Life Forms Homes, Circa 1984-1990

[bachanon]

Real Estate Agents really rag on Life Forms, even the newer ones, to this day. We went with George Weaver. Great family and company.

that's a no-brainer. if i were going to spend upwards of 800k on a george weaver custom home, lifeforms wouldn't be on my radar. lifeform homes are about more house on a budget. i don't think anyone in the 150k price range would be considering a george weaver home as an option.

Edited July 30, 2006 by bachanon

[KatieDidIt]

that's a no-brainer. if i were going to spend upwards of 800k on a george weaver custom home, lifeforms wouldn't be on my radar. lifeform homes are about more house on a budget. i don't think anyone in the 150k price range would be considering a george weaver home as an option.

Bach, there are many Life Forms in an area called Beckonvale that are larger and were built in the past few years.. And Weaver homes didn't hit that crazy level until recently, in fact three years ago they weren't much more than those Life Forms they are/were building. I was speaking of companies, not price ranges.

But more to my point, realtors continue to dog the company, maybe unfairly. If the problems were fixed and resolved, I would think fair practices would let the issue go.

Edited July 30, 2006 by KatieDidIt

[bachanon]

the perception of life forms is cheap. there have been problems (or a problem) with specific life forms and realtors are a fickle bunch. IMO they (realtors) tend to find out what excites you and then attempt to get you to spend as much as possible regardless of the neighborhood. Personally, I do not care for the opinions of realtors. I've been misled in order to make the sale more than once, but that's another thread.

katiedidit, when i read your first post about george weaver, i immediately recalled the available homes on their website (800k) and up. i had not heard of george weaver until recent months.

i do intend to check out beckonvale for a "look see" (as grandma would say).

[KatieDidIt]

Its crazy where customs homes start at in 2006, compaired to 5 years ago. Even companies like Village and Horton have gone off the the deep end in my opinion. What's amazing is the land value in the newer sections is only about 75k, your value is in the house..........that's rather a scary thought for a Houstonian. Your house better be a good one, and I guess that's what was the hardest thing for those Life Form owners when the stucco hit the fan.

But this sharp upswing is good for The Woodlands I guess. But I am very skeptical about those Brownstones going for 800 up in Eastshore. That's almost as much or more than an intown garden home,with a strip of grass. I can't understand how the apraissals are going through, the land is worth so little.

As to Beckonvale, I think its a really cute neighborhood and many of the houses have that Craftsman feel. We looked at a few with the idea that we would upgrade some of the standard materials. In the end, we thought with the reputation Life Forms had and the lack of land value up here, they weren't worth the price and resale was risky. Plus, I have to agree with a previous post, these particular homes were cute on the outside but the bedroom areas were like a rabbit warren. BUT, those Life Forms are now selling for 100k more that when we were looking...so there ya go.

Edited July 30, 2006 by KatieDidIt

[Parrothead]

Ah yes, George Weaver. He does build beautiful homes, but he's a little out of our league. We're in our thirties and hubby is just beginning to see some perks from his field. Of course, we'd like to eventually own our house outright, so maybe we'll just be sticking with the LifeForms

*edit* I just talked with a couple of friends from the Keller Wiliams Woodlands office and neither one had a bad thing to say about Life Forms, I guess it just depends?

Edited August 1, 2006 by Parrothead

[woody_hawkeye]

I live in a Life Forms, but a little later... circa 1995 VINTAGE. Basically, they built the houses out of cedar, using board dimensions that are difficult to find. Maybe someone else knows of a local lumber yard which has the materials for rep[airing these homes. I found some and have been a little lucky but then again, once I could not find any boards and had to have them custom made. I like the feel of living in the woods. My living room istwo stories and I can loop at the birds and squirrels in the tree tops and lower from my sofa. IN our bedroom, I can watch the squirrels play in the tree limbs in my backyard in the morning from my bed. The woodpeckers often will wake me in the morning. There are two varieties which routinely visit the backyard. The canopy shades my home and cuts the cost of electricity in the summer. The downside is the coldnes of the high ceilings for a couple of months in the winter. We normally do not spend much time in the living rom in the winter as a result, but the rewst of the house is cozy in the winter. I supose I am saying that we have a summer home and a winter home all in one.

