Willowisp

Wilson, Morris & Crain, Cramerus House, 250 Pine Hollow Lane

That's my drummer's favorite house. He used to live in an apartment around the corner and talked all about it being built. Something about stucco or the solid exterior and the color turns me off though.

Jason

Wilson, Morris & Crain, Morris House, 2 Waverly Court

Engberg & White, Engberg House, 24 Still Forest Road

Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, Anderson House, 1638 Banks Street

I spent a couple of hours there yesterday, and the house has started to grow on me... And flared up my allergies.

As for what to keep or change, there will be a lot of work to be done. I don't know if someone is going to be able to keep the bathroom tiles. When we bought our 50 year old house the bathroom subfloor HAD to be replaced, no matter if I wanted the old tile (which I didn't) or not. I'd suspect this house to be the same.

I would return that black tile to carpet in the living dining rooms. I think the kitchen needs to be returned to as original as possible with new laminate countertops, but it might be lower on the list than a lot of things. The decorative door is very cool. Of course I'd try to keep that. I'm not a mirror fan. It would be very hard for me to keep those. I would want to return the master bedroom to its original size as it has been expanded and not so well. That might prompt me to add glass in there if the structure would handle less load bearing wall.

I'm not a fan of the sun room, but might keep it just because it's there, or turn it into some kind of a greenhouse.

There's a lot of work to be done on the grounds too. It could be a haven for a gardener. They need to work on noiseproofing the airconditioner at the adjoining property. Maybe offer to build a wall around their air conditioner or something!

Of course I didn't even mention the roof and foundation. Who knows what work those need...

Overall, I think if you love the floor plan of the house, want a huge yard, and want to restore/remodel a house to your specs, this house could be a great opportunity.

Jason

Just for fun, if you bought the Reamer house, what would you change, if anything about it? Would you keep the sunburst tiles, the narrow hallway, the mirrored wall or the decorative door? It appears the kitchen has been updated with granite countertops - do you think that was a good choice for this style of home? Just curious because I'm a sentimeltalist and would probably have a hard time replacing some of those things. I guess a good decorater could find ways to make those elements work though.

I've been told by someone that it's 316 Longwoods Ln. That's the Thrash House by P. Bolton (& Barnstone?). Sorry I missed that on the news. Maybe someone could get the arial picture from local.live? It's pretty huge.

Jason

Beautiful house. That link didn't work but I found it on har.

Have you seen the new Atomic Ranch magazine? Your house reminds me a little of Karen Lantz's. Her house is featured in the magazine. That might be a good place to start asking. http://www.enterarchitecture.com/

Jason

Hey all,

My wife's friend told my wife about a tv news story on Channel 13 of a mid-century modern house in Houston that was recently sold and is going to be torn down for the lot, a large (possibly 3 acre) property. On the tv they said it was mid-century modern and that it was recently restored. The friend didn't catch the architect's name or anything that would nail it down, and I'm at my wits end trying to figure out what house it could be.

Anyone see that tv news story?

I ran pics of these 2 houses by her:

It is NOT the 1955 John Staub house at the end of River Bend (though I bet that will get torn down too).

It is NOT the Lloyd & Morgan at 329 Buckingham.

I will not rest until I know.

Jason

Neither has a confirmed architect as far as I remember, though you may be right about him mentioning someone. The realtor and I think the Reamer house is by William Floyd, but it's just an educated guess, no original plans.

The Moonlight house reminds me of Krakower/Greene a little. I guess we could try to get the original plans on that one... Yeah, it's right next to a vacant lot, so if you are to buy this house, you'll have a new house going up next door to you and the memory of what once was. I think its best feature is its courtyard and pool area. Oh, hey, I thought that about the Herb Greene house on Braeswood too!

Jason

9610 Moonlight is next to the now demolished Cohen house.

Jason, didn't Russell mention the name of an architect while we were looking at these listings in the last meeting?

Hi all,

Some of you have gone to these houses already, as they have been open before, but here's a chance to see them again or go for the first time.

Jason

Join us this Sunday, March 2nd (2-4pm), at the Mods of the Month!

