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Willowisp

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Everything posted by Willowisp

  1. We got out to the open house today and found this house to be breathtaking! The bathrooms looking out on a rock garden and mini reflecting pool was probably my favorite feature. Talk about a peaceful place! The lack of this feature in our bathrooms makes me a little jealous of this house! The hardwood floors were interesting to see, as the other Jenkins we've been in didn't have them. This house seemed to be the most upscale Jenkins I know of. The panelling was reminiscent of the house 2 doors down from us. Other elements were near copies (or possibly improvements?) of the house across the street. Jenkins work is truly fascinating to me! The built in tv cabinet was a real conversation piece, but the built in china cabinet in the dining room wasn't as attractive as I hoped. The large closets caused more jealous feelings... The screened porch was cool to see. I could see myself sipping tea there. Seeing the backyard gave me hope that we can make more out of ours. All of our neighbors have much nicer backyards too, so I've got lots of inspiration - and work to do. I've got my fingers crossed that a real lover of MCM will buy this house and make it the palace it deserves to be. Though I'm still not sure that the price is right - all the power to the owners for trying to get the most for it. Jason
  2. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize anyone in the area went to Bellaire High. That can make a big difference if you have kids. I don't know the difference between the 2 schools, but I can imagine there is one. About flooding, I don't know about that side of the neighborhood, but our side has the concrete "waterway" now, and the former owner said it hasn't flooded since they put it in. Jason
  3. I wish I had known about the open house! Hopefully I can get in over there anyway for an appointment. It may give me some clues to my house as well, though it looks like it has been changed a bit if not a lot... To me it seems more or a ranch house than the mods down our street, but I look forward to seeing it! So far I have visited 3 other Jenkins besides my own and they are all fun to get to know. The plan is to eventually get the area Jenkins house owners together on an occaisional basis for dinner parties, rotating from house to house, so if you buy this one... Welcome to the club! The Willow Meadows homes prices are about $25 per sq ft. higher than the Willowbend ones for some reason... I have a hard time telling the difference. Closer to the loop? North of Belfort is "nicer" than South? As I understand it, it's more likely to flood on the other side of the neighborhood. I visited a lovely modern on Cliffwood near 610 (just knocked on the door - curious if it was a Jenkins, but apparantly not) and the owners told me of their home getting flooded in Allison and ruining their hardwoods. Most of our street didn't get water in the house. Jason
  4. Replying to myself... Well, I found the har listing on this house, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find some of the same built in features that my house has, mainly the drawers that I'm so fond of. Seeing them makes me wonder if there was a Jenkins connection. There are some good shots in the har webpage, but I still want an open house, ha ha! http://www.har.com/search/engine/indexdeta...=0&backButton=Y Of the 3 modern style homes on Braeswood, this has to be the best, and judging by the prices in the area, it's a good buy. Jason PS - funny that I would frantically call you today when I saw this house with the for sale sign in the front, only to discover you have known about it for several days now - you definitely have your finger on the pulse of Houston modern real estate!
  5. I love this house! I couldn't believe it when I drove by and saw it for sale. I hope you don't have the same problem with it being on the "main drag" as you are having on the other one on Braeswood. Hope you find the buyer! I want an open house asap! Jason
  6. I'm very new to architecture and its appreciation, but I too find it appalling that people just change buildings so drastically to suit their desires without a thought of the end result which is a net loss in historical importance. Buildings like this one, especially! When you were there the first time, was the house for sale? We must all wonder why someone would buy an important landmark residence and drastically change it when so many "lesser" buildings exist in the immediate area and would suit the owner better. People who buy historically significant buildings should be educated a little better. I'm sure I've made my share of minor mistakes along the way with my restoration, but certainly I knew better than to stucco the brick or leave the vinyl siding on the house. WOW! there's a lot of education to be done. Thank goodness Houston Mod is taking form to do just that. I would certainly be interested to know what kind of relationship Barnstone and Jenkins had. Hopefully at some point further academic study will be done. I keep hoping someone will take on a book detailing Houston architects. Jason PS - for more updates on my house, check www.lottaliving.com residential forum.
