Holiday Home Tour
Houston Heights Delights, Texas Highways
SAVE THE DATE!
Carols by Candlelight
2012 Houston Heights Association
Holiday Home Tour
|
 |
|
Six Houston Heights Neighbors Open Their
Homes on
Friday, November 30, and Saturday, December
1
Patron Party is set for Thursday, November
29
|
 |
BUY
YOUR
HOME TOUR
TICKETS NOW |
Tickets available online
until 5pm,
Thursday, Nov 29.
|
Tickets available until
noon,
Thursday, Nov 29. |
|
Buy your tickets now for
“Carols
by Candlelight,” the 2012 Houston Heights
Association Holiday Home Tour,
set for Friday, November 30, and Saturday,
December 1. Six Houston Heights neighbors
will welcome visitors into their homes that
will be all decked out for the holidays.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are gearing up for a fun-filled weekend
and we need your help! All volunteers
receive a complimentary tour ticket and the
chance to help your neighborhood raise funds
for the Houston Heights Association. If you
are new to the neighborhood, this is a great
way to meet your neighbors and get
involved! To sign up for a 3-hour-shift,
please contact us at
holidaytour@houstonheights.org
or 713.861.4002, x7.
THE TOUR
The tour provides a rare opportunity to look
inside these unique spaces that reflect the
rich Houston Heights architectural tradition
and the personalities of the homeowners.
Houston Heights Neighbors and their Homes:
·
John and Diedre Reed, 606 East 8 ½
– Traditional Louisiana cottage filled
with antique furniture and unique
collections, including blue and white
Delftware.
·
Alyssa Parrish and Michael Bublewicz, 528 Arlington
– Renovated 1920s cottage nominated for a
HHA Community Improvement Award.
·
Marisa and Gavin Hurd, 946 Arlington
– 1894 Queen Anne Victorian cottage, updated
and expanded in 2010.
·
Brad and Shireen Wise, 433 West 24th
–
1915 Craftsman Bungalow listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
·
Shana Ross and Mary Beth Reuter, 1008 West 15th
– Contemporary design with stained
concrete floors, exposed ductwork, and
framed by the large canopied trees, so
prevalent in the neighborhood.
·
Adolphus and Celisa Pressley, 1522 Alexander
– 1920s Bungalow restored to create an
eclectic style using reclaimed materials and
furnishings.
See below for detailed home
descriptions.
CAROLERS AND MUSICIANS
The experience will be complete with the
joyous sounds of carolers and musicians at
each home and at the Houston Heights Fire
Station & City Hall, 12th and
Yale, where local food trucks will be
available for visitors to enjoy.
SHOPPING AND DINING
The tour has become a favorite seasonal
destination, where visitors may also enjoy
getting in some holiday shopping in the many
antiques and vintage clothing shops, art
galleries, and eclectic boutiques. There are
coffee shops for a relaxing break, and fine
dining at world-class restaurants in the
area. See our listing of HHA business
members at
www.houstonheights.org/businesstype.htm.
HOLIDAY HOME TOUR HEADQUARTERS
Houston Heights Fire Station & City Hall,
107 W. 12th Street at Yale,
Houston, Texas 77008. Ticket sales,
parking, the shuttle stop and food trucks
will be located here during tour hours, in
addition to entertainment by neighborhood
carolers.
TOUR HOURS
Friday, November 30, 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 1, 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
TICKETS & OTHER INFORMATION
Advance tickets are available online now and
will be available at the following Houston
Heights locations beginning approximately
October 31.
Another Place in Time, 421 W. 11th
Street
Buchanan’s Native Plants, 611 E. 11th
Street
Davis Hardware, 1028 Studewood
Jubilee, 321 W. 19th Street
Tickets will also be available during tour
hours at the Holiday Home Tour Headquarters
and at each Holiday Home Tour home.
Tickets are $20 in advance for all six homes
or $25 on tour days. $5 per-home tickets may
also be purchased during tour hours at those
particular homes. Bundles of 10 tickets are
available online now for $175 through noon,
November 29.
FREE SHUTTLE BUSES
will operate during the tour on both Friday
and Saturday. Patrons may board the shuttle
buses at the Holiday Home Tour Headquarters,
where parking is available.
THE PATRON PARTY
is an annual festivity that will take place
Thursday, November 29, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at
941 Cortlandt, the beautifully redesigned
and renovated 1920s bungalow home of Leann
Mueller, this year’s Holiday Home Tour
Executive Chair. Entertainment will be
provided by modern classical group WindSync,
Ensemble in Residence with Da Camera of
Houston Young Artist Program. Tickets are
limited and available on a first-come,
first-served basis. Individual tickets are
$125 and include an exclusive preview of the
Homes on Tour from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Tickets
are available now by visiting the Patron
Party link above. (There are no shuttle
buses for the Patron Party.)
For more information, inquiries may
be made by leaving a phone message at
713-861-4002, option 7, or by e-mail to
holidaytour@houstonheights.org.
PROCEEDS
The Houston Heights Association (HHA) is an
all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit civic
organization which promotes and fosters
friendship, goodwill and community spirit
within and around the Houston Heights.
Proceeds from the HHA Holiday Home Tour go
directly into the community for
beautification, restoration, and maintenance
of the Heights Boulevard esplanade, Marmion
and Donovan Parks, and the historic Houston
Heights City Hall & Fire Station.
Additionally and among its many other
endeavors, the HHA supports educational
activities for local schools and
schoolchildren, and promotes local
businesses
The HOUSTON HEIGHTS is the fabulous and
festive
destination choice of the season!
HOUSTON HEIGHTS ASSOCIATION
WINTER SPONSORS*
PLATINUM SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSORS
Jan & Christine Spin
SILVER SPONSORS
Fiesta Mart Inc.
BRONZE SPONSORS
Rita & Jerred Blanchard
Boulevard Realty
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors
Whitestone Builders
*as of 10/19/2012
MORE ABOUT THE HOMES ON TOUR
Carols by Candlelight,
Friday, Nov. 30 & Saturday, Dec. 1,
2012 Houston Heights Association Holiday
Home Tour
The Reed Home
606 East 8 ½ Street