[ArchDaniel]

Just wondering if anyone has lived or lives in a Life Forms home from the 80's. I have been in love with their architectural style for a long time, and have always felt the homes sort of "melt" into the landscape of the Woodlands. The homes' styles seem to be a part of the woods, rather than looking like they're fighting it. We almost bought one three years ago, but the sellers didn't accept our offer. Now we are thinking of making an offer on another one. I have never seen any homes quite like these anywhere in the Houston area. I believe Life Forms is exclusive to The Woodlands, but it's interesting that no one has copied their signature details and styles elsewhere.

Life Forms was founded by George Mitchell's (founder of The Woodlands) son, architect Scott Mitchell. They originally began building custom homes, then decided to become a production builder so that they could bring the Life Forms "concept" to more people. The company got the name "Life Forms" because in the beginning Mr. Mitchell would come to live temporarly with the family he planned to design the house for to observe the way they lived. Life Forms placed themselves as being much more unique than production builders (such as Ryland and David Weekley) because of their dramatic architecture but less than a custom home. Their first complete neighborhood as was Slash Pine located off of South Millbend in Grogan

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

The downside is the coldnes of the high ceilings for a couple of months in the winter. We normally do not spend much time in the living rom in the winter as a result, but the rewst of the house is cozy in the winter. I supose I am saying that we have a summer home and a winter home all in one.

A trick for winter is to do a lot of baking of meals. Use your oven more. The heat from the oven in conjunction with your home heating system will help heat the house and keep the heating bill done as well Bake things like roast or brisket chicken etc etc etc. It works

[bachanon]

To the poster to "bachanon", the homes built on North Timber Top in Grogan's Mill were not built by Life Forms, built by Centennial Homes, which later changed their name to Trendmaker Homes.

damn that realtor. you gotta watch those guys. the floor plans are open and similar in some ways to life forms. i had no reason to question her. fortunately, i bought the house for its location. i lucked out with a cool floorplan.

great post by the way. welcome to the forum archdaniel. you're a welcome addition.

[ArchDaniel]

damn that realtor. you gotta watch those guys. the floor plans are open and similar in some ways to life forms. i had no reason to question her. fortunately, i bought the house for its location. i lucked out with a cool floorplan.

great post by the way. welcome to the forum archdaniel. you're a welcome addition.

Thanks fot the welcome. The homes in Timber Top are very close to Life Forms product line. They have a great location both on the golf course and near the Town Center, like you said!

[ChampionsAdam]

Cute houses... very 'cabin in the woods'. I wish I was into the 'open' floorplan look, if I was I'd certainly look at them. Very unique and different from traditional.

[Parrothead]

ArchDaniel thank you for that information! Makes me feel even more confident that it is what we truly want.

[Parrothead]

I went and saw a listing on Gannet Hollow on Sunday. It is an example of how to upgrade inside without downgrading the integrity of the architecture. They did a beautiful job, down to replacing the garage door with a replica of the original. It is listed for $194K, a bit steep IMHO, but I am sure it will sell anyway! They replaced all the tile with beautiful slate, which goes incredibly with the dark cherry finish on all of the trim. They kept the big square bathtub, which is really a must-stay and sort of a trademark of theirs...and they kept all the cabinetry intact, which I also like (though not fond of the white in the kitchen). They used a short frieze carpet (this particular home did not have hardwoods) and the original glass-plate front door is also intact and looks great. You definitely can upgrade these houses properly if you really want to.

