It's that time again - welcome to the fourth edition of my local real estate series here in Houston! If you didn't catch the last one, feel free to catch up here. Today's house is on the market for just under $6,000,000, and looks absolutely stunning from the curb with its white painted brick facade and frameless black steel windows.
I have to admit that I normally don't take an immediate liking to homes with black steel windows and a white facade because they tend to lean farmhouse in style, but I actually really love this one - it feels modern and timeless at the same time, my favorite combination.
Now this is what I call a grand entrance!! Definitely meant to be a big event house with this entry and the grand staircase and a little hint of intrigue with the peek of a staircase to a lower level...very unusual here in Houston. More on that later....
I do have to say, for somebody who loves color personally, I love the all white walls with the warm gray and brown undertones in the wood flooring. Sometimes the pairing can make the home feel cold and uninhabited, but this feels cozy to me...well, as cozy as 7,000 square feet can feel.
Normally I'm a girl who adores symmetry, but I like the way they only did built ins on one side of the fireplace and left the other side open, here staged with a vintage commode and artwork above. The wall of windows and doors really showcases the garden allowing it to feel like another room of the house and bathes the room in such glorious light...this is where you'd find me most of the time I think.
Plenty of wall space for an art collection but again I love that they only used a few pieces so that when your eye settles on a piece you really take it in. The tones are absolutely lovely in this living room but I will say there may be room for more seating in a slightly different layout.
I love how open the living area is to the patio - keeping those doors open would triple the living space easily in this house while entertaining. The view above gives you a sneak peak of the breakfast area. Let's take a moment of silence to take in the kitchen...
The veining in that slab of the kitchen island is just absolutely stunning! This house is made for company, the more the merrier with all that space, and I don't mind one bit! Not sure about that console behind the sofa, but I would be very happy with this kitchen.
This kitchen is just so lovely, and reminds me a lot of our last kitchen reveal.
I'm so happy that builders are catching on that the all gray trend is over (and has been). By no means does this mean that gray circling out mean we are going all the way back to Tuscan brown cabinetry. No, we've just reverted course and come back to warmer wood tones. There is still a bit of gray though in the stone material and its gorgeous! THIS is the way to do wood y'all. Another thing I noted...look at the wood fence in the window...it's the little details to take note of, like the way the fence is running horizontally outside and the wood tone of the fence. When you look outside it's very muted, so there's not a huge contrast between the house next door and the fence.
Who doesn't love a built in Wolf coffee maker in the butler's pantry? Coffee is life (any Ted Lasso fans out there, I'm here for you). I'm crushing on the linear air vents in the ceiling as well.
This room feels like the only truly staged room of the house...for me it feels really cold. If I had my way, I would have used a massive dining table since the room is meant for it, a different rug, and changed out the chandelier and chairs with something a bit more modern.
I'd love to see a chandelier above the breakfast nook area, but I love the openness to the patio along the living space here.
Great storage in this back staircase near the entrance from the garage, and I love the clean, streamlined staircase as well. I needed this exact space when our kids were young.
Now onto a space built just for adults...
If you head downstairs underneath the grand entry stairs, you'll find this 3000 bottle capacity wine vault hiding in the basement, adjacent to the movie theater! I'll just park myself right here, thank you very much. If the hubs is reading, go buy us a lottery ticket...I know where I want to live out my days.
Sadly I'm not a huge fan of the kitchen built in across from the wine vault...
But how can you not love the movie room with film reel carpet?
I love the slight change in wood tone for these built in bookshelves - these have a bit more gray in them compared to the kitchen and the flooring. I would probably switch out the light fixture chosen, but that would be easy enough to change out.
Another great size room for an office or guest suite - clean palette to start with for furnishings!
Love the floating slab vanity in the adjoining bathroom, and the glass tile in the shower. I see a peek of a fun gray patterned tile underneath as well. I definitely would splurge on a better mirror in here - it's all in the details people!
Even though this is a powder bathroom, scale is important in every space. The mirror is entirely too small, and that sidesplash is entirely too big. It's meant to meet the backsplash behind with the wall mounted faucet but I'm personally not a fan of this sidesplash.
Let's go upstairs shall we? First stop, the primary bedroom. This is where I'm seeing that farmhouse style come through. After taking in the downstairs, I do wonder what drove the decision to do shiplap for the ceiling.
Anyone else's eye twitching looking at that air vent up on the wall?
I love the wood beams on the ceiling but the fireplace? Not so much.
Personally I would have plastered the entire fireplace all the way up and would not have used shiplap on the ceiling. I also wish they had used the same gray brown toned wood for the beams as downstairs. It could be the lighting but these read more pink/orange to me. I also would have chosen a different lighting fixture, but that's totally a matter of personal preference. It's all of these little decisions that have umpteen choices you could make that truly do personalize a space.
Get ready for this....the primary bathroom is outfitted to the nines - that steam shower is incredible, with intricate tile work that truly doubles as artwork in a way. Speaking of doubles...the dual glass entry doors, showerheads, built in bench seats...all of these lead me to one phrase...double happiness.
Also noted and loved, the switch upstairs to white windows rather than black. The windows blend and recede into the wall and really frame the outside views. That said....
One thing that sets me free about many homes I've seen here in Texas. It's a glorious dream for some to relax in a beautiful bathtub and gaze out at nature but not so much at the neighbors upstairs window. Here's my PSA: Please please please think about window placement with regards to tub placement when you're in the planning stages. If that doesn't work, builders please, if you're going to install a huge window above the tub especially in the primary bath, please consider providing window coverings of some sort even temporarily so new owners don't have to immediately figure out how to block the neighbor's view before they move in. #alwaysthinkahead I'm just sayin'...ok back to gorgeous eye candy....
Surprise! Bet you didn't see a recessed LED framed hidden mirror in the bathroom island counter coming!
For as many luxury items I see used throughout the house, I have to admit that my eyes immediately went to the electrical plugs. And then my eyes started twitching again. I wish they would have upgraded the outlets on the waterfall island. #littlethingsmeanalot
Can you imagine - triple hanging space in the closet that you can pull down to your height?! And a pass through drink station between the closet and the bathroom? Sign me up!
Look at all that counter space in the laundry room...perfect for folding. Love the fun tile choice on the floor in here as well. Laundry rooms are a great place to have fun with pattern and color.
And after the two years we've had, you have got to love a good homework station for the kids! Clean and streamlined...I could see my assistants loving this space too.
I love a good window seat, and this one would be so cozy to read in with a custom seat cushion and pillows along the walls. Great storage too! Add a table and you have a multi-purpose workspace. LOVES!
Love love love the ceiling wood treatment out on the patio - I'd love to throw a big party out here. That's saying something because I don't even like to entertain. #truestory
Overall, this looks to be a beautiful, well done new build in a lovely Houston neighborhood. There are only a few things I'd change about this home but there are a couple...as one would expect with any new house. I don't point them out to be snarky but rather to say sometimes the smallest of details may not seem to matter but oh how they really do.
We're working on two new builds right now and as I keep telling my clients, it's ALL about the details...which is why they hired us, to collaborate on a design that reflects their desired aesthetic in their new homes, guiding the myriad decisions and the multitude of selections one has to make when building or renovating, and to yes, consider all the little details. When trying to save money during a project, especially when you're well into a construction project and costs are adding up and you're trying to save where you can, think ahead to "is this something that will bother me down the road?" or "I'll do this now but will definitely want to replace or update it in a couple of years (or sooner)"...stop now and think of the additional cost, time and inconvenience to circling back. Don't want to go there? Do it right the first time and the sting of spending will only hurt once. #beentheredonethat
Do you have a house you'd love to see featured? Leave a comment below - I love real estate and lending my two cents to y'all if you're house shopping for yourself or house "window shopping" and looking through what's out there right now. Who else wants to buy a lottery ticket after seeing this?
All photos via the best real estate listing service I've ever perused, har.com