Results tagged “shelterporn”

There's something about the Old Sixth Ward that we really like. Maybe it's the charming old houses, or maybe the fact that the neighborhood feels like a small town even though it's barely outside downtown — or maybe it's that the OSW is so close to the bumpin' nightlife of Washington Avenue. (No, wait, it's probably not that last one, come to think of it.) Anyway, the point is that we really dig this Decatur Street home, which dates to 1883.

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

Devoted readers of Shelterporn will remember that we're fans of John Staub, one of Houston's most sought-after residential architects of the early 20th century. (Devoted readers of Shelterporn will also notice that there hasn't been much Shelterporn to read lately. Sorry about that.) We also love imagining what it would be like to live in River Oaks — the daily cocktail hour; long, relaxing drives in the Bentley; sipping cocktails while driving the Bentley — and so we couldn't resist pointing out that another Staub-designed River Oaks manse is on the market.

Something has always drawn Houstonist to the neighborhood just northwest of the Contemporary Arts Museum. Perhaps it's the quietness of the neighborhood, its proximity to the Museum District, the charming homes that line its streets — or maybe it's simply the fact that we will never ever be able to afford to live there. Whatever the case may be, we were excited to find this 1923 William Ward Watkin-designed house for sale in that area — if we only had an extra $3 million lying around, we'd be living there.

Yes, we know, it's been a while — a long time, really — since Houstonist brought you the last installment of shelterporn, in which we indulge our fascination with both architecture and places we don't live. But, see, we've been busy doing what we do in our spare moments: driving the curving streets of River Oaks, pretending we live in the lap of luxury. "Yes," we tell passers-by as we stand very near the lawn of a sprawling River Oaks manse, "this is our little cottage. It's not much, but after all, we only have a staff of eight." (That's about as far as we usually get before the River Oaks Patrol shows up and kicks escorts us out of the neighborhood.)

We're not entirely sure what to think about this week's shelterporn home, a contemporary North Montrose model. Is it a house with a beautifully clean and modern exterior? Why yes — but what's inside is even more interesting, not least because it features (gulp) shiny black ceilings. No, .

Have we told you how much we like the work of John Staub? Well, if we haven't, consider yourself told (and if you look at Stephen Fox's new book on Staub, you'll be a fan, too). It's not every day that a Staub-designed house shows up on the market — especially not one as grand as the 1924 D.D. Peden house in Shadyside.

So we were just thinking: If someone forced us to live in Southampton, we guess we could stand it — and if that someone were to force us into this four-year-old manse, all the better. Granted, it's not one of the classic Southampton houses we tend to covet, but for new faux-traditional inner Loop construction, it ain't so bad.

We hate most of the townhomes gobbling up inner-Loop neighborhoods these days: Many of them are bland, poorly constructed cookie-cutter houses that destroy the character of the neighborhood they're built in. Which makes it all the better when we run across townhomes, like these on West Alabama in Montrose.

Houstonist reader Ben called our attention to a piece of modern architectural history for sale: John Zemanek's award-winning Japanese modern home off Richmond and Dunlavy. Zemanek, an architect who teaches at UH, built the house in 1968; it has received the Texas Society of Architects Honor Award, was featured in the Harvard Design Magazine and is listed in Stephen Fox's . Not bad.

This week, we get back to bungalows with this 1911 Westmoreland gem. The house reminds us of some of our favorites in Woodland Heights, but it has some unique features of its own that make it stand out — and a recent restoration means the interior is as nice as the exterior.

Ever since the old Byrd's Department Store building at Main and Prairie was restored as lofts, we've wanted to live there. Even though we have some reservations about the noise level, especially after Carol Alvarado said her Rice Lofts windows sometimes shake with noise from the downtown clubs, we still love the little building's Art Deco exterior, huge windows, prime location and roof deck. So, naturally, we're excited to note that there's a second-floor unit available at Byrd's Lofts.

Devoted Shelterporn readers will remember that one of our pipe dreams is to live on North or South boulevards. The beautiful old homes on those streets have a special place in our heart, but we also drool over some of the more modern construction — this 1998 South Boulevard house included. The house, designed by Jay Baker, isn't totally traditional modern; whatever it is, though, we like it.

Yeah, yeah, we know — Shelterporn has slacked off, and in recent weeks you've had to look for your own dream real estate listings. We're awfully sorry to have put such a burden on you and are making a Chinese New Year's resolution to be more regular. We'll do better at keeping up with Shelterporn, too.

If you remember the last time we featured a house in Shelterporn — longer ago than it should have been, we know — you'll remember that we have a thing for modern houses. So, naturally, we were drawn to this Montrose contemporary, a three-year-old house designed by architect Scott Ballard. The defining feature is the barrel-vaulted roof, which not only gives the house a unique silhouette but also creates some pretty impressive interior spaces.