Traditionally Renovated Buena Park Palmer & Krisel For Sale – Buena Park, CA

Built in 1955 is this Palmer & Krisel-designed home in Buena Park, CA new to the market. Featuring a recent traditional renovation, this home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,430 square feet, sits on a 6,100 square-foot lot and carries an asking price of $549,995.

The exterior of the home retains its original midcentury lines, with the striking reverse angle roofline of the garage giving the home a distinct California modern look. Aside from a single street tree, the front yard consists of a flat, patch lawn with a few foundation plantings in front of the garage. The garage door has seen an ill-suited sunburst garage door placed on it, and mullioned white vinyl replacement windows on the façade of the home contrast with the modernist architecture.

Inside, the home has been renovated in a traditional style, which seems to downplay the midcentury modern and signature Krisel lines. The living room sits towards the rear of the home, while the dining nook and kitchen sit towards the front. The former service porch between the garage and kitchen has been enclosed, adding a small den onto the front of the home.

Living and entry

Living room 

The living room features its signature original open beamed wood ceilings and signature Krisel modernist fireplace. The clerestories on the side of the home have been covered over for some reason, cutting down on the amount of the natural light entering the home, and dark wavy laminate floors contrast with Krisel’s distinct midcentury modern style.

Dining nook and kitchen 

Strange kitchen island

Kitchen with strange mosaic tile work

The kitchen has recently been updated, with more traditional elements, including raised panel cabinetry, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. In what appears to be a DIY-job, elongated mosaic tiles surround the cabinets, and creep up to the ceiling, with some tiles laid perpendicular to the rest. A strange island sits between the living room and the kitchen, with a freestanding set of cabinetry oddly surrounded by three columns.

Bath

Secondary bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Bath 

Master bedroom 

Both bathrooms have been renovated in a similar style to the rest of the home, with traditional fixtures and beige tilework. The three bedrooms are located on the west side of the home, and like the living room, the end bedrooms have unfortunately recently have had their clerestory windows removed, making the rooms feel smaller and darker than intended.

Backyard 

Covered patio and backyard

The backyard features a large covered patio off of the living room. Patchy turf surrounds the patio, and a few randomly placed shrubs sit near the periphery of the yard.

While the renovations to the home don’t acknowledge the modernist architecture of the home, it’s located in a desirable area and could always be restored at a later date.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5884 Los Encinos Street

Or