First there was Bloodhaven, which suited all our needs and would have killed us financially...

 
Then there was El Caminito, which paved the way by paying our way to bigger and better things...

 
We caught a glimpse of what was possible when we worked on the Not-Quite-Wright House...

 
Now comes Houndswick, which could well be the last home we will ever buy in Arizona...
 

A house called Houndswick...
7814 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85020

Is a house hearth and home? Kith and Kin? Or is it an investment?

Is real estate a business? Or is it a passion? An obsession, maybe?

Is there some nexus of art, science and commerce, the essence of an evanescent permanence?

And, if there is, would you live there?

Welcome to our new house, Houndswick, 7814 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85020.

When we moved to El Caminito, we listed our objectives in a home:

1. A home to do business from in the North Central Phoenix neighborhood we work in.
2. A home that we can live in as a family and ad hoc petting zoo.
3. A home that is convenient to Cameron's life, which is evermore downtown as time goes by.
4. A home that will appreciate in value significantly while we're in it.
5. A home that will avail itself to what I call Abuelitoria (homes for the little grandmas) should they need to come live with us.
6. A home that is pleasing to Cathy – who will insist that the domestic esthete is me.

Bloodhaven, filled this bill, but Houndswick does all these things even better. A succession of sneezing clients have shown us that we have to isolate our business from our pets, so we need a lot more space. We may also want to build a guest casita on the property – but the lot is 24,000sf, plenty of room for everything. In the course of renovation, Cathy will create a vast expression of Mid-Century Modern Design. Houndswick is nowhere as Wright-like as the Not-Quite-Wright House, but it speaks to indoors and outdoors – earth and sky – in a Wright-like way. We can accomodate Las Abuelitas – without crippling staircases. Cameron is a bus-ride from everything. And Houndswick is on North Central Avenue, the Grande Dame of the streets of Phoenix.

The fact is, we lucked into a secret treasure – a felicitous confluence of qual, gall and balls-to-the-wall big-bet poker. We're betting everything we have to get everything we want. If this all works out, we will have latched onto an incredible bargain. But even if we lose, we'll probably win. The simple fact is, they aren't making any more land on North Central Avenue.

But Houndswick is ours. Hide and watch as we make it most fully our own...

Here's how things stand for now:

Front Elevation and Front Yard
Back Yard, Pool and Patio
Living Room and Formal Dining Room
Kitchen
Family Room with Wet Bar
Garage
Cameron's Room
Abuelitoria
Master Suite
Hall Closets and Powder Room
Architectual Details
The Inside Out

Current MLS Listing
Previous MLS Listing
Comparable Listings
Map to Houndswick

As you might expect, there is a plan – bookended by parties. We'll be having an Open House when we close on Houndswick – to show it off as it is now. We'll be using it as an office in the coming months as we plan and execute the renovations. Sometime in early 2007, we'll actually move in, at which time we'll have another Open House, this time to show off what we've done to the house.

In the mean time, in betweentimes, we'll be working like hounds to pay for Houndswick...