#1: 6219 Reamer (Robindell, near N. Braeswood and Hillcroft)

Fantastic Mid-Century Modern! Huge wooded lot creates a park-like setting. Great opportunity to restore a Mod to your own personal specifications. Original terrazzo flooring in foyer, hall, kitchen & den. Vaulted ceilings in kit, den & guest bedrooms. Intact hall bath. Extra Room is Sunroom w/10+foot ceiling & Saltillo floor. Master has 6 closets! Separate cottage perfect for a home office.

#2: 9610 Moonlight (Meyerland, near S. Braeswood and Chimney Rock)

Meyerland Fabulousness with designer touches throughout! High ceilings, floor to ceiling windows to your own private atrium. All Baths with Granite and Travertine, Kitchen has Stainless dishwasher, Large Double-Ovens, Jenn-air interchangeable range with 4 burners + grill, Huge Master Suite with 2 Custom closets, sitting room with romantic fireplace, Separate dressing area with sink and vanity, plus jetted tub and private water closet. Large Yard with Pool is truly a private oasis.

We have historical districts here in Houston. Someone else probably remembers the rules to become one better than I do. Memorial Bend is a target for Houston Mod as a historic district, but it is a major undertaking. And by the time the district is old enough to be historic in Houston it is usually gone.

Is your district in Dallas mid-century housing?

Jason

I am not too sure how the process works, but could you set up a conservation district? I lived in an area in East Dallas that was set up as a conservation district. We could not even paint our front door without the approval of the board.

I took my first driving tour in awhile over in Memorial Bend and was shocked at the new construction. It seemed to me to be very indifferent to the look of the original neighborhood, which I would say, out of all the 50s neighborhoods, is most important in Memorial Bend. I don't wish any ill will toward the developers, but hopefully if these houses don't sell easily they will think twice before they buy up and knock down the rest of the neighborhood.

I would/will be very distressed if/when this happens on my street.

I think this topic definitely has a place here in this forum. Pinpointing the areas most at risk and trying to do something about it is one of Houston Mod's top priorities.

But let's hypothesize that these homes weren't fixable and needed to be knocked down due to deferred maintenance. Why not build something new that works sympathetically with the existing neighborhood? Even if developers "have" to build two story houses, they can still educate themselves to the style of the neighborhoods they are building in and build somewhat accordingly. Then at least the new owners can say their house works within the neighborhood instead of being something completely out of character.

That is, unless their intention is complete destruction of the neighborhood...

Jason

I drove by the house on Durness and met the owner. It looks amazing! Pictures from the owner are forthcoming.

Driving around the Ayrshire/Braeswood Place/Old Braeswood area, there still are quite a few mod/ranch houses. But they don't go up for sale that often, and I've got dibs on the Solomon House...

http://www.houstonmod.org/buildings.aspx?sub=swu&id=58

Just joking, of course.

Jason

"Is anyone else seeing the irony in regards to the Cohen house while reading this thread? Granted, they may not have cared a bit for that house, but having the chance and the money to restore it would've been something to jump on."

Yeah, I'm right there with you... first thing I thought of when reading this thread. Let's hope these buyers can locate a property of architectural significance.

I dropped by and took a look yesterday and the camera angle they got on this picture is amazing. It makes the house look so tiny, when it's actually pretty big. I also took notice that there isn't really that much new construction in the neighborhood compared to Tanglewood or Bellaire. The neighborhood is an interesting mix of "West U" style 2 storys and mid-century ranch homes.

I took my own pictures so when I get them out of the camera I'll post them.

To that I say, Welcome to Houston, we need people like you!

Meyerland is my favorite neighborhood, but it won't be for long. There are just too many new houses invading the space.

Ayreshire is the best place for ranches. If you can find a good undisturbed ranch in there, it's just as great as a modern. I think that's as close in as you can get under $500K. Search this forum for Ayreshire and you should find two or more homes in the past couple of years. I've gotten into both of them. I haven't seen the Lars Bang at the end of Durness in awhile (very California). I wonder how it's doing... The other is on Solway. They did a great job fixing their house up and live in it now.

- before picture for an idea of what's over there - http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/ai...se/IMG_1138.jpg

Do they have a time frame?

This is a good topic to have on here. To discuss the ins and outs of what it takes to save a modern.

Here's the topic of the house on Durness we need to revisit. It was in rough shape last year around this time. Maybe I'll drive by there today...

Jason

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=9815

They are definitley open to Meyerland... but probably not much further out than that on the West. Timbergrove on the north.