[pineda]

really like all the windows with all the trees outside to see

[Hill Country Native]

Just wondering if anyone has lived or lives in a Life Forms home from the 80's. I have been in love with their architectural style for a long time, and have always felt the homes sort of "melt" into the landscape of the Woodlands. The homes' styles seem to be a part of the woods, rather than looking like they're fighting it. We almost bought one three years ago, but the sellers didn't accept our offer. Now we are thinking of making an offer on another one. I have never seen any homes quite like these anywhere in the Houston area. I believe Life Forms is exclusive to The Woodlands, but it's interesting that no one has copied their signature details and styles elsewhere.

Wow -- so I'm not the only one obsessed with Life Forms! I used to live in The Woodlands (in a nice but very typical/boring Pulte home) and loved Life Forms! I was quite upset to learn that they went out of business. I know of no other production builder that builds with such creativity and charachter. I looked into buying a home in Summerlyn (Alden Bridge) but they were almost built out by the time I started looking.

It's a shame they fell victim to the whole EIFS debacle. Other than that I've heard nothing but praise for the construction and design of their homes. As far as realtors "bashing" them, I have no idea why they would. Look on HAR or in any real estate magazine and the listing proudly mentions the Life Forms name. I just don't understand why more production builders don't follow their design example.

[bachanon]

welcome to the forum.

[naturelover]

welcome to the forum.

I too am a lover of Life Forms homes. I just found out that they are no longer around. What a shame . I live in a Life Forms home that was built in 1994. I am trying to find the contractor or anyone who knows who put the thermostats in my home., I can't figure out how to work the thermostat. I went to the company's site but had no such luck.

[Parrothead]

I'd find other owners of Life Forms homes from your street or neighborhood and ask them--I bet they can help!

Edited September 16, 2006 by Parrothead

[Parrothead]

This is a list of Life Forms homes (1976-1990) that are on the market currently:

11427 Slash Pine $196,700 (one of the very first Life Forms homes--circa 1976)

34 Mossrock (no pics yet) $170K

94 Treescape $199K

32 Gannet Hollow $194K

10 Shallow Pond $179,700

8 Otter Pond $174,900

20 Gannet Hollow $165,900

10 Fire Flicker $147,220

If anyone is interested in seeing any of these homes, send me a PM.

Edited September 16, 2006 by Parrothead

[albertnurick]

In my quest to move from a 60's semi-modern Meyerland Ranch, I looked all over the Houston area. I wanted a real mid-century modern house, but didn't like any that I could find and afford.

I looked all over the area. The instructions to my agent were to find something truly interesting. If it was too weird for most of his clients, I wanted to see it.

I'd not been in the Woodlands for a decade, and drove out. The first homes we browsed were a new Lifeforms subdivision - the houses were tiny, but I instantly fell in love with the inspired floorplans and amazing use of space. I ended up purchasing a LifeForms Treehouse, circa late-80's, in Indian Springs. The back yard backs up to a greenbelt, and it's got a half-dozen 80' trees, and countless smaller ones. Almost all of the non-landscaped parts of the yard was covered in flagstone, creating a park-like atmosphere.

The interiors are wonderful. Pecan floors had been installed, lots of ceiling fans, and more windows than I've ever seen in a production house. I had to change my style a bit; mid-century seems to harsh for this house. Fortunately, Danish Modern works very well - Lifeforms put in a great deal of wood detailing, including some gorgeous hardwood cabinets and built-ins.

Here are some photos. (The interior shots are from when we were looking at the house - the furnishings are NOT my idea of attractive. LOL.)

[bachanon]

nice house. congratulations, and welcome to the woodlands.

[Parrothead]

LOVE IT! I remember that listing well! Congratulations on your awesome home.

BTW everyone, Otter Pond, Gannet Hollow, and Shallow Pond all have options or contracts. These homes are going fast...people are definitely getting the message. Three years ago it was a lot different. There's a new listing on Fire Flicker that is the exact same floorplan as the one in the pics I posted and it's now listing for 147K. It's a neat house!

