Saturday Shelterporn

Shelterporn goes high-rise this week with a pad in The Houstonian Estates, the residential tower on the grounds of The Houstonian Hotel.

Any early '80s condoness in this unit seems to have been erased by a remodeling which the HAR listing says was done by the owner, an architect. And its elements are really nice, including dark-stained hardwood floors, graphic wallpaper, custom light fixtures, granite, limestone and travertine accents, and Stark carpeting in the bedrooms and home office. The kitchen features a white marble backsplash, custom macassar veneer cabinets and Sub-Zero fridge — almost enough to break us of our takeout habit — and the master bedroom has dual master baths and a walk-in closet with enough shoe storage to make Imelda Marcos happy.

The only potential hitch with a place like this is that it requires the right furniture to really make it work — the way it's decked out now, living here would be sort of like spending your days halfway between an interior design magazine and the Hotel ZaZa, which somehow works. We feel pretty confident, though, that our Ikea-based design sensibility would somehow fall short. Bedrooms: two. Bathrooms: three. Square feet: 2,335. Price: $980,000.