Step inside this 2001 traditional raised
Louisiana cottage and you’ll instantly feel
the warmth of a well traveled Southern
couple who love the charm of the Heights.
Built on the site of an old lumber yard and
sign painting shop, Diedre and John created
a traditional home filled with antique
furniture purchased while living in The
Netherlands. Their unique collections of
blue and white Delftware, Staffordshire
figurines, and Transferware blend
beautifully with their Mississippi family
heirlooms. A ground-level master suite and
loggia, with views to the formal gardens and
pool, boasts a beamed ceiling of reclaimed
wood from a Heights house, antique white oak
doors and a unique door surround that was
salvaged from New Orleans’ Mercy Hospital
after Hurricane Katrina.
Parrish/Bublewicz Home
528 Arlington Street

It’s easy to see why this recently renovated
home was nominated for an HHA Community
Improvement Award, with its expansive
gourmet kitchen. That’s what convinced this
professional couple – Michael, an ER doctor,
and Alyssa, an attorney – that this was the
Craftsman style house for them. Married at
All Saints Catholic Church in the Heights
and already homeowners in the neighborhood,
they were looking for a cook’s kitchen to
host large family holiday gatherings
centered around Michael’s Polish heritage.
He emigrated to America as a child, with his
parents and brother, escaping communism and
seeking asylum. Alyssa said, “Now making
Pierogis, a traditional stuffed dumpling,
around our 8 x 8 foot honed black granite
island has become a holiday tradition for
both sides of the family!” Previously a two
bedroom 924 sq ft 1920 pyramid-roof cottage,
it’s now a 2,942 sq ft family home, complete
with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
The Hurd Home
946 Arlington Street

Built in 1894, this lovely Queen Anne
Victorian was recently updated and expanded
for a couple on the go and their two young
boys. The homeowners transformed what was
once a small cottage into a spacious dining
room plus open country kitchen and family
room downstairs, while adding bedrooms to a
new second floor. Native Houstonians, Marisa
and Gavin, chose various soft pastel wall
colors throughout, while decorating with
family antiques and art. From the original
wraparound porch with spindle columns to the
screen porch overlooking the backyard
swimming pool, the homeowners now enjoy
their traditional 4 bedroom 4 1/12 bath home
central to all the activities the family
likes to do in the neighborhood. The
homeowners, who met while tubing down the
Guadalupe River, are an active family
enjoying all that the neighborhood has to
offer. “Besides biking, walking, jogging and
shopping with our two boys throughout the
neighborhood, we enjoy attending Mass at All
Saints Catholic Church, just a block away.”
Wise/McCollum Home
433 West 24th Street

Listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, just three families had occupied
this one-of-a-kind Craftsman Bungalow until
Brad Wise purchased the 2 bedroom 1 bath
home in 2009. Originally owned by D.C.
McCollum, a local teacher who purchased the
home in 1915, this gem features dark stained
wood trim, original cross beamed ceilings,
bay windows, and wrap around porch. Staying
faithful to the original architectural
style, Brad expanded the space with a new
cook’s kitchen and wine nook, a family room
decorated in earth-tone colors, and master
suite and home office – but not before the
original house was moved forty feet forward
in order to make room for the new addition!
Newly married in 2012, Brad and his bride
Shireen, who first met each other at a
neighbor’s party in the Heights, are looking
forward to hosting holiday gatherings for
friends and family in the years to come.
Ross/Reuter Home
1008 West 15th Street

Shana Ross and Mary Beth Reuter have called
the Heights area home for more than 25
years. Originally searching for a bungalow
in 2007, the gals were just not finding a
fit until they walked through the front door
of a two year old contemporary home with
stained concrete floors, exposed ductwork
and a casual open floor plan that would
allow them to kick back from their work as
co-owners of Shana Ross Fitness in the
Heights. “The muted green exterior color and
the way it’s framed by the trees, fits the
house to the lot instead of the other way
around,” stated Mary Beth. Inside, the
eclectic furnishings include a family
painting purchased with green stamps and a
beer label collection from WWII. Recently
leading a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro, these
adventurers are always eager to get back
home. Mary Beth says, “We love the diversity
of the neighborhood and the fact that when
you walk or ride the bike path, people nod
and say hey.” Shana adds, “That’s why we
choose to live and work here. I can’t
imagine living anywhere else in Houston.”
The Pressley Home
1522 Alexander Street

Despite the fact that the neighbors and most
of his family thought the 1920 dilapidated
bungalow should be torn down, Adolphus
Pressley, a sergeant with the Texas Rangers,
had a vision to create a family home for his
wife, Celisa, and their two children when he
purchased the home in 2008. Acting as his
own contractor, Adolphus began an ambitious
plan to create a two story 3 bedroom 2 ½
bath family home with two living areas and
media room, or ‘man cave’ as Adolphus likes
to call it. Adolphus and Celisa were
resourceful in their quest to create an
eclectic style that reflects their
philosophy of using reclaimed materials not
only to build the home but to furnish it as
well. The two claw foot tubs (one found in a
vacant lot), the long leaf pine wood floors,
and every interior and exterior door were
all salvaged from Heights homes and
businesses. Said Celisa, “we even found our
living room loveseat by the side of the road
and simply had it reupholstered locally.”
###
Photo credit: Michael Ramos of Ramos
Photography.
FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS
of all the homes on the tour, please contact
Susan Love Fitts at 936-597-8825,
susan@susanlovefitts.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Susan Love Fitts Communications
936-597-8825;
susan@susanlovefitts.com
|