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[ The link to the SMARTePLAN in posts are disabled once a property is sold]
Homes designed by John Staub are coveted in Houston. Around 30-ish homes he designed remain in Houston, and he is best known as the architect of Ima Hogg's Bayou Bend Estate and the (original) River Oaks Country Club.
This 7,706 sqft* brick home on a 71,540 sqft* lot in River Oaks has unusual features (for River Oaks) that include a water well, basement and enormous attic (i.e. enormous = est 58' x 8' floored storage space with 7' 7" standing height and then open rafter storage above, built in shelving units, and a separately enclosed walk-in cedar closet (9' x 9').
The 4-car garage was designed by Hiram Salisbury, a contemporary of Staub, and also a well known and respected architect. It's got a center work shop with half-bath and two 2-car garages on either side. Above are quarters with Living Room, Bedroom, Bath and Kitchen. Having Hiram Salisbury design your garage is a little unusual .. a bit like Bruce Springsteen coming to your house to sing "Happy Birthday to You" .... not his main gig ... but good stuff if you can get it! Actually, I thought how lucky to have a potty in the garage area -- what a great deal for all those handy workshop types that don't have to walk all the way back to the house! Let's pop open the SMARTePLAN and take a closer look.
One of the first things you'll notice is that the home is "double-walled". Unlike current construction where homes have a brick veneer ... this home's exterior wall is separate from the interior --- with an insulating space between them. This does 3 things for the house: (1) it adds stability to the structure, (2) it moderates heating /cooling extremes ... your desired interior temperature will not be as easily affected by outside temperature changes and (3) the surrounding double-walled envelope deadens exterior noise, providing a serenely quiet interior.
One of the next things to notice is the genius of John Staub's design for this lot. The home is set far back onto the lot and has a long horseshoe drive ... but.. instead of the drive cutting across the front of the house, the drive wraps around the back of the house ... the entry is in the rear of the structure. This allows the driveway to split off to both the left and right side yards providing extensive parking in the rear and most importantly, the formal rooms (Living Room and Dining Room) have glass French doors opening onto a grassy expanse of lawn dotted with mature oaks with branching canopies ... instead of a concrete circular drive!
Let's start popping open the photos embedded in the floor plan and take a look 
at the inside!
Photo 3 is an old-world reception parlor with exquisitely carved golden oak salon panels, Louis XV carved marble mantel, trompe l'oeil ceiling and wet bar. Photos 4 and 5 show the gallery hallway with 7' seamless glass windows and pocket gardens on either side. Photo 6 shows the stair hall with B/W marble tile flooring that opens onto the Formal Living Room and Dining Room.
Photo 7 is the Dining Room with a (rare) complete set of Zuber's Panoramic wallpaper containing all 5 scenes of the Views of North America (Les Vues d'Amerique du Nord) rarely seen outside museums and the White House. (When renovating the White House in 1961, Jackie Kennedy rescued a full set from an old residence in Maryland and had it restored and installed in the Diplomatic Reception Room, where it remains today). [CLICK HERE to read more about this panorama, and what makes it "special"]
Photo 8 is the formal Living Room with absolutely gorgeous hand-modeled and hand-plastered multi-tiered crown moldings (stacked from top to bottom with lotus, then beading, followed by acanthus embellished dentils interspersed with carved floral rosettes).
These are the main rooms I wanted to show you, you can tool around inside the two floor plans popping open the SMARTePLANS and reading the descriptions. If you want to read the whole-house room-by-room description, CLICK HERE or on the word "Amenities" texted below any of the photos.
A really cool house, I especially liked the Guest Suite with its own elevator, making it ideal living for Grandma/Grandpa and extended family visits ... with bedroom, full bath, sitting room and expansive covered balcony overlooking the gardens. Oooops I forgot to mention the extensive gardens with bubbling koi pond and white carrera marble statuary with speciality lighting ... and of course those huge oak trees with branching canopies. The house was built in 1933 so all the oaks surrounding it are (at least) 50-70 years old. THANKS FOR VISITING!
*- Per Appraisal District
Judith, The Floor Plan Lady
For more information about this property send an email to the listing agent, Walter Bering with Martha Turner Properties, at wbering@marthaturner.com
Photography by T-K-Images
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SMARTePLANS have photos embedded inside the floor plan that launch with a mouse click .... each photo arrow is positioned in the plan where the photographer was standing --- so you can see where he was and what he was aiming at when he took the shot ... in relationship to the drawing. Beneath the photo is a description of that room. Once the photo launches you have a choice to link back to the floor plan and choose another photo, or read the amenities text for the WHOLE property (not just that particular room). All the files are inter-linked so you can seamlessly click around this property, viewing the photos and reading the descriptions. This is not a video ... you choose what you want to view ... or not
NOTE: SMARTePLANS are PDF files so they magnify to over 100%. When the file launches, click "View" on the top toolbar and make sure there is a checkmark next to the toolbar named "Select and Zoom". Every time you tap the plus key inside the circle the view screen enlarges (the minus key shrinks the magnification); and the magnifying glass with the plus sign in it marquee selects a specfic area of the drawings to be enlarged. Using the hand key and the scroll bars, its easy to move around inside the file, and then magnifying the features you want to see.]
© SMARTePLANS 2010
The compilation above is the original creative work and copyrighted property of SMARTePLANS. You may link to it; but it may not be copied, nor reproduced in any form or format in whole or in part without the express written permission of Judith Sinnard.
