Lowbrow Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I am very excited. My wife, myself, and 2 daughters closed on our MCM in Memorial Bend yesterday. We are about 2 weeks from adding a son to that list. We bought our mod from the original owners who designed it alongside the architect William Wortham. Thanks to Michael Brichford (of Memorial Bend fame) for bringing this gem to our attention just days before it hit the market. Very little needs to be done to this house. I'll update anything we do here and on LottaLiving.com. Here some pics care of Michael's website: Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west20th Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 What a beauty. The front elevation is gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Oh wow, Low, congratulations!! I am very happy for you! It looks like an amazing house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rps324 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Thank goodness an original one falls into good hands! Enjoy it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 What a fantastic house! Glad that it has stayed (and will stay) true to the architect's vision, and that it will be used as a family home.Do you know the date of construction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted April 14, 2006 Author Share Posted April 14, 2006 Thanks for that, everyone.We have the original blueprints and they were approved in 1959. I believe construction started that same year (per the original owners) although when our appraisal came back it said it was built in 1962. I doubt it took 3 years to build.We do fear for the mod exactly behind us. It was bought with cash by an architecture/engineering duo two years ago and absolutely nothing has been done to it since. No move in, no rental, no restoration. Rumor is that they wanted to try to split the lot but have run into problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Wow. That really is a beauty. I know you've been looking for something like that for awhile so this can be a good lesson for others that patience and knowing what you really want pays when house hunting, and in life in general.That wood inside is nice. It almost looks like a Mod Greene & Greene interior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stolitx Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Congrats. It's a beautiful home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 What a beauty. The front elevation is gorgeous!What a striking design. Love how classical references are integrated with modernism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Can you post more pictures for our shameless admiration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasdago Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Welcome to the neighborhood... I'm glad you bought the home from the Parkers. They were pleased to have someone save it.That house behind you is a great mod - we'd love to buy it but I think the future is bleak. The house we really want is two doors down from you... flat roof with wings. It has a great U-shaped floor plan with lots of glass around the patio - an awesome MCM.Many of the houses in the Bend are listed by HCAD at being from 1962. However, the old city directories show that many of the houses were built prior to then. Our was built in 1959 (like yours) but HCAD says 1962. Old advertisements prove this, as well. For the most part, the neighborhood was nearly complete by 1962. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 Texasdago- Thanks for the info. I was wondering how they came by that number. That one 2 doors down from me, does it have a little earthen greenspace with a ficcus right off the kitchen? Jeebus- Working on getting my pictures off my camera. I should have my home computer and network up in the next couple days. Thanks for the interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 WOW! You guys really did it. You are a great example of being patient and getting the right house for you. I look forward to seeing the next steps you take. Is there a lot of work to be done? Jason Texasdago- Thanks for the info. I was wondering how they came by that number. That one 2 doors down from me, does it have a little earthen greenspace with a ficcus right off the kitchen?Jeebus- Working on getting my pictures off my camera. I should have my home computer and network up in the next couple days. Thanks for the interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janielynn01 Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 The house looks great! I'm learning about the Mid 20th Century right now for my History of Architecture & Furniture Design class right now. It's a great feeling to actually see pictures of the house. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 WOW! You guys really did it. You are a great example of being patient and getting the right house for you. I look forward to seeing the next steps you take. Is there a lot of work to be done?JasonHey Jason!Yep we finally went through with it. There really isn't too much work to do. Some restoration and some renovation. Most of the philipine mahogany is in good working order, although I am going to have to work at removing the faded ghosts of all thier artwork (or find similarly sized pieces). We want to convert part of the garage into a mudroom/bathroom and air condition the utility room. The kitchen needs some restoration to former glory as well as the second bathroom. The masterbath is amazingly small and utilitarian, not sure what to do with it. The garage doors are original 5 panel but falling apart. The only exterior work needed is finding new doors, replacing the cedar around the doors, and painting the trim. I favor the single piece, cantilever doors but think I'll have a hard time finding the hardware and anyone with the install know-how.I spent most of the weekend pulling down 80s era tracklighting, drape hardware from the valence, about 100 nails evenly distributed throughout the house, electrical wiring on the outside of the walls instead of inside, and using that liquid gold on the mahogany to get it to shine (I love the stuff).There is a sunken dining room. Know anyone that still pours terrazo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowisp Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Speaking of tearing out electrical wiring, that reminds me to recommend ALARM.COM to anyone who has modern houses that don't have anywhere to hide electrical (attic for example). The alarm system is completely wireless and works with cell phone type technology. An intruder can't cut your phone wires to break down the system. I had to tear out a lot of alarm wiring when we moved in because it just made no sense to see all that wiring in a 50s house. Now we are protected and wireless.Best of luck to you. Remember that if you can't get that paneling color even, it's not that expensive to replace (at least that was the case with our one wall of walnut.) We just couldn't get ours to work, but the new paneling looks just as good or better than the old stuff. No one knows it's not original until I tell them, because we bought stuff very close looking to the original. I don't know how much of it you have though.JasonHey Jason!Yep we finally went through with it. There really isn't too much work to do. Some restoration and some renovation. Most of the philipine mahogany is in good working order, although I am going to have to work at removing the faded ghosts of all thier artwork (or find similarly sized pieces). We want to convert part of the garage into a mudroom/bathroom and air condition the utility room. The kitchen needs some restoration to former glory as well as the second bathroom. The masterbath is amazingly small and utilitarian, not sure what to do with it. The garage doors are original 5 panel but falling apart. The only exterior work needed is finding new doors, replacing the cedar around the doors, and painting the trim. I favor the single piece, cantilever doors but think I'll have a hard time finding the hardware and anyone with the install know-how.I spent most of the weekend pulling down 80s era tracklighting, drape hardware from the valence, about 100 nails evenly distributed throughout the house, electrical wiring on the outside of the walls instead of inside, and using that liquid gold on the mahogany to get it to shine (I love the stuff).There is a sunken dining room. Know anyone that still pours terrazo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin'enKan Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 There is a sunken dining room. Know anyone that still pours terrazo?I used John Calarco 832-671-8298 to refinish the precast terrazzo tiles in our house on Isolde (entry and guest bath). He does poured terrazzo, but as he told me he doesn't get as many calls to install it. John knows his stuff, he learned from his dad (who came over from Italy).Allison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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