Renovated Midland Meadows Palmer & Krisel Home For Sale – Fullerton, CA

Built in 1955 by Midland Properties is this freshly renovated Palmer & Krisel-designed midcentury modern home in Midland Meadows in Fullerton, CA. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,341 square feet on a 7,400 square-foot lot and carries an asking price of $499,000.

The exterior of the home has been re-envisioned with horizontal wood slat siding which unfortunately replaced the distinct original Bill Krisel board and batten siding which gave texture and shadow to the façade of the home. The home sits lengthwise on the lot, with the bedrooms at the front gable end of the home and the living areas at the rear. The two-car garage features a reverse-angle roofline, which gives the home the appearance of having a butterfly roofline.

Living, dining and kitchen 

Inside, the home has seen the great room concept applied to all the living areas, creating one super giant entry-foyer-kitchen-island-dining-living room. While this approach is often taken to make homes feel larger, the effect tends to be the opposite, making rooms seem smaller than they appear and eliminating interior privacy. Luckily the original clerestory and floor-to-ceiling windows on the back of the home are still intact, allowing the living areas to blend with the outdoors.

Living, garage entry and front entry

The living room features its original cut stone fireplace, which has seen its stones painted blue, black, grey and white. The original open-beamed vaulted celotex ceilings have survived the renovation intact, and add height and volume to the interior living areas.

Kitchen and living

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Kitchen and dining

The kitchen has been extended into the original dining room, and features composite counters, stainless steel appliances and a wood-topped central island. There’s only two sets of upper cabinetry, both tucked in a corner near the fridge, whose placement looks unfortunately out of place, almost as much as that wall-mounted boob light near the range.

Front bedroom 

Front bedroom 

Side bedroom 

Side bedroom

Guest bath

The four bedrooms are fairly diminutive in size, with two bedrooms on the east and two on the west sides of the front of the home. This particular model featured no true master bedroom, and provides jack-and-jill bathrooms between the bedrooms. Both front-facing bedrooms still feature their original clerestory windows, and both bathrooms have been updated in a style in line with the rest of the updates found throughout the rest of the home.  

Backyard

The bad news about the south-facing backyard is that it backs up to the Riverside Freeway, but on the plus side there’s a pretty formidable wall separating the yard from the freeway. There’s a corrugated steel-roofed covered patio against the back of the home, and the remainder of the yard is essentially a blank slate ready for a fitting water-conserving makeover.

This home is in move-in ready condition, and should appeal to those that like modern conveniences within midcentury lines.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 506 West Houston Avenue

Or Zillow.com here: 506 West Houston Avenue

Bold-Lined 1956 Northridge West Palmer & Krisel For Sale – Northridge, CA

Up for grabs is this 1956 Palmer & Krisel-designed home in Northridge, CA. With wonderfully dramatic and distinct lines, this home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,392 square feet and sits on a 7,600 square-foot lot with an in-ground pool and carries an asking price of $549,950.

Exterior

Front of home 

Exterior of home c. 2008 - not the original windows and better-suited garage door

The exterior of the home features dynamic and distinct Palmer & Krisel lines that captured the futuristic midcentury and forward thought that made modern design at the time so fun. While the floorplan was one that was first seen in Corbin Palms in 1953, the exterior elevation took modernism to the next level. The garage features a distinctive board and batten façade and a reverse shed roofline which angles towards the home, almost giving the home a butterfly roof-like elevation when viewed from the street. The original vertical wood screen on the façade of the home is still intact, screening a bathroom window from prying eyes.

Dark living, dining and kitchen 

Living room 

Dining room 

Living room with original fireplace c. 2008 - note the light difference despite the presence of seemingly 'closed' rooms

If only the insides and out complimented each other so well. The interior of the home has seen updating that doesn’t quite carry through the dynamic lines of the exterior, and many of the original interior lines have been destroyed. The interior once boasted a central fireplace that sat in the center of the home, separating the living room from the front-facing family/dining room, along with a distinct block divider separating the dining from the entry. These have been lost in favor of open-concept living, which has also seen the wall between the kitchen and living areas removed.

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Kitchen and dining

Original kitchen c. 2008 which was brighter, lighter and better-suited to the home

The kitchen features dark raised panel cabinetry and granite counters which weigh the house down rather than give it the intended, open, well-lit look that is often intended from removing interior walls. A chunky stainless steel oven hood sits confusingly over the center island, and despite the fact that the original clerestory windows were surprisingly left intact, the living areas appear dark, even with a strange interior color combination of yellow and kelly green.

Secondary bedroom

Dark bathroom 

Master bathroom with floor tile on the walls

The bathrooms in the home have seen the same, generic makeover as the living areas, with dark cabinetry, floor tiles on the surrounds and colors which make the rooms feel smaller and ill-fitting of the architecture of the home. Only one bedroom is shown in photographs, and again while the original clerestories were left in place, the original four-pane floor to ceiling windows have been removed and preplaced with poorly-advised chest-height windows, significantly cutting down on the amount of natural light entering the home and taking away one of the great design features of these homes.

Backyard patio 

Pool and patio 

Pool and backayrd

The west-facing backyard features a large, oval-shaped in-ground pool on the north half of the yard surrounded by a large concrete patio, ripe for entertaining. An L-shaped shade structure sits off of the living room, and offers shade for outside dining. A planer lines the west wall of the yard, offering the only opportunity for in-ground planting.

The interior of this home needs a complete restoration and re-visioning to repair what has been lost, making the exterior the most compelling feature of the home. For those looking for a great project, there’s lot of opportunity to bring this home back to life.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 8755 Penfield Avenue

Or Zillow.com here: 8755 Penfield Avenue

Tierra Del Cerro Palmer & Krisel Renovation Opportunity – San Diego, CA

Built in 1961 by the Drogin Construction Company is this Palmer & Krisel-designed renovation opportunity in Tierra del Cerro in San Diego, CA. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,632 square feet situated on an 8,300 square-foot lot, the asking price of this midcentury home is $599,000.

There’s been lots of San Diego Palmer & Krisels hit the market over the last two weeks, including this one. Situated on an 18-home cul-de-sac, this east-facing home sits behind a well-manicured lawn and sweeping front driveway. The exterior of the home generally retains its original Krisel lines, but has seen its original sand stucco finish covered over in a chunky lace stucco finish.

Living room 

Living and dining room

Inside, this home is the exact same floorplan that we covered on the last entry, with the living room located at the front of the home just north of the entry. The original fireplace sits on the north wall of the living room, and has seen its original modernist form re-imagined with a more traditional surround and mantle. The dining sits open and adjacent to the living room, overlooking the backyard.

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

The kitchen sits adjacent to the dining room at the back of the house and appears to have last been updated in the early 1990s, with dark raised panel oak cabinetry, white tile counters and a mixture of black and white appliances. A large sliding glass door provides access to the backyard and rear covered patio.

Master bedroom 

Master bathroom 

Master bathroom 

Fourth bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Guest bath

The four bedroom all sit along the south side of the home, with the fourth bedroom at the front of the home, the secondary bedrooms along the side and the master bedroom located at the rear of the home. The bathrooms appear to pre-date the kitchen updates by about five years, which while appearing functional, are definitely not midcentury nor modern.

Backyard

Back of home and backyard

West slope of backyard

Covered patio off of living and dining room 

The backyard contains a nice, wide level grassy area surrounded by a small slope full of natural, dens plantings along the west side of the yard. A covered patio sits off the kitchen and dining room, and a small empty pond with bridge sits near one corner of the yard.

This midcentury modern home offers a great blank slate for anyone looking to put their own stamp on something. With a yard big enough for a pool, there’s plenty of opportunity inside and out to be creative and bring this home back to its modernist roots.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5642 Dartford Way

Or Zillow.com here: 5642 Dartford Way

1961 Clairemont Canyon View Palmer & Krisel Home For Sale – San Diego, CA

Built in 1961 is this San Diego Palmer & Krisel-designed home situated on a view lot backing up to Stevenson Canyon. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,808 expanded square feet on a 9,400 square-foot lot, the asking price of this home is $845,000.

Street side view of home

Front of home

Front patio 

Situated on a cul-de-sac street, this west-facing home hides behind well-manicured privacy shrubs siting in elevated planters. Behind the planters sits a raised exposed aggregate patio, creating a large front porch and sun deck area that is partially screened from the street.

Living room and entry

Dining room and living room 

Dining room 

Inside the home, the living room sits at the front of the south side of the home, overlooking the front patio area. The room features wooden floors and original exposed wood beamed ceilings, along with a later added freestanding fireplace. The dining room sits open to the living room at the rear of the home and overlooks the backyard deck through reduced-sized windows.

Kitchen 

Kitchen with family room and dining room beyond

Family room addition

The updated kitchen sits adjacent to the dining room at the rear of the home, and features smooth-faced white laminate cabinets, composite counters and mosaic backsplashes. A family room addition has been tacked onto the rear of the home, and steps down from the main level of the home, and has been finished with an open beamed wood ceiling similar to that found in the rest of the home.

Secondary bedroom at front of home

Secondary bedroom 

Master bedroom 

The three secondary bedrooms sit along the front and north sides of the home, while the master bedroom sits at the rear overlooking the backyard. All four bedrooms feature the same wood flooring and open beamed ceilings as found throughout the rest of the home, and no photographs are provided of the two guest bathrooms.

Backyard

Backyard and canyon views

Backyard deck

Backyard deck

The backyard consists mainly of a two-level deck maximizing views of Stevenson Canyon. Much of the rear yard area is downward sloping hillside with natural terrain. Clear railings at the edge of the deck help give an open feel to the adjacent canyon, and a small patch of turf sits near the north side of the yard.

If anyone out there is looking for a great a midcentury modern home in San Diego with a view, be sure to check out this clean-lined charmer.

Check out Redfin.com here: 3969 Kenosha Avenue

Or Zillow.com here: 3969 Kenosha Avenue