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Sunday, August 28, 2016

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

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