Located on one of the most coveted streets in River Oaks, 3723 Knollwood is a low-slung brick home perfectly sited on more than three-quarters of a wooded acre. Prompting descriptions like “striking” and “art collector’s fantasy,” this 1950 contemporary masterpiece by architect Wylie Vale is notable for its polished white limestone floors, luxurious finishes and fittings, and expanses of glossy white walls. The main house offers more than 7,000 square ft (per Appraisal) of living space, including 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths and 3 half-baths. Art lovers will appreciate the floor-to-ceiling windows that allow in natural light as well as unbroken walls that offer space for large art installations. From the street, the home’s modern silhouette features a massive chimney, as well as several rectangular masses that overlap or intersect horizontal roof slabs. Need a visual? Imagine Palm Springs circa the Rat Pack era. Property and improvements/structures did not flood from Harvey. Price: $6,995,000. Click here.

Calling all MCM fans! Designed by Karl Kamrath, Houston’s leading midcentury interpreter of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian architecture, 67 Tiel Way celebrates an organic connection with nature. Completed in 1950 as an austere 2 BR home, the current owners asked the late architect Reagan Miller to update and enlarge the home in accordance with Kamrath’s original design. The result is a 4BR home with 21st-century amenities that is one of Houston’s most significant Mid-Century Modern homes. Clad in brick and redwood, it is perfectly sited on a 20,000-plus (HCAD) SF lot planted with native trees and shrubs. The master bedroom is on the ground floor, and there is a second-floor deck that runs the length of the side wing overlooking the back yard. Miller’s seamless update led to a 2012 Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston and accolades from the AIA and others. Tucked away and quiet but for bird calls, 67 Tiel Way is centrally located just a block off Kirby Drive. Price: $4,250,000. Click here.

In the late 1960s, as America’s original Mid-century Modern movement was winding down, architect George Smart was commissioned to design a low-slung brick and glass house at 2300 Timber Lane. It would serve as the parsonage for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for 49 years. When it was sold last year, the neighborhood assumed the house would be scraped away, as was the fate of so many others. Fortunately, Unicus Developments stepped in to brilliantly redevelop the property, maintaining the original footprint while expanding the first-floor master suite and preserving the modern brick facade, mature live oaks, and circular drive. Following 14 months of renovation, 2300 Timber Lane is set for its second act. It has four ensuite bedrooms – including the garden-side master bedroom – plus upstairs and downstairs powder rooms, a high-tech kitchen, elevator, refrigerated wine storage, private interior patio and a one-of-a-kind rooftop terrace with summer kitchen. Price: $3,850,000. Click here.

This jewel box of a house, just five years old, is French inspired. Squint your eyes, and you can imagine a 16th-century Anjou manor home designed to provide privacy and protection from the outside world while affording every sweet comfort within. To passersby, the house presents a cream-colored façade encrusted with decorative flourishes, gated circle drive (with motor court) and manicured plantings. Inside, it is a brilliant combination of elegance and 21st century technology. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow in abundant light, which practically glows as it strikes the gorgeous surfaces, including Carrara marble and Caesarstone countertops, Venetian plaster walls and gray-washed oak floors. The home features an elevator, home automation system with in-wall iPad control, three fireplaces, 300-bottle wine storage, three-car garage and a central vacuum system. In addition to its four (or five) bedrooms, there are spacious separate quarters over the garage. Price: $4,495,000. Click here.

A designated Houston Historic Landmark residence designed in 1936 by Birdsall Briscoe for his own family, this classic home showcases the architect’s gift for proportional design and ornamental detail. At the same time, to provide for today’s modern living, amenities include an updated island kitchen opening into spacious living spaces, a master suite and bath carefully designed for livability, three additional ensuite bedroom/baths, and landscaped patios and gardens. Recent updates include exterior paint (2018), new roof (2018) and McDugald Steele decorative fencing (2011). This home is located on one of River Oaks’ desirable park-like “courtyards” that offer splendid green space and buffer homes from busy streets and through traffic. A note on Birdsall Briscoe: Houston’s earliest residents chose this architect (as well as John Staub) to build their generational homes in River Oaks and elsewhere. He is considered one of the city’s greatest classic architects. Price: $1,675,000  Click here.