Saturday shelterporn

For the record, we're generally opposed to the soulless, sloppily constructed, oftentimes butt-ugly townhomes that are devouring the Inner Loop these days. But we know not everyone shares that opinion, so this week, for you townhome junkies, we present this Mediterranean-style house in the West End. Hey, if you're gonna live in a townhome, you might as well forego those red brick quasi-Georgian things everyone else has, right?

The exterior of the house is an odd collision of Casablanca street fair and American yuppie, with tile roofs, a wrought-iron balcony (with striped awning!) and a little cupola to top things off. The ambience, such as it is, doesn't extend to the interior, which is light, open and actually quite nice. The second floor features a large living/dining area; the kitchen, with dark wood cabinetry, stone (or near-stone) countertops, an island large enough to serve meals on and the omnipresent stainless-steel appliances, is pretty cool — not bad at all, really, for this type of house. There's even something we've never seen: a fireplace with a built-in wine bar above it. "How sophisticated!" your friends will gush. (Naturally, you'll want to serve only Mediterranean — or vaguely Mediterranean — wines.) Our biggest gripe about the interior: The standard-issue townhome windows, which are hidden away on the sides of the house but show up in all the principal rooms.

The third floor includes the master suite, which seems to have a little seating alcove in one of the odd projections off the side of the house. The master bath has lots of mirrors, more of the dark wood cabinets from the kitchen and a fancy white marble (or near-marble) floor. A cool feature: a freestanding oval soaking tub with an ultra-modern freestanding faucet assembly. Not cool: the freestanding tub loses its impact because it's wedged into a little niche. But you have to take the lumps with the gravy, we suppose. Bedrooms: three. Bathrooms: three and a half. Square feet: 2,200. Price: $409,000.