Can You Count the Mannequins in This Richmond Listing? (There Might be a Prize!)

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I have stacks of homes to blog, and I’m going to the Neil Diamond concert Tuesday evening, but I just have to get this out there: 4302 Colony West Drive, Richmond, TX.

As they say, WTF?

This is a home in the Houston suburb of Richmond, and apparently belongs to an artist/jewelry designer who does a lot of work with mannequins.

They are, like, everywhere, even on the ceilings. 

Our team has been chatting about this house now for a few days. Home stagers are running for Xanax.

It’s really, basically, a nice house. Built in 2000, the home is on two verdant acres with a creek overlooking a cattle ranch. The home is gated (with a mannequin standing guard) and secluded. You drive up a circular drive for an impressive entry. The home has multiple formals, a family room, library/study, art studio, game room, trophy room, exercise room, pool, spa, outdoor kitchen, and fabulous kitchen. There is even an apartment over the four car garage. Plenty of storage, the master has an oversized shower and nice deep tub. We think wood floors, cannot see them. And it’s kind of peaceful to see the grazing cattle across the creek, close enough to appreciate, far enough away not to smell. The home is listed for $1,275,000.

But what about all the stuff? And those mannequins? We think they are a little, well, creepy.

Once upon a time, we had a mannequin living with us. It was sort of a “gift”. Not knowing what to do with it — I thought maybe my kids would enjoy dressing it — bah — I shoved it in the room where things I didn’t know what to do with went. (Sound familiar?) It was a garden room of mostly glass, so of course the mannequin was completely visible from the street, Park Lane. Good, I thought, she could deter crime. 

Well, she lost her clothes somehow, and rather than deter crime, people told me they had near accidents on the corner when it rained as they gawked at the “naked woman” in the garden room while driving. Some thought it was me, parading around naked, ha!

I donated the mannequin to the Salvation Army.

So this house, those mannequins, really fascinates. At first, we (Karen) thought the owner had been in the display industry. Or maybe is a hoarder.

 

Bethany (and I) thought maybe this was all a spoof to get media attention to the house.

No, turns out it is an actual house on the market just overloaded with stuff. Come to find out, owner is an artist.
 

“And the point is, super busy in the studios,” she says in a Facebook post, ” a fun, crazy place. Would make you smile. Do mannequin art… a few escaped and are playing on the ceiling. No worries! They are well-behaved!Well behaved! How fun! My mannequin was not well-behaved, she was a clothes-shedding nudist narcissist. 

But I did notice after several swipes of the photos that the stuff has sort of an organization to it. It’s definitely not a hoarder’s home. Do you see the beautiful Mackenzie Childs checkerboard table and chairs? Covered… with stuff. (Wonder if they are selling them?) Did you see the family photo with the hunky guy photoshopped in? 

 
Fun! But go through the house, all those mannequins and all that stuff in the kitchen — how would you eat? Cook up something on the stove, you might burn the place down! How would you bathe? (See the mannequin with the towel wrapped around him? Maybe his name is “Manny”.)
 
So this is a genuine listing, and the owner might be making a point: this is a fun, crazy house, HER house. Why should she clean it up to traditional real estate staging standards if that is not who or what she is?
 
(Sure I am giving Karen heartburn right now!)
 
Is the artists’s personality an integral part of the home? Should her agent have insisted on at least a partial clean up? As Bethany pointed out, has anyone gently (very gently) pointed out that maybe her art should get put up for a bit while she tries to sell, if she’s serious about selling?
 
Will the “artistic clutter” stunt the sale of this home? Have you seen worse?
 
 
Go ahead, DISH! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted in

Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

8 Comments

  1. Carrie Johnson on July 18, 2017 at 11:21 am

    I adored the mannequin house. It’s not what I would do but at least the owner is not afraid to be an individual. After seeing dozens of all white (I need to be the same as all my neighbors) University Park houses, I found it refreshingly whimsical. Love unusual houses that reflect the people who live there.

  2. Joy on July 18, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    I could use some Neil Diamond after that LOL…a little soothing music, please !!!

  3. LonestarBabs on July 18, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    DMN reports over 30 mannequins.

    • Candy Evans on July 18, 2017 at 11:24 pm

      They copying us again?

      • LonestarBabs on July 19, 2017 at 8:35 am

        Yes, and so are WFAA and the Star-Telegram.

        • Candy Evans on July 19, 2017 at 10:18 am

          It’s like, read CandysDirt.com and repeat! Without us, those journos might have to work!

  4. April Lord-Brown on July 18, 2017 at 9:44 pm

    first, i love this house. its actually well cared for, clean and everything is placed very specifically. There is a story everywhere. when i see the kids hanging from the ceiling I think, “Gee there is enough room in this house that my kids can bounce off the ceiling and we would be ok!”. i counted 31 mannequins and my favorite 3 were the children on the ceiling and the one on the lawn mower.

  5. Pinky on August 22, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    I would live in it the way it is now I love all the eccentricites

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