non-porous, and does not show stains. It is cold enough to roll out perfect pastry. It cleans easily. If you use cutting boards for your acidic items, you’ll never stain ANY surface. There is a reason granite shows up in so many places. It is natural and pleasant to look at. I’d love it in my kitchen, although stainless steel would be even better as a work surface, and appeals to the inner chef in me. If granite had been common/available in 1975, this house certainly would have had it.
HA Lott ran a very professional general contracting firm (used to be on Gulfton).
He was a builder’s builder.
Bet that home is square, and sturdy.
Good man, in my experience.
I went. It was absolutely lovely. In spite of the lateness in Kamrath’s career, it is quite nicely detailed and the Wrightian influence is particularly strong. I actually found it much warmer and more inviting than some of the actual Wright houses I’ve seen.
The original blueprints were on view and I thought the alterations worked well. There still is an unglazed triangular portion of the balcony. With the loss of the Mitchell house, this is probably the biggest and best surviving Kamrath in Houston.
From marmer:
…With the loss of the Mitchell house, this is probably the biggest and best surviving Kamrath in Houston.
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Wonder if there’s a covenant mandating preservation? Otherwise, well, he who buys the house can do whatever he wants.
I doubt there’s a covenant. The other houses, while substantial, are very pedestrian. Oh, wait, in some circles, “pedestrian” is a good thing. ;-) Let’s just say I didn’t see anything else that looked like it had any architectural or historical significance. Hope I’m wrong, bet I’m not. The bedrooms and bathrooms did seem to be more consistent with current sizes, unlike the tiny boxes one finds in older MCM’s. They did have slidy-door closets which were probably small. Also the kitchen and living areas looked perfectly sufficient by modern standards, providing the new owner wants a MCM-style house.
@Matt Mystery Wonder if there’s a covenant mandating preservation? Otherwise, well, he who buys the house can do whatever he wants.
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The current owner has moved a lot of interior walls, demo-ed the original baths, refinished all the hardware to chrome, refinished the woodwork to cherry, so most of the recent “upgrades” are reversible. Does Fort Bend county offer any exterior protections?
Almost worth moving to the burbs for.
It was such a pleasure working for the original owners. Our company saw the remodeling transformation. Original floors in kitchen where cork and carpet throughout the rest of the home. The owners opted for polished concrete throughout the majority of the home, one of the best foundations we have worked on!
Sincerely,
Set in Concrete LLC