texasdago Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 What did everyone think of the RDA/Houston Mod tour this weekend? We had a chance to be docents at the Caudill house which we thought was fantastic. Our favorite room by far was the living room overlooking the ravine - a wonderful space. We didn't get to do the whole tour but some other favorites were the Harwood Taylor-designed house on Stamper Way (just about everything about it!) and the house on Teakwood (loved the floor-to-ceiling windows in the entire house). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 It made me extremely jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Stamper Way was my favorite of the houses on the tour. I loved the Jenkins house even though it's not original or "period correct", it obviously showed the owner's flair. The Barthelme House was great to see, and the Caudill house was a country mod-palace in the middle of the city, unbelievable! Ben's house showed what you could do with good care and attention to detail and his documentation of the project was inspirational. The townhomes were perfect steel and glass and very fun.My mind blowing moment though came after the tour. The furniture in the docent party house was one perfect showroom piece after another. I'm a newbie to the whole movement, and as a (former?) collector of baseball cards, I could only compare it to seeing someone who had a rare complete set in near mint condition... Wow!As a docent it was nice meeting people and talking about William Jenkins.Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceAge Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I thank everyone involved for their great effort in conducting this wonderful architectural tour. Everything seemed to turn out perfectly and it seemed to be very well attended. I heard people came from as far as California to attend. It was thrilling! I wish Houston Mod could have shared in a portion of the revenue.Mt favorite was 5203 Stamper Way also. I found it the most comfortable and livable. I thought I would be the only one- surprised to see others also loved it. I loved the ample front court yards and the rear continuous covered porch. And the windows and the terrazzo floors and the kitchen and the mix of antiques with the mod furniture were all wonderful.I overheard some thoughtless comments there for example, "This is something nobody from our age group would like," from a 35 year old. And a haughty-faced architect stated, "The sliding doors are a complete no-go. They would all have to be removed..." I thought those comments were ridiculous.Brookside was clean and pure. Reminded me of a Lego block house, especially the windows. They were the same ones in my kit. I like casement windows. They probably cost more than the typical sliders. That house is fire-proof. It would cost a fortune to duplicate today. Lucky HCAD mainly cares about floor area and not construction quality.Del Monte is a primitive mod. It does not have much curb appeal but the interior and rear is fantastic. For 1941, and Houston, this was a major rethinking of the norm. Pool seemed misplaced however.Teakwood is a beauty- ready for a magazine. Beautifully maintained and furnished. High quality construction almost like light commercial. Brown tile floors a bit dark.Kirwick is substantial and handsome. Fireplace would have been better if it had been fabricated as shown in the plans with a Saarinen tulip chair base flair.Willowwisp was smaller than it appears it would be. Strict design has its compromises to livability. Original kitchen looked very interesting from the photos- peg leg islands.The three Meyerwood townhomes are wonderful. The center one is intriguing. I hope it will be included someday. I love the slotted grills and gates. Maintaining the GE kitchen was important and of more value than the new one. Lighting and decor was exceptionally attractive on east unit.Thank you to everyone for a great experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 I get the feeling that the Meyerwood townhome owners would love for a restoration to be done on the middle 2 (now 3) story home between them, if/whenever it comes up for sale again. It looks like too much has been done to it and it would take a lot of money to undo it back to original. But they'd be great help to anyone who was interested in taking it on, and they would make great neighbors...I met a man from California. He visits Houston (on business I think) a couple of times a year. He reads the Lottaliving board. It was very cool to meet someone from far away who was appreciating our modern Houston heritage right along with us.Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasdago Posted April 7, 2005 Author Share Posted April 7, 2005 I was glad to see him come out from California - I had given him an idea of which houses to see while in town. Good publicity for Houston... I was really disappointed that I wasn't able to make it out to Ben's house on the east side but I suspect I'll have another opportunity to see it. The thing is... there are so many great houses in Houston. If only we could get more to open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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