ArchDaniel

Thanks for the information. Did you grow up in a Life Forms home?

We recently toured the Trace Creek neighborhood and were very impressed. Is that the biggest pocket of Life Forms homes in The Woodlands?

I grew up in The Woodlands, but not in a Life Forms home. I have always been a great admirer of the Life Forms concept, though.

Trace Creek was the first "production" neighborhood that Life Forms did. Many of the homes were customized, though, making them very unique compared to other production builder neighborhoods. The idea was to bring Life Forms design to a wider audience in terms of the price point. It opened in 1987, I believe. The original model homes were on N. Wilde Yaupon Circle, which is the first right after you turn into the neighborhood.

There are other large Life Forms-only neighborhoods; some of which are: Haydens Run and Cochran's Green in Cochran's Crossing (built early to mid-1990s), Alden Trace in Alden Bridge (built mid to late 1990s), and the Sundance and Summerlyn neighborhoods in Alden Bridge (built early to mid 2000s).

Let me know if you have any other questions.

An opportunity did arise within the Village of Panther Creek in the Lehigh Springs neighborhood. A foreclosed Life Forms "Treehouse" is going for a mere $112K. It definitely needs a complete overhaul but it could be a diamond in the rough. Does anyone have any kind of experience with Lehigh Springs? Is it a decent neighborhood to raise two small children? Is it going through a decline? Any information would be most welcomed.

Lehigh Springs is one of the earliest Life Forms neighborhoods, with all of the homes being custom designs (in the late 1980s that Life Forms became more production-oriented.). I believe that the larger neighborhood that Lehigh Springs is situated in is called Havenridge.

I grew up in the Village of Panther Creek, and Havenridge is within walking distance of Sally K. Ride Elementary and Ridgewood Park and pool. You can also bike to the nearby village center. The Woodlands concept as a whole is very family friendly, especially for young children. I would not say that any area of The Woodlands is in a decline, but with most of the homes in Havenridge being built in the early-mid 1980s, it is certainly a more mature area.

As a side note, the Havenridge and Wedgewood Forest neighborhoods hosted the 1982 Showcase of Homes. Wedgewood Forest featured more upper-level custom homes at the time.

Anyone familiar with the Life Forms neighborhoods in Cochrans Crossing off Rainbow Ridge, specifically Otter Pond and Gannett Hallow? They seem to be mixed in with Salt Box style homes. I don't know if those early American styles are also Life Forms designs.

The neighborhood you're referring to is Sylvan Forest. All of the homes on Gannet Hollow and Otter Pond were built by Life Forms, including the more conventional designs. In addition, there are several Life Forms homes at the corner of Rainbow Ridge and Echo Bend. Some of the designs from Sylvan Forest were carried over into future neighborhoods such as Clover Park in the Village of Panther Creek.

Other homes in Sylvan Forest were built by Ryland, Pulte, Hometown Builders, and Jefferson 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.

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!

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