Some houses are mostly right and just need a second pass. This 1988 two-story in League City's gated South Shore Harbour community has four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a first-floor primary suite and plenty of room to spread out. Its listing photos show three places where finishes, not walls, are doing the aging: a cherry-toned kitchen, a pale dining room and a back patio that is all concrete and fence. As one of the best architecture firms in Greater Houston, with a perfect 5.0 average on Google, we looked at what we would change first. These are concepts only, but they show how far a house like this can shift without moving a single wall.
Listing agent: Cecilia Lafta, Texas Signature Realty · See the full listing and photos
Via Redfin (HAR MLS #42792163), as shown Nov 10, 2026. Price and availability change; confirm on the listing.
Key Takeaways
- Cherry cabinets do not have to be replaced to look new. A two-tone scheme and a stone slab backsplash change the whole room.
- A formal dining room can feel warm, not stiff. Rich wall color, oak texture and a round table loosen up a square room.
- A concrete slab is only a start. Pavers, a pergola and planting turn a bare yard into a second living room.
- The layout stays put. Every change here is a finish, a fixture or a landscape move, which keeps cost and permitting simpler.
1. The kitchen: two-tone cabinets and a stone slab backsplash
The listing photo shows a bright corner kitchen with cherry-toned arched-panel cabinets, dark granite counters, a tumbled-tile backsplash, a center island and stainless appliances. The windows and the layout are the good part. The heavy red-brown wood and the busy backsplash are what date it to the late 1980s.
OriginalRedesignRedesign Features
- Cabinets. Matte charcoal lowers with natural white oak uppers.
- Backsplash. One full-height slab of veined white marble-look stone, with no grout lines to clean.
- Counters. Honed black granite-look tops.
- Hardware and floor. Polished nickel pulls and wide-plank pale oak.
If you are deciding between stain and paint for existing cabinets, our guide to stained wood vs. painted kitchen cabinets explains how each finish wears.
2. The dining room: a deeper color and a round table
The photo shows a square room with pale walls, wainscot, a window with long curtains and a traditional chandelier. It is clean and bright, but it has no personality yet. The wainscot and the daylight are worth keeping.
OriginalRedesignRedesign Features
- Walls. A warm terracotta tone above full-height white oak slat paneling.
- Table and chairs. A round plaster pedestal table with rattan-and-black-frame chairs.
- Light. A black iron ring chandelier and linen curtains on a matte black rod.
3. The back patio: pavers, a pergola and softer edges
From the yard, the photo shows a two-story brick-and-siding house with a lawn, a palm tree and a plain concrete patio against a wood fence. The listing notes a large concrete patio, a grassy backyard with no rear neighbors and a fence door, so the bones for outdoor living are already there.
OriginalRedesignRedesign Features
- Paint. Soft greige over the brick and siding, with black window frames.
- Pergola. Natural cedar with string lights over the seating area.
- Paving. Large pale travertine-look pavers in place of bare concrete.
- Planting. Raised cedar planters with ornamental grasses and olive trees.
- Gate. A black steel gate in the fence.
Painting brick is hard to undo, so test a large sample in daylight, and check your community's exterior rules before choosing a color.
Before you buy a gated two-story from 1988
- Ask about the roof. The listing says the roof is one year old; ask for the paperwork and any warranty.
- Check the flood and drainage history. Ask the seller about past water and request an elevation certificate; our guide to finished floor elevation explains why it matters.
- Read the HOA terms. Redfin shows a monthly HOA fee; ask what it covers and which exterior changes need approval.
- Have the systems inspected. Ask about the age of the HVAC, the water heater and the wiring.
- Price the work before you close. Get rough numbers for the kitchen and the yard so the remodel budget is clear from day one.
Buying a house to improve? Start with what stays
On a house like this one, the question is rarely whether to remodel. It is the order of the work: what happens before the kitchen is touched, who coordinates the trades and who checks the result against the plans. Our founder, Abdullah Gerasimov, is a licensed architect with a Master of Architecture, and our Owner's Representation service is built for exactly that stretch between buying and building.
If a listing has caught your eye, send it to us before you make an offer, or browse our portfolio to see how we approach Houston-area homes.
Listing credit: Listing details courtesy of Cecilia Lafta, Texas Signature Realty, via Redfin (HAR MLS #42792163), as seen Nov 10, 2026. Price and availability change; confirm on the listing. Modern Acre Studio is not affiliated with the listing agent, the brokerage or the seller, and has not toured the home.
About the images: The "Original" side of each slider is a photo from the listing, courtesy of Cecilia Lafta, Texas Signature Realty. The "Redesign" side is a concept made from that photo by Modern Acre Studio to show remodel ideas. It is not a photograph of the home, a design, a proposal or an estimate.