Saturday shelterporn

If you're going to live in the Museum District, why not live in a museum-quality home? A good choice: this brand-new contemporary home off Bissonnet, just blocks from Main Street.

The house is designed around a private central courtyard with a variety of porches, covered decks and large windows to combine indoor and outdoor living. The ground floor has two entrances — one from the street and one from the driveway — with a garage, a couple of bedrooms (or a bedroom and a media room, depending on how you want to set things up) and a wraparound covered patio. The second floor features a large, open dining/living/library area with a fireplace and two balconies; a wall of windows leads onto a terrace that connects the main house with a garage apartment that has its own loft-style bedroom. The flooring on the second floor is of Carrara marble, which blends nicely with walnut cabinets and concrete countertops in the understated, modern kitchen. On the third floor is the master suite, with its own balcony, maple hardwoods and a huge bathroom with maple cabinets and Italian tile. But it's the second bath on the third floor that's really cool: A jacuzzi-style tub is set in a projecting wraparound window, which would give a spectacular view out (but not in, we hope). Outside, the house is faced in limestone and stucco with contemporary landscaping and a back yard that's big enough for a pool.

We're not quite sure how we feel about the Hill Country-style limestone facing being used in Houston, but we suppose we'd better resign ourselves to the idea that it's here to stay — and we think we could learn to like it on a house like this. Bedrooms: four or five. Bathrooms: four and a half. Square feet: 6,150. Price: $1.65 million.