Price up to about $300k-$500k pre restoration. They'd probably go higher in price for the right place.

Has to have room for a pool.

Doesn't have to be brand name architect.

Robindell would be too far out for them.

Square foot minimum of about 1700.. probably needs to be up over 2000 s.f.

They have the ability financially, know how, and team of people to do a larger scale restoration than just cosmetic.

And of course they prefer to find one intact vs. one that has been remuddled. Although, they can't be that picky.

I know I have opened a can of worms... but with little on the market, I figured I'd see what I can come up with.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I LOVE THAT HOUSE!

I love Old Braeswood and that house is one of the anchors of the modern part of the neighborhood.

So - to the realtor that I just responded to in the other post - see what you're up against?! As much as your clients want to buy a mod and restore it, someone else wants to see it torn down.

This is a crying shame.

Jason

That's a big can of worms and a tall order.

How much restoration $$$? How much for the house in the first place?

Do they want a "pedigree" or architect name attached to the house?

Inside the loop is really tough. There are moderns, but they are few and far between. Just outside 610 in Meyerland is tough, but not impossible to find a modern.

What style of modern? organic, contemporary, ranch, or miesian?

The two that come to mind are The Formica House and DJ Stephenson's mod in Robindell.

I can tell you that your clients need to jump when they find one that is in the right ballpark. No house is going to be perfect.

You kind of have to pick your battles. If location is the most important thing then don't get picky over condition. If condition is important then don't get picky over location. If architect name is important then don't get picky over anything else etc...

Good luck. If you're a realtor you already have an edge on finding the houses first.

Jason

I have a buyer (i'm a Realtor) that has owned homes in Palm Springs (mod ones)... they love mod.. and have put me up to the task of finding a mod here to restore. They are specific about area in wanting to be close to the Loop and preferrably inside the Loop. They will not go to the east side of Houston or Memorial.

If anyone knows of a home that someone is willing to sell that is not listed OR if you know one that is listed or new to the market, etc... please let me know. They just got back from Palm Springs and are jonesing for a house.

Thanks!!

Anyone want to elaborate on the most beautiful Mod of the Month we've ever had? What a perfect day it was! I will not soon forget those two hours. I think our next couple of Mod of the Months are houses that need help, so it's back to the trenches for us...

If they're really smart they'll have an open house during the Azalea Trail, which will be right around the corner... I've always been curious about that house.

Jason

I re-compiled my tops list into 2 favorites lists, a "big/expensive dream house" list and an "obtainable house" list. By no means is this list comprehensive, and the ones I've been inside get a little bump up the list based on the fact that I have been able to appreciate them up close... Also, it should be noted that my tastes veer toward the Miesian box type houses, which in no way should diminish the Organic style. However, these suite my tastes the most.

Big and or very expensive houses - * means I

It's on the market. Have a look... I don't even need to comment.

http://www.har.com/7667326

OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY!

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

Thanks a lot for seeing this. It definitely deserves attention and tracking. I don't know who would save this house, but it sure is a beauty. Whoever it is that watches the demo permits, keep an eye out. Who knows if it will even go on the market.

I talked to a proud owner of a modern in the Memorial area the other day and she said she regularly gets calls from developers offering to buy her property. She tells them (paraphrase) - no thanks, I love my house, and when the time comes, I will only sell it to someone who is going to take care of it.

Jason

I'd seen this house before, but really noticed it today. It was built by a firm named Bowles & Bowles, which I've never heard of or know anything about, for a patent attorney named James Weiler. Mr. Weiler founded the patent division of Fulbright & Jaworski, and played in a jazz band most of his life. He passed away in December of 2007. I don't know how much longer this house will be around, given the rabid McMansionization of Willowick.

This looks perfect for them, but I don't know about the Hobby area since they'll probably spend most of their time over on the west side. I found the Palm Court Inn which seems to have the claim to fame that Elvis once stayed there. It's at 8200 S. Main. I'll probably drive over and get a picture. But it seems to have mixed reviews online. I want to make sure the visitors are comfy in their stay.

Jason

I found the

Any suggestions on Houston hotels with a mod (especially mid-century modern or ranchy) flavor to them?

Some moderinsts are coming in for a visit who would love to stay at a mod hotel and contacted Houston Mod for advice...

Jason