Walls of Glass Connect This $3.1 Million Houston Home to its Natural Surroundings
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Often cited as one of the richest cities in Texas, Piney Point Village is part of a contiguous group of independent municipalities about ten miles west of downtown Houston. The broad, tree-lined streets and stately homes have attracted residents from British actress Kate Upton and former Astro pitcher Justin Verlander to Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, late astronaut Eugene Cernan (the last man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972), and the late billionaire oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, who is perhaps best known to pop culture aficionados of a certain age as the unlikely husband of the late public personality Anna Nicole Smith.
In 1970, while the city grew fat on rising gas prices, midcentury architect Jack Stehling designed a boxy, glass-walled contemporary residence built at the eastern edge of Piney Point Village, along the snaking shore of the Buffalo Bayou, one of the many slow-moving rivers that flow through the city. Notable for its privacy and secluded immersion within a wooded setting, along with its conversation pit and monumental, three-story glass-walled atrium, the well-preserved and refreshed residence is newly on the market for $3.1 million. Walter Bering of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
More from Robb Report
A Private Island Off the Florida Keys Returns to Market for $75 Million
Malibu's Only Robert Skinner-Designed Home Sells to a Prominent Video Game Exec
Throughout the almost 5,500-square-foot sprawler, floor-to-ceiling glazing frames ever-changing views into the surrounding treetops that serve as a fluttering backdrop to every room in the house. Marketing materials state that the seller, who acquired the property in 2017, extensively renovated and updated the house between 2018 and 2020.
The basic bones of the home were kept, with the front door opening into a vast, multi-level living and dining room where the walls are clad in Madagascan Dalbergia Rosewood paneling, the floors are agleam with terrazzo, and a massive skylight showers light on a sunken conversation pit. At the far end of the light-filled room, the dining area has both a wall of bespoke built-ins and a wall of glass. The nearby kitchen, configured around a long, slender island, is an international machine for gourmet cooking with German appliances, cabinetry from Italy, and American-made soft-close drawer hardware.
At the far end of the kitchen is an indoor barbecue and, beyond that, an interior balcony within the atrium; a corkscrew staircase connects the atrium’s trio of interior levels. On the ground floor is a fireside den and, at the top, an open loft space (plus a private bath) that would make for a unique guest room, mediation lounge, or home office. Elsewhere is a library/office with custom built-ins and a spacious family room that flows out to one of the home’s large Ipe wood decks.
Among the five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms is the show-stopping primary suite. Set against a backdrop of fluttering trees, the spacious retreat has a central, skylight-capped atrium, a spacious dressing room that rivals a designer boutique (and conveniently includes a morning/evening bar), and a bathroom decked out with a herringbone-pattern marble tile floor, a marble and glass steam shower, and a freestanding amoeba-shaped tub.
There are two large decks, one outside the kitchen for easy-breezy barbecues and the other positioned to take in a fetching view of one of the many scenic bends in the bayou. The nearly one-acre property’s sense of seclusion is matched by its convenience to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods markets, the Houston Racquet Club, and the Houston Country Club.
Click here for more photos of 11100 Wickdale Drive.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
