Houston’s Weird Homes — From a Secret Garden House to a Wooden Car Wonderland

Art collector Lester Marks might take exception to his art-filled home being called “weird.” Perhaps eccentric, idiosyncratic?

Then again, he and his wife, Dr. Penelope Marks, have agreed once again to open their residence to Saturday’s throng joining the Houston Weird Homes Tour. Theirs is among seven dwellings with, shall we say, unusual characteristics that will be open for touring on this self-guided adventure.

Promotional material on the tour is more generous than the tour title, stating that the tour features “some of the area’s most imaginative and wonderful homes, where visitors can see and explore some truly unique designs and meet the minds that created them.”

Selia Qynn’s “Secret Garden Home” snuggled on three-quarters of one exceptionally verdant acre in Spring Branch returns to the flock of weirdness. It’s another fettish altogether in the Hippolotofus Home which boasts more than 2,000 pieces of hippo memorabilia collected over 45 years.

Who on earth would turn their home into an “Instagram House?” Meet Marie Alducic, who launched Montrose Studios out of her home and has created a world of photo-ready settings.

The tour includes the “Home of the Wooden Car,” where Isaac Cohen creates masterpieces in wood including his remarkable wooden art cars; the “Art Lair,” Taylor Rebel’s eccentrically decorated home; and the “House of Luminosity” where glass artist Kim Clark Renteria has transformed her home into a light-filled arena.

Charity partner, benefiting from a portion of ticket sales, is New Hope Housing.

More details and tickets are available here. To see more of Houston’s Weird Homes, click through the photo gallery above or below this story.