Embrace the crazy

The most gloriously hideous homes in America? Two Houston abodes rank high onnational list

The galaxy-themed wet bar lights up at night.

Houston Association of Realtors
According to the realtor’s description, 158 Sandy Grove in Nassau Bay is “idealfor [a] discriminating lifestyle.”

Houston Association of Realtors
158 Sandy Cove boasts lakefront views from every room; including the blacktile-clad master bathroom.

Houston Association of Realtors
Highlights of the master bedroom include a custom glass box bed and purplespeakers.

Houston Association of Realtors
The movie theater features custom seating and audio/visual systems.

Houston Association of Realtors
Guests will be blown away by the game room's custom pool table.

Houston Association of Realtors
We think the kitchen would have looked better with purple appliances.

Houston Association of Realtors
Purple reigns in the dining room.

Houston Association of Realtors
Forget the lakefront views - the true centerpiece of this room is a gold dolphinstatue on the coffee table.

Houston Association of Realtors
1818 Willowmoss Court, located in the Lazybrook/Timbergrove neighborhood, isrelatively unassuming from the exterior.

Houston Association of Realtors
Sure, the kitchen wallpaper is a bit dated - but that's not terribly uncommonfor a home built in the 1960's.

Houston Association of Realtors
Things start getting crazy in one of the bedrooms, which features a wallpaperedceiling and complementary geometric bedding.

Houston Association of Realtors
Apparently builders had a difficult time finding nine matching windows for thesunroom.

Houston Association of Realtors
The pièce de résistance of this home is the master bedroom - also known as fiftyshades of green.

Houston Association of Realtors
After being thoroughly nauseated by all the green, try making your way up thestairs that divide the master bedroom.

Houston Association of Realtors
An animal-themed narrative comes alive on the walls of the guest bedroom.

Houston Association of Realtors
We're not entirely sure, but that may just be a statue of Toy Story protagonistWoody.

Houston Association of Realtors

If you’re in the market for a new home and have yet to find something that takes your breath away, today may just be your lucky day.

National real estate blog Curbed recently posted its annual round up of “the year’s most gloriously hideous listings.” The listicle features 13 different homes, most of which boast hefty price tags, insane amounts of square footage and plenty of “unique” features.

According to the realtor’s description, 158 Sandy Grove in Nassau Bay is “ideal for [a] discriminating lifestyle.”

Two Houston-area homes made it onto the list, including a Nassau Bay lakefront mansion decorated in an entirely purple motif and an unassuming Lazybrook home that showcases some extremely creative uses for wallpaper.

According to the realtor’s description, 158 Sandy Grove in Nassau Bay is “ideal for [a] discriminating lifestyle.” The four bedroom, 3,693 square foot home features a backlit galaxy-themed bar, a $100,000 movie theater and neon lighting throughout.

Highlights of 1818 Willowmoss Court, located in the burgeoning Timbergrove/Lazybrook neighborhood, include a master bedroom plastered entirely in green — green and gold wallpaper, green shag carpeting and green ceiling tiles. To further complicate life in the color-crazed residence, several different rooms appear to be split level.

The Willowmoss Court home was featured on Swamplot earlier this year, and prompted a slew of responses from readers. One pointed out that “the sauna is tasteful” (it is quite nice), and another joked that the home made her want to “wear puffy taffeta dresses and sniff cocaine.”

A reader joked that the home made her want to “wear puffy taffeta dresses and sniff cocaine.”

Unfortunately, the home has since been sold. But the good news is that 158 Sandy Grove can still be had for a cool $2.2 million. The listing doesn’t specify whether or not the ceiling-suspended dining room table is included.

For a closer look at the two homes, check out some of our favorite photos from the listings pages in this story's slideshow.

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renter livability report

New study ranks Houston as one of the worst places for renters in U.S.

Photo by Leo Yao on Unsplash

Houston flopped toward the bottom as one of the worst places for renters in the nation.

Renters looking for a place in Texas that balances affordability, convenience, and quality of life may want to look outside of Houston, which was just named the 144th "best" city to rent in America.

Houston's rental market apparently leaves much to be desired, according to WalletHub's newly released report, "Best & Worst Places to Rent in America." Experts analyzed 182 U.S. rental markets based on 21 relevant metrics, including the difference between rental rates and mortgage payments, rental affordability, the local cost of living, job availability, and more.

Surprisingly, Amarillo was deemed the No. 1 best Texas city for renters, and it ranked 10th nationally. Hot Dallas suburb Plano came in second place statewide and ranks 12th for a second year in a row, leaving Austin in third place and 13th overall (up from No. 31 last year).

The report said Houston has the 120th best quality of life out of all 182 U.S. cities in the report, and the city ranked 127th nationally in the "renter market and affordability" category. Ouch.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said the best cities for renters offer much more than inexpensive housing, a good job market, and recreational activities. For example, rent prices in the top cities cost tenants as little as 15 percent of their income.

"You’ll also have access to robust laws that protect renters, such as limiting deposits to only a month or two of rent," Lupo added.

Houston residents know their city better than a study ever could, so they can decide if the city's renter market isn't up to par. A separate RentCafe study found the city has become a magnet for Gen Z renters searching for good job opportunities, recreation, and good schools. And now that local rent prices are declining, things might be starting to look up for Houston renters.

Though renting can be more cost effective than owning a property, WalletHub said it's not always a better choice.

"The right road to take depends on a variety of factors, including an individual’s or family’s financial means and how well the local real-estate market is doing," the report said. "Like home prices, rental rates can vary significantly by region, state or city."

Other Texas cities that ranked among the top 100 best places to rent in America include:

No. 24 – El Paso
No. 34 – Grand Prairie
No. 37 – Laredo
No. 48 – Brownsville
No. 49 – Arlington
No. 50 – Fort Worth
No. 63 – Corpus Christi
No. 64 – San Antonio
No. 66 – Irving
No. 79 – Garland
No. 81 – Lubbock

wallethub reports rent report renting real estate