Inside Houston’s Own Multi-Millionaires’ Row — This Small Street Is Full of $20 Million Homes, Including the Just Listed 119 Carnarvon

It would appear that when Murphy Mears Architects was tapped to design a Houston mansion at 119 Carnarvon for a deep-pocketed client, lavish entertaining and plenty of room for house guests were key. Consider the second-floor ballroom, a theater room, the seven bedrooms and the nine full bathrooms in the lavish 16,118-square-foot home that anchors two verdant acres in one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods.

Listed with Kellie Geitner of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty at $19,999,000, this Memorial mansion is currently one of the priciest listings in greater Houston.

Putting that in perspective, 119’s neighbor 120 Carnarvon sold last year under a list price of $26.5 million. Further up the street, 223 Carnarvon, priced at just under $25 million, recently went under contract, after only one day on the market. This rather short street just west of the 610 Loop certainly qualifies as Houston’s very own Multi-Millionaires’ Row.

More recently, a 15,000 square-foot mansion in River Oaks nudged records when it sold under a reduced listing price of $24.75  million. Texas is a non-disclosure state so the exact sale prices of the properties are not publicly available. The Mount Everest of listings in the city, if not the entire state of Texaa, is The Lodge at Hunter’s Creek in Memorial with a staggering list price of $49,985,000, down from $65 million 18 months ago. By those measures, 119 Carnarvon almost could be viewed as a bargain.

In addition to location, location, location, the residence enjoys all the extras that one would expect in a mansion of this quality and magnitude. On entering the dwelling, you find yourself in a grand foyer which is wrapped in Venetian plaster walls, topped with a 22-foot coffered ceiling and encircled by a grand spiral staircase.

Then you are off to the living room which overlooks the veranda, lap pool and beautiful backyard landscaping. Lueders limestone tile flooring and Venetian plaster walls continue from the foyer into the room that features a 12-foot ceiling and recessed lighting.

Perhaps you’re invited to dinner in the formal dining room large enough to easily seat more than a dozen or perhaps you are there to take in a screening of The Brutalist in the posh home theater. If overnighting, the choice of bedrooms is generous. If a fancy soirée is on your dance card, you could be directed to the ballroom which can be gloriously outfitted for a seated dinner for as many as 36 people.

Among the 30 — yes 30 — rooms in this Houston mansion, the spacious primary suite is a jewel all to itself with a private courtyard, dual spa-like bathrooms with imported marble and custom walk-in closets.

As would be expected the kitchen is state of the art and includes a breakfast nook overlooking the garden. The adjacent caterer’s kitchen is complete with all needs required for large-scale entertaining on a truly grand scale. A wet bar and wine room further address the necessities of serious socializing.

And we must put in a plug for the architects who fulfilled the dreams of the couple who built 119 Carnarvon in 2004.