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This week’s stories tackle a mix of passion and frustration but with a little bit of optimism.
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Saturday, February 28, 2015 • Page 1B
The Do-Over: How passion became a profession
Before photo by Dana Gray, Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan; After photo by Tad Krampitz of TK Images (Left) The Buskers’ home, dubbed “The White House,� offered a number of different foundations to work off of as the couple renovated their home, including a near-original interior. (Right) The “after� of their remodel shows the new driveway scaled to modern-day vehicles. The renovation adds an additional 459 square feet to the home in the form of a master suite and laundry room off a short, new hallway at the back of the former two-bedroom, one-bath floor plan.
For the Buskers, this home project would transform renovations from part-time to full-time By Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader The only skeleton revealed during the award-winning renovation of a 1920s bungalow in Sunset Heights was the eight-inch skeleton key that came with the property when Ellie and Christian Busker of Renovative Thinking began their project. Its completion earned a 2015 Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston, which honored recipients at The Cornerstone Dinner on Feb. 20. Seasoned renovators, the Buskers’ complementary skills cover redesign and rebuild of older homes, transforming them into light-filled, highly functioning open spaces that are suitable for modern living, but mindful of their place and period. “We can kind of walk in and think the same thing,� Christian Busker said of their walking through a potential property. An architectural designer and space planner, Ellie Busker gravitates toward homes with smaller footprints and strives to maximize every inch. She dislikes wasted space and thinks efficient floor plans can encourage tidy use. For her husband, who had learned carpentry from his father and grandfathers, home renovations had long beckoned. Once pursued part-time, home renovations became the couple’s business in 2007. Since then, they’ve transformed 18 homes in neighborhoods in and around Houston Heights, Brooke Smith and Sunset Heights. Their current project, number 19, is in Lindale Park. By living in these little homes along the way, she said, they get to know the communities, the housing market -- and the house itself. “We build a home for ourselves every time,� he said.
Parking pads, drainage issues draw ire of some Heights homeowners
Aspiring to the White House Since the Buskers had lived and worked up the street from the bungalow in Sunset Heights – the 2015 Good Brick Award winner – it was a special property to them. They had noticed its simplicity, charm and nearly-untouched condition. Older than other homes on the street, it had an intriguing carriage-era garage with marooned quarters, its exterior staircase long gone. “I have a thing for peeling paint on white houses,� she said. This one, acquired after waiting five years for it to be available, they called “The White House.� Among the pleasant surprises within its near-original interior: cheesecloth wallpaper over shiplap walls. “Usually, we have to take off the ‘ugly’,� she said. There were no layers of previous updates to peel back. The 2013 project kicked off by moving the porch-entry house eight feet to the west to make room for a permeable driveway scaled to today’s vehicles. The scope added 459 sq. ft. to the home for a master suite and laundry room off a short new hallway at the back of the former two-bedroom, one-bath floor plan. Single-story, the addition can’t be seen from the street and blends into the back, a seamlessness the Buskers strive to achieve in all their projects. A small attic dormer facing the street, meanwhile, gives the illusion of height, she said, since newer and remodeled homes nearby trend taller. The renovated home reused original doors, flooring and hardware when possible and was patched with reclaimed materials as merited. While initially an iffy undertaking, he said, the two-story garage and its quarters proved salvageable. That effort lifted the building, poured a slab floor and deepened the structure to house a car vs. a carriage, and it restored the still-intact quarters upstairs. Among the challenges of any renovation, the Buskers said, are making new space look as if it were always there and having it function correctly for the room flow and sight lines. An example: “You don’t want to have to walk through the mas-
Will it ever lease?
ter bedroom to get to the yard,� she said. “Sometimes, you have to flip the house,� he said, though not in the case in their award-winning project. The project held few surprises, she said, except for some pleasant ones, like the skeleton key. It, too, has been restored for use by the current owner.
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By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
Home SeRviceS PRemieR PRoPeRtieS 713-686-5454
A number of homeowners in the Heights say they are growing tired of impassable sidewalks and flooding roads, particularly because they say it’s happening due to the construction in public right of ways that isn’t allowed under Houston ordinances. Some residents are taking their frustrations to the next level and have been phoning in these alleged violations to the Houston Public Works Department. One 38-year resident of the Heights, who asked only to be named as John, said he is growing tired of what he and other neighbors perceive as unpermitted construction in the public right of way. “We have a number of situations where people have filled in ditches in front of their yards and, in some cases, put in culverts,� John said. “There are a lot of these non-compliant culverts in the Heights that don’t meet the minimum culvert requirement.� What does this type of construction mean for some? John said it creates a domino effect, where one person’s filled ditches contribute to flooding a neighboring home’s lawn and sidewalks. That next door neighbor then might try to fill in their own ditches or perform some other type of small construction, which he alleges is making headaches for surrounding residents. “When people look out and see there is a lake in front of their home, they’ll try to fill in some of the ditches or get rid of the lake, but all it does is move the water to another lawn,� John said. Others are also frustrated by what they see as non-compliant driveways and other modifications, like extra-wide driveways. “City regulations require minimum spacing between driveways of twenty feet,� John said. “There is no way some of these driveways should be permitted, but the city is allowing them to
Photo by Betsy Denson
In this month’s issue of will it ever lease, the answer is undoubtedly yes – but not yet. The 6,250 square foot space in the Garden Oaks Shopping Center has been available for about six months according to Hartman (Hi-Reit) leasing agent Danny Morales. He says it used to be a flooring company but could be a restaurant. Morales also says it could be subdivided down to 2,500 square feet. He said there has been a lot of interest so far, but no firm offers yet. According to Morales, rates have risen a bit to get parity with other retail spaces in the area. Neighbors would include Brothers Pizza and LV Nails. Interested? Call 713-467-2222 for leasing rates. Is there a commercial space or building you’re interested in knowing about? E-mail betsy@theleadernews.com
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