  7. We went out to enjoy the gardens at Bayou Bend the day before yesterday, and no luck seeing the pavillion. We did get some good ideas on a water feature from the amazing fountains though. Maybe it was my imagination. Jason
  8. I'm pretty sure I saw it the day we went on the azalia trail, so maybe I saw it from Bayou Bend. One time we drove by there and they were having an Easter Egg hunt, and I was so tempted to sneak in. I googled it later that day and found out it was a charity event, so maybe if they do it again next year I'll find some kids to adopt for the day and take them. If I could vote for the next house tour, it would definitely be a Barnstone tour. I guess RDA did their last modern tour before this year in 1999 though, so it may be awhile. That was before I moved here, and I wasn't really into the style yet anyway. Jason
  9. Can anyone tell me if there's any way to see the Barnstone steel and glass pavilion @ 2930 Lazy Lane from the street or from nearby? I believe I saw it once, but going back over there we couldn't find it from any angle on the street. Maybe we were at Bayou Bend and saw it from there? Thanks, Jason
  10. A couple more thoughts... I felt like the house would have sold during the RDA tour since it was on the side tour and so close to the tour. I think someone on the tour would have snapped it up, but you're definitely right about it being on the verge of tear down status. A few more years of her "letting it fall down around me" (and those were her words to a neighbor) and it would have been lost for sure. From all the nice words and congratulations I've gotten from preservationists and enthusiasts I can tell that the house is a loved and respected house. I hope we will do it justice in our efforts. We welcome all input as long as too many cooks don't spoil the broth! Jason
  11. By the way, I'm curious if anyone has seen any other houses with this post and beam style. The poles concept especially. Someone pointed me to pictures of Mar Vista Tract by Gregory Ain in CA, in which I saw pictures of a couple of poles, but not pole after pole like this. Then I've seen them in some of the case study houses, but the poles were rectangular and usually attached to steel beams instead of wood. We are probably going to paint the poles in our "accent" color to make them stand out. We are toying with the idea of painting the beams brown with the white painted ceiling. By the way, from the look of the small amount of vinyl siding we've pulled off so far, the redwood underneath seems salvagable. Thank goodness for this, because I will save a lot of money and heartache if it can be saved. More updates as I get them. Jason
  12. I'm pretty sure (and RPS can testify to this) that without all of her possessions filling her house, that it would have sold long before we even decided to start shopping for a house, so in that regard, I am more than glad that she had all that stuff in the house. It was on the market for months before we saw it. It was even more special once it was empty, and it will serve as a reminder for us to keep it simple. Now it's empty and it's ours, with all of its pros (size, glass, architectural pedigree, close proximity to 4 more mod houses) and cons (noisy backyard that lines up to a major street, lots of restoration to be done). I'll keep you updated! Jason
  13. Just a little update here on Willowisp... We are closing in on choosing a contractor. Our first project will be like unwrapping a Christmas present. The house is encased in vinyl siding and we're going to take it off and see how bad the original redwood is underneath. That will help us decide between going with all new hardie planks or replacing redwood just as necessary. I know there has been lots of termite damage in the past so it may be a close call... Here are a couple more pictures since the house got cleaned out. These are a bit more flattering than the messy ones I put up before. Pretty soon it will start getting really exciting for us. The carpeted room is the more formal room and the tiled room is the gameroom. The tile stays and the carpet will be changed. We thought about going to hardwoods, but we found some carpets we really like, and we're trying to stay with the original intent of the architect to have carpet. Here you go...
  14. The people who own the Caudill house were so nice. I was driving around one day with "The Guide" and drove by the house and they were outside and saw me looking and invited me in to get a sneak preview of the tour. As for the house, I have no idea what it's going to cost to restore, but it will be worth every penny. We all know these houses are a dying breed in Houston. The main issues are the paint which we'd like removed in favor of the original brick, the vinyl siding which we'd like removed in favor of cedar or hardy plank, the sliding glass door which was "uncustomized" and needs to be replaced in favor of the custom sized door over the old carpet, new flooring, and some places where moisture got through to the sheet rock. Jason
  15. I don't want to post the pics all over again, so here's a link to some shots of the inside of my "new" home on Willowisp. These are some of the shots I'll save as "before" shots. It's all potential at this point. http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3215 By the way, my wife and I will be docents at 10911 Willowisp tomorrow between 2:30 and 5pm. We'd love to meet all the mod enthusiasts. You are also welcome to stop by 10920 and visit if we are there. Part of the time we'll be there and part of the time we'll surely be doing the house tour ourselves. Also, the former owner is allowed to be there to clean out the rest of her stuff, and I'm not sure exactly when that will happen... I'm so looking forward to the house tour! Jason
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