• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Defying The Teardown Craze

    Defying Houston's teardown craze, these miraculous home remodels and rebuilds keep history alive

    Barbara Kuntz
    Barbara Kuntz
    Oct 1, 2014 | 3:08 pm

    Several miraculous remodels, makeovers and even complete home rebuilds caught our attention — and readers' too — during CultureMap's first five years of covering residential real estate in Houston and beyond.

    In a city with a reputation for tearing down rather than fixing up, these undertakings helped restore faith in the preservationists who care about maintaining historic architecture and go to great lengths to rescue local treasures for future generations to enjoy. We've included what we consider were the five most impressive projects, as well as a "one to grow on."

    Click on the links to see some of the before and after photos. You'll be amazed.

    Saving a Heights bungalow
    Brie and Scott Kelman knew restoring the Craftsman-style house at 1207 Harvard St. would not be easy. First, they'd have to face the three feet of trash covering every floor, the mold on the walls, the holes in the floor and the crumbling asphalt roofing material siding that hid the original wood structure.

    "We had issues getting through the (Houston Archaeological and) Historic Commission, despite the fact that our remodel plans met the ordinance," Brie told CultureMap this summer. "After we were denied by them and they suggested the demolition route, we appealed their decision to the Houston Planning Commission. We won the appeal — hands down."

    With inspirational photos in hand, the Kelmans worked with David Seeburger of P&G Homes to bring the house back to life.

    Mid-Century Mod extreme makeover
    When Belinda and Chris Skoog purchased a ransacked structure at 8008 Colgate St. in the historic Glenbrook Valley neighborhood, they realized all that really was left of the house were the four exterior walls and the main staircase.

    "The house was beyond a remodel with holes in the roof and tree roots going into the house under the carpeting over 30 feet."

    "It was all about the staircase, location close to downtown and being a Mid-Century modern," Belinda told CultureMap. "The house was beyond a remodel with holes in the roof and tree roots going into the house under the carpeting over 30 feet."

    Teaming up with Houston Mod, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, the couple began from the ground up with new underground plumbing and new slab. The house at 8008 Colgate was saved after more than 17 months of rebuilding.

    Innovative renovation at Project Row Houses
    Three Rice University architecture school graduates are out to make sure the kitchen — the social center and essential room — is a part of all homes with their urban renewal project, the InHouse OutHouse. The team installed a pre-fabricated core of full kitchen and full bathroom, complete with heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing services into a historic Project Row Houses structure in October 2012.

    Designed by Andrew Daley, Jason Fleming and Peter Muessig, the InHouse OutHouse just pops into any existing (or possibly new) structure for an instant renovation or addition.

    Preserved Montrose Craftsman-style house
    Owning a classic Craftsman-style home dovetailed with this owner's job as a principal at a local award-winning architectural firm and desire to maintain and update the structure being mindful of its historic fabric.

    The house, located at 1507 Hawthorn St. in Montrose's Mandell Place, includes a complementary, freestanding 325-square-foot structure in back, part of a 2012 addition designed by the Logan and Johnson Architecture (LOJO) principal/owner to complement the main house with its own style.

    Cozy rental escape in Round Top
    In 2011, during a casual Saturday afternoon drive in the country with their children, Paige and Smoot Hull stumbled across a farmhouse for sale in Round Top. Sitting on one and a half acres with a detached two-car garage, the property needed plenty of updating — and was the perfect beginning for their ventures into innkeeping.

    The inn further inspired the dynamic duo to establish a new antiquing business.

    The Vintage Round Top, a charming 2,400-square-foot abode, sleeps up to six and has been reserved for everything from girlfriend weekends to escapes for couples seeking an easy getaway to a home base for Round Top and Marburger shoppers. The inn further inspired the dynamic duo to establish a now-successful antiquing business, also called The Vintage Round Top.

    And the one to grow on, the Weingarten mansion
    When the old Weingarten mansion in the historic Riverside Terrace neighborhood went up for sale in August for $2.2 million, questions swirled around whether the 5,480-square-foot home on almost five acres at 4000 S. MacGregor Way would be either to sold to buyers willing to take on a complete restoration project or developers hoping to build multiple homes on the property.

    The good news: The new owners are Lori and Darryl Schroeder, who have publicly stated they envision the French-inspired chateau built in the 1930s for Houston grocery magnate Joe Weingarten as a showplace property.

    We can't wait to see the mansion and grounds restored to their original glory.

    CultureMap is celebrating its fifth birthday with a big party on Oct. 10 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the new JW Marriott Houston Downtown, with a portion of proceeds going to Casa de Esperanza. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online.

    The Vintage Round Top, a charming 2,400-square-foot rental abode, further inspired owners Paige and Smoot Hull to establish their now-successful antiquing business, also called The Vintage Round Top.

    1 The Vintage Round Top house March 2014
      
    Photo by © Haylei Smith
    The Vintage Round Top, a charming 2,400-square-foot rental abode, further inspired owners Paige and Smoot Hull to establish their now-successful antiquing business, also called The Vintage Round Top.
    unspecifiedseries568795454
    news/home-design
    series/five-culturemap-5th-birthday-bash
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    the feel of cotton

    Designer-loved Houston company makes custom bed sheets affordable

    Emily Cotton
    Jun 6, 2025 | 3:00 pm
    Look Linen Co
    Photo by Michael Hunter
    The Diamond Pique Collection boasts clean lines and a luxurious, sophisticated texture.

    Cool, crisp, freshly-pressed white cotton sheets have secured themselves into the zeitgeist — it’s how the sensation of luxury actually feels, especially when retiring from Houston’s summer heat. Now, three local ladies with deep designer roots have joined forces to bring their attainable luxury bedding line, Look Linen Co., to market. Available online and through exclusive pop-ups, Look Linen Co. offers personalized products with personalized service.

    Sylvia Longoria Dorsey and daughter Elizabeth Dorsey Fertitta joined forces with longtime friend and designer Lizzie Kappler to create a linen line that filled a gaping hole in the bedding market: local, affordable, personalizable bedding with reasonable lead times. Look Linen Co. has quickly become a designer darling due to their classic styles and stately embroidery — luckily, it’s available to everyone.

    “It’s so complicated when you’re going through custom channels,” Kappler tells CultureMap. “Lead times are long and really expensive. We really wanted to bring luxury linens to the market that feel very custom and that are accessible and feel personal, but also attainable to our customer.”

    With a generous 12 luxe embroidery color options, customization is key. “We spent a long time curating the color selections just based on what sold best from both of our [design] backgrounds,” says Kappler.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Look Linen Co. (@looklinenco)


    All Look Linen Co. products are made of 100 percent long staple cotton, imported from Europe. Monogramming is done locally and completely in-house, which allows for their quick, two week (or less) turnaround time. Three classic styles — Banded, Scalloped, and Diamond Pique — are available, as well as a new floral addition, the Lucky Collection. The soft, delicate clover pattern found in Lucky is perfect for clients who prefer to mix-and-match their linens — especially pillows.

    One of the several things setting Look Linen Co. apart from other boutique lines is their Dorm Shop. Fertitta notes that dorm room and sorority house bedding has become a booming market.

    “These girls love to decorate their dorms,” she says. To cater to that market, Look Linen Co. offers extra-long twin bedding and a specialized, oversized pillow affectionately called “The Biggie” that can double as a headboard in a pinch. All customizable, of course.

    The runaway hit product from Look Linen Co is the wildly popular, hourglass-shaped pillow called “The Boobie Pillow.” Designed to assist ladies of a certain age keep delicate décolletage skin from creasing, it also found another life as a post-surgery neck and shoulder pillow, amazing travel pillow, and so much more.

    “We started hearing people were using them at MD Anderson: ‘I couldn’t make it through without this pillow,’ or ‘my husband used it after open heart surgery,’ etc. It has really taken on a life of its own,” says Fertitta. “It’s no longer what we intended it to be, but it’s so great, and a best seller. It makes a great gift, it’s almost like a lovey!”

    For anyone curious which collection and embroidery color has been most popular, the answer is the Scallop Collection in Baby Blue, a classic choice. “Everyone loves a scallop,” says Kaplan — we tend to agree.



    Look Linen Co
      

    Photo by Michael Hunter

    The Diamond Pique Collection boasts clean lines and a luxurious, sophisticated texture.

    home-design
    news/home-design
    series/five-culturemap-5th-birthday-bash
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...