Edited September 24, 2006 by Parrothead

[nurseangie6]

I have always loved Life Forms homes. They were masters of use of space. There was very little wasted space in their homes. I have the line drawings of one of their homes built in the late 90's. Does anyone have any recommendations on who I can get to draw it up into usable blueprints or design a house very similar to it. We are going to build a house in the country and this is the only house that we have ever walked into and got that Ahh feeling.

[Paladin]

LOVE IT! I remember that listing well! Congratulations on your awesome home.

BTW everyone, Otter Pond, Gannet Hollow, and Shallow Pond all have options or contracts. These homes are going fast...people are definitely getting the message. Three years ago it was a lot different. There's a new listing on Fire Flicker that is the exact same floorplan as the one in the pics I posted and it's now listing for 147K. It's a neat house!

I have always loved Life Forms homes. They were masters of use of space. There was very little wasted space in their homes. I have the line drawings of one of their homes built in the late 90's. Does anyone have any recommendations on who I can get to draw it up into usable blueprints or design a house very similar to it. We are going to build a house in the country and this is the only house that we have ever walked into and got that Ahh feeling.

Unfortunatly, I have no guidance to give you, but I am also interested in finding plans of the Life Forms homes, such as the Tree House. We have the same idea as you - build a similar house in a rural, wooded setting. We had really liked some of the ones in Summerlyn Wave, sort of craftsman style cottages. Very private master suites and well laid interiors.

[olivia]

I too am a lover of Life Forms homes. I just found out that they are no longer around. What a shame . I live in a Life Forms home that was built in 1994. I am trying to find the contractor or anyone who knows who put the thermostats in my home., I can't figure out how to work the thermostat. I went to the company's site but had no such luck.

You may have gotten the answer already, but if you haven't, you might try Jack's Cool Air, since they installed the AC in our 1994-built Laurel in Alden Trace. I wasn't totally thrilled with their service, I much prefer Phil Stojanik as an AC guy and home inspection guy for integrity and service, but Jack's was the name on my thermostat. I absolutely adored that house (tho we upsized to Altwood). I never felt "cold" even in the winter. The soaring LR-DR area always felt cozy and comfortable and full of light. Since we deliberately avoided stucco, we avoided mold problems entirely.

[suenowintx]

We purchased a beautiful LifeForms home last December that was built in 1993. I don't know what the name of the floorplan is, but it's a very traditional, almost all red brick, four-bedroom, three-&-a-half bath, two-story, with all bedrooms on the second floor. You walk through the front door, with the staircase (which is really pretty) being just a tad off center to the left. There's a small entry foyer, with the formal living room to the right & the dining room to the left. On the other side of the formal living room is the family room, with both these rooms sharing the same fireplace. After you pass the dining room, you come to the laundry room on the left, which leads to the attached, two-car garage. On the right is the powder room. All of this leads to the kitchen, which is HUGE! The kitchen & family room each have a door that opens to the back yard. I've seen some houses where everything is flipped to the opposite side. The family room fireplace is flanked by display cases. We also have hardwood floors in the foyer, formal living room & dining room. The kitchen & bathrooms are white ceramic tile, which I desperately want to get rid of because it's so sterile looking & the grout is hard to clean, & white wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the rest of the house.

On the second floor, the master is off to the right, kind of at an angle at the top of the stairs. The sitting area is a little strange. Instead of it being off to the side, the room is where you walk in, thinking this is all there is to the bedroom, but when you step in to the room & look over to the left, that's where the sitting area is. This was very awkward at first in trying to place the furniture, but I'm pretty satisfied with the way I have it set up. The master bath is off to the right when you're in the bedroom, & has two separate sinks, as opposed to one long vanity with a double sink. As soon as you walk toward the bathroom, the tub is centered, with the toilet closet to the left & the shower to the right of the tub. The bathroom window faces the front of the house & the bedroom windows face the back. Prior to setting foot into the actual bathroom itself, there's a large, walk-in closet on the left & a smaller closet on the right. Before you enter the bedroom, you immediately see built-in shelves & cabinets when you get to the top of the stairs. There's a bedroom to the left of the shelves & another bedroom kind of across from that, where it sits above the dining room. The first secondary bedroom's window faces the back yard & the other secondary bedroom faces the street. As you go further down the hallway, there's a full bathroom with double vanity to the left. At the end of the upstairs, at the opposite end from the master bedroom, is the fourth bedroom, which is above the garage. This room has a small, full bathroom & the "Texas basement." I notice with this floor plan, which is almost 3,000 sq. ft., you could actually convert that storage room into a bedroom, but you'd still have the attic & garage for storage, & use that fourth bedroom as a game room. You could also take the sitting room part of my bedroom & wall up the bedroom, turning that into a loft when you come up the stairs & remove the built-in bookshelves/cabinet.

My only complaint is the way the kitchen is laid out. It's big & sunny, & the woodwork is beautiful (my cabinets are a warm chestnut color), but the sink & dishwasher lead into the family room. If I'm cleaning up in the kitchen, my husband is complaining that with the water running the sound goes right into the room & he can't hear the TV. Also, at first it was very awkward having the stove on the other side of the room from the sink. Typically, the stove & sink/diswasher are located on the same side of the kitchen or in close proximity to each other. Also, if we stay in our house for a long time, we'll probably change the tile countertops. That seems to be a LifeForms signature of their homes built during this time -- white ceramic tile countertops with a band of color tile on the edge. We ended up with blue, which is my least favorite color. I've seen other homes where the tile is red, green, black or mauve. I also don't like this tile because it's hard to clean & shows dirt. We also have the original towel bars & toilet-paper roll holders -- white with a gold band trim & faucets. But these are things that can be easily changed.

Is anyone else familiar with this floorplan? I can't seem to find a website on the company. I'd also like to mention that our house is in Haydens Run in Chochran's Crossing. All the homes in this neighborhood are LifeForms.

Edited November 9, 2006 by suenowintx

[bachanon]

pictures!! i wanna see it. it sounds nice.

btw, they have some really efficient, "silent" dishwashers out now that may help reduce kitchen noise in your family area.

[suenowintx]

pictures!! i wanna see it. it sounds nice.

btw, they have some really efficient, "silent" dishwashers out now that may help reduce kitchen noise in your family area.

Well, I can't post any pictures until we get a new digital camera -- my husband left it in Russia when he was there on business a while back. We keep saying, "We have to get a new one" & just never do just out of sheer laziness. Anyway, we had our dishwasher replaced since the old one was the home's original & had seen better days. The dishwasher really isn't the problem -- it's pretty quiet -- it's when I'm running water or making noises with the dishes because I'm loading them into the dishwasher or putting clean ones away. I'm thinking if we stay in this house a long time, I'd like to have the sink/dishwasher moved to the other side of the kitchen, or even put up a partial wall to help block some of the noise. I lived in an old house for 11 years, where the kitchen didn't open to the family room & was separate; I didn't mind this at all. So, we'll see.

[olivia]

Unfortunatly, I have no guidance to give you, but I am also interested in finding plans of the Life Forms homes, such as the Tree House. We have the same idea as you - build a similar house in a rural, wooded setting. We had really liked some of the ones in Summerlyn Wave, sort of craftsman style cottages. Very private master suites and well laid interiors.

We held onto the plans for our Laurel, because I'd never been in a home that gave me that feeling before, either! I wonder if anyone else in those neighborhoods did the same, and for a small fee would be willing to part with it, or with a copy of it...... it might be worth a little door-knocking. Given the price of plans these days, it might even be worth a few title searches and long-distance phone calls.

[Parrothead]

Price per square footage is going up in The Woodlands, but especially on the older LifeForms. In fact, I think there are only about three on the market currently. It's been like that for a few months now.