Saturday shelterporn

This week, we take a trip into the heart of shelterporn central — River Oaks — to check out a very traditional Southern Colonial house. You can almost smell the old money, can't you?

The house was designed in 1939 by noted residential architect Birdsall Briscoe and was remodeled in 1990. Outside, it's all Southern charm, with whitewashed walls, a columned porch, manicured lawns and large windows. Inside, there are nice chandeliers, arched doorways, four fireplaces and an enclosed loggia that runs along the back of the house and opens via French doors onto the pool and back gardens (designed by landscape architects McDugald-Steele). And of course, there are a lot of rooms, including formal living and dining rooms, a library, a den with a bar, separate his and hers baths in the master suite, a large basement and a third-floor playroom. These aren't small spaces, either, mind you: One of the master baths looks like it's about the size of the house we grew up in. This is living. And when you can afford to live in a house like this, you can apparently afford to own a jukebox; there's one on the loggia, though we're not sure whether it comes with the house or not.

For the record, this may not the kind of house we would actually like to live in — sure, it's beautiful, but do we really need a half-acre yard and a pool the size of Kansas? We'll get back to you on that. Bedrooms: five. Bathrooms: five and a half. Square feet: 7,370. Price: $3,675,000.