Porch Powered Homes

New Heights development is all about the power of porches — and community

One minute, you're sitting on your front porch, interacting with neighbors enjoying the same leisurely pastime on a quiet, tree-lined street. The next, you're in the the hustle-bustle of Houston's downtown work scene.

That's the vision of Porch Street on Adele in East Sunset Heights, a development now under construction with the goal of offering vibrant urban living paired with energy-efficient and modern Craftsman-style homes — an investment the builders, developers, architects and all involved wanted to make in this Greater Heights neighborhood.

The project, located near West Cavalcade Street and Airline Drive, is one mile from the METRO light rail and less than five miles from downtown.

"Every home faces a street and includes a front porch. We want to convey a concept of community and sense of 'shared space.' "

"We live and work here," Sam Seidel of Southern Green Builders and project manager for Porch Street on Adele, says. "We could have put in stucco homes with the same floor plan in this transitional area, but we care about the community and wanted to put our investment here."

"We decided upon modern Craftsman-style homes instead, with every single house having a porch element to it," Stephanie Frugé, principal at FrontPorch Properties, says. "And we have five floor plans to choose from."

Frugé added local marketeer Emily Arbuckle pulled the total concept together with the name, "Porch Street."

Those floor plans, ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet, include the Becker, Brennan, Landon, Dawson and McPherson — all named after Texas Hill Country wines. Jesse Hager with CONTENT Architects found his inspiration for the architecture from that scenic part of the state.

"We were drawn to the large porches, exposed wood, metal roofs and the charm these elements bring to a space," Seidel says.

Formerly the site of a food distribution center, Porch Street on Adele will be a community of 11 single-family homes united by shared spaces, such as main gated driveway and green areas. All homes are designed with open carports, outdoor seating sections, side yards — and yes, front porches. Two of the larger houses are located on one side of Adele Street, while the other nine either front Adele or Nadine streets.

"Every home faces a street and includes a front porch," Seidel says. "We want to convey a concept of community and sense of 'shared space,' while still giving each individual home areas that are they own. It's a community within a community."

Porch Land

Touring the Dawson design, the four-bedroom, three-bath house at 922 Adele St. features a large front porch with the front door recessed down a side porch. Planters are to be included alongside the porches as green elements. Enter into the living room with nine-foot ceilings with double French doors that lead to an deck for additional living. In fact, the entire wall of windows can be opened to create an outdoor-indoor entertaining space. Decorative rafters above outside add architectural interest and shadow play.

To the right is the open dining room and kitchen overlooking the front porch and filled with natural light via large windows, both framed and casement. Windows of these types are found on both sides of the house, upstairs and down, maximizing spatial dimensions. A downstairs bedroom at the back of the structure comes complete with full en suite bath.

The enclosed staircase takes owners to an expansive flex space with more double-paned, energy-efficient windows and a vaulted ceiling. Two bedrooms with a shared bath at the back of the house, along with a spacious master suite at the front of the house, are located on either side of the flex space.

"We've also taken the humidity factor out of the equation. Every house has a humidistat, as well as thermostats, to give the house a better feel — and owners a huge savings."

"The other floor plans offer a mix of options," Seidel says, mentioning upstairs and downstairs master suites, main entrances to the side or front and different kitchen/living room configurations. "But all of the structures are designed to be extremely energy efficient. The standing seam metal roofs are 85 percent more efficient at rejecting heat, all windows are Low E glass and everything is completely sealed from the outside with foam insulation, even in the attics.

"We've also taken the humidity factor out of the equation," Seidel says. "Every house has a humidistat, as well as thermostats, to give the house a better feel — and owners a huge savings."

The spec houses are to be available in phases, with three ready in late September or early October, three more in December, two in January 2015 and the final three in March of next year. Prices range from $500,000 to $700,000.

"And we're currently looking for new dirt," Frugé says, adding it was just about a year ago the team acquired the site for Porch Street on Adele. "We see this concept as one that will work throughout the Houston area.

"More Porch Street projects are definitely to come."

Construction on the first phase of Porch Street on Adele is expected to be finished in late September or early October.

Photo by Stephanie Frugé

Construction on the first phase of Porch Street on Adele is expected to be finished in late September or early October.

unspecified

gold pony club

Inside the creation of the rodeo cook-off’s most over-the-top tent

Courtesy of Cotton Holdings

The Gold Pony is the ultra-private VIP lounge behind the stage.

The Cotton Q Club is arguably the glitziest and most exclusive tent at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s annual World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Hosting nearly 800 invited guests-per-night, the 5,000-square-foot space includes a 50-foot bar, a new pop-up martini bar by Sophie Cocktail & Terrace Bar called “The Stirrup,” the ultra-exclusive “Gold Pony Club,” and a full stage for private concerts. This season, county music acts include Gabby Barrett, Sammy Kershaw, Josh Turner and Braxton Keith.

Aside from the obvious, what sets the club apart from the rest is the sheer magnitude of its operation. Once inside, guests are encapsulated by velvet-draped ceilings illuminated by crystal chandeliers, three-layer tartan-topped carpeting, richly-colored wooden-paneled walls, plus thousands of red roses swathed acrobatically throughout.

To coincide with the year of the horse, five enormous ponies made entirely of red roses have been suspended from the ceilings. The second additions this year hang on either side of the bar in The Gold Pony, the club’s even more exclusive VIP area. The kinetic artworks were created by Houston artist Sneha Merchant —all for a three day fête. This begs the question: how do they do it?

Cotton Holdings and its subsidiaries are well positioned to carry out the entire project themselves — so they do. Never bothered or besmirched by the possibility of running into issues with rental companies, everything at The Cotton Q Club is procured, purchased, and stored in-house. As one would expect from a company that provides disaster relief around the world.

“There is a lot of love and care put into this because we’re not in a hotel, we’re not in someone’s home,” Cotton Holdings chief marketing officer Zinat Ahmed tells CultureMap. “So for us to be able to create this entire infrastructure under a tent — down to the walls and chandeliers — it is much more than throwing a party. It’s about the details that make people feel that they are at a hotel, they are in an extravagant room, they are at The Polo Bar.”

Ahmed notes that a lot of the company’s culture is mixed into the tent, such as what Cotton does as a disaster relief company (including providing food by Cotton Culinary).

“Cotton Logistics puts up tents during a natural disaster. Seeing the Cotton team, whether it’s cleaning or moving things around, welcoming everyone, that’s part of our Cotton GDS — we restore communities after natural disasters. Our synergies in different parts of our day-to-day are here,” she says.

Ahmed’s team has complete creative control over the interior aesthetics of the club. Always sourcing anything that cannot be made in-house to local vendors is something she feels is important. Nothing is rented, not even the furniture or accessories.

“Every single thing, unless it was done by a local vendor, was done in-house: design, signage, execution — even the embroidery,” she explains

Everything is checked over during the summer months so there won’t be any surprises when the cook-off comes back around. Every item is organized, labeled, and stored either in Cotton’s warehouses, Conex boxes, or in special climate-controlled safes — down to the matchboxes.

“We are always prepared and ready to go,” explains Ahmed. “It’s not chaotic at all because we’re used to it — it’s a normal day at Cotton.”

When asked for her favorite parts of the tent this year, Ahmed readily answered that it has to be the five rose ponies in the main area of the club. Secondly, the two commissioned works by Sneha Merchant. Sprinkled in diamond dust, one is a female mallard wrapped in a boa, champagne flute in hand, while the other is a smartly-suited jackalope complete with cowboy hat and martini.

Both pieces are lit by antique sconces Ahmed sourced from Round Top, while the taxidermy Zebra heads are on loan from the Columbus, Texas ranch of Cotton Holdings’ Chairman Pete Bell.

“Every detail, down to the swatches of velvet has been thought of with a lot of love and care,” says Ahmed. “You use that mindset with something like this. So, if you have a mindset like before you deploy to a hurricane, you can do it for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.”

Courtesy of Cotton Holdings

The Gold Pony is the ultra-private VIP lounge behind the stage.

houston livestock show and rodeo home-design cotton holdings