Editor's Note: Houston is loaded with must-have houses for sale in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. In this continuing series, CultureMap Editor-at-Large Shelby Hodge snoops through some of our faves and gives you the lowdown on what's hot on the market.

1605 Potomac #C

Light pours in through banks of windows that soar to the top of the two-story ceiling in this 1990s vintage townhome, the airiness belying its secluded location at the back of a small complex. We found a certain charm in the four-bedroom dwelling due in part to the rush of light through mullioned windows and in its distance from busy Potomac.

You get the feel of a cozy (and that is not to mean small) cocoon offering a welcome sense of privacy in this city's often too-busy landscape. The design is unusual but has appealing points. And the price under $500,000 is attractive for the size of the townhouse.

Walk through: The entry hall is two stories high, a pleasant feature that continues into the living room and along the interior passageway leading to the kitchen. To the right of the entry is the study with half bath and wet bar and a mullioned glass wall that overlooks the foyer, an interesting architectural feature that adds light and a sense of spaciousness to the room.

The two-story high living room addresses the interior paved courtyard, rich with plantings and small trees. It's an attractive feature of the townhouse that comes into play from kitchen windows and breakfast room. Also on the ground floor is a full-sized dining room that opens off of the soaring hallway.

It's all about bedrooms on the second floor where the good-sized master features a fireplace and a spacious, updated bath and walk-in closets. Three other bedrooms with two baths complete the second floor.

Nice: The 18-foot ceilings in the entry, living room and hallway offer loads of light and a feeling of spaciousness. We also found the interior mullioned-glass wall in the study and in one bedroom upstairs a pleasing feature.

Extra nice: The landscaped interior patio with pergola is a lovely focal point that gives this townhouse a rich sense of privacy — a safe and secluded feel yet with lots of green.

Square footage: 3,295

Asking price: $449,000

Listing agent: Gloria Acker, Heritage Texas Properties