Dream Homes
Top Homes: The Experts’ Lists
Our four local architecture experts share their top 10 favorite Houston homes.
When we decided to put together our January feature on Dream Homes, we started by asking four local architecture experts to submit a list of their 10 favorite Houston domiciles. Several of the experts submitted more than 10 homes, while architectural historian Stephen Fox submitted two lists—one of his 10 favorite homes by practicing architects, and one of his 10 favorite homes by architects no longer practicing. In early November, the four experts gathered at the Houstonia house to go over their combined lists and discuss the relative merits of the included homes. Out of that meeting, a rough consensus emerged around 10 homes, which we featured in our magazine (currently on newstands). Many readers have asked to see the original lists submitted by our panelists, so here they are:
Panelist: Rusty Bienvenue
Frame/Harper House, 430 Westminster
1960, Harwood Taylor; Renovation/restoration: Stern & Bucek

9 Shadowlawn
9 Shadowlawn
1961, Anderson Todd
Menil House
1951, Phillip Johnson; Restoration: Stern & Bucek
Bayou Bend, 1 Westcott
1927-28, John Staub with Birdsall P. Briscoe
Stern House, 1202 Milford
1992, William F. Stern & Associates

Kamrath House
Kamrath House, 8 Tiel Way
1953, MacKie & Kamrath
Style In Steel Townhomes, 4156 & 4160 Meyerwood
1968, Wilson Morris Crain & Anderson
Shot-Trot House, 4914 Curtin
2004, Brett Zamore
Grenader House, 2231 Wroxton
2008, Nonya Grenader
1319 Banks
2001, Francois de Menil
Panelist: Barrie Scardino Bradley
Kellum-Noble House, Sam Houston Park
1847, Francis McHugh

Mansfield House
Mansfield House, 1802 Harvard
c. 1895, George Barber
William Nash House, 215 Westmoreland
1905, H. C. Cooke & Co.
Bayou Bend, 1 Westcott
1927-28, John Staub with Birdsall P. Briscoe
L. D. Allen House, 2337 Bluebonnet
1936, Wirtz & Calhoun
Menil House
1951, Philip Johnson

4826 Bellaire
4826 Bellaire
2007, Allen Bianchi
Maher House, 2930 Lazy Lane
1964, Barnstone & Aubry
Balinskas House, N/A
1992, Natalye Appel
Virginia Pointe, 3319 Virginia St
2009, Adams Architects
Panelist: James Evans

9 Degree House
9 degree House, N/A
2012, Interloop Architects
Bleyzer House, N/A
2012, Stern & Bucek
1930 Bolsover
1970, Anderson Todd
Robertson House, 3718 Gramercy
2007, Christopher Robertson
1418 Kipling St
1997, Val Glitsch
Anderson House, 1638 Banks
1960, Wilson Morris Crane & Anderson

Grenader House
Grenader House, 2231 Wroxton
2008, Nonya Grenader
HOUSE 2045, 2045 University
2005, Collaborative Designworks
Shorthand House, 2233 University
1997, Francois DeMenil
Shot Trot House, 4914 Curtin
2004, Brett Zamore

Nguyen Family Houses
Nguyen Family Houses, 1506 W 26th
2004, MC2 Architects
THE 505, 505 West Alabama
2006, Collaborative Designworks
8 Tiel Way
N/A, MacKie & Kamrath
3736 Chevy Chase
2009, Jay Baker Architects

1955 Richmond
1955 Richmond
1954, Harwood Taylor and Burdette Keeland
Frame/Harper House, 430 Westminster
1960, Neuhaus & Taylor
Panelist: Stephen Fox
Fox, our final panelist, submitted two lists of homes: one designed by architects no longer in practice, and another by architects currently in practice today.
Architects no longer in practice
Thomas J. Donoghue House, 17 Courtlandt
1916, Warren & Wetmore

Thomas J. Donoghue House
Hugo V. Neuhaus House, 9 Remington
1923, Harrie T. Lindeberg
Blanche Harding Sewall House, 3456 Inwood Drive
1926, Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson
Bayou Bend, 1 Westcott
1927-28, John Staub with Birdsall P. Briscoe

J.P. Bullington House
J. P. Bullington House, 3023 Del Monte
1938, Birdsall P. Briscoe
Hugo V. Neuhaus, Jr. House, 2910 Lazy Lane
1950, Cowell & Neuhaus
Karl Kamrath House, 8 Tiel Way
1953, MacKie & Kamrath
9 Shadowlawn Circle
1961, Anderson Todd
I. H. Kempner III House, 3811 Del Monte
1969, Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry

John Zemanek House
John Zemanek House, 1723 Colquitt
1968, John Zemanek
Architects currently in practice
El Jaral, 2106 Persa
1993, Taft Architects
James-Armstrong House, 5423 Gibson
1993, Cameron Armstrong

Lott House
Lott House, 1928 South Blvd
1994, Carlos Jimenez
Elena Cusi Wortham House, 1102 Euclid
1994, Pia Wortham and Joan Callis
Shorthand House, 2233 University
1997, Francois de Menil
Nguyen Family Houses, 1506 West 26th
2004, MC2 Architects

Jim Love House
Jim Love House, 5019 Blossom
2004, Nonya Grenader
Rose-Adams House, 1425 Banks
2007, Strasser Ragni
Arnoult House, 3701 Del Monte
2008, Curtis & Windham
Down-and-Up House, 1514 Banks
2012, Enter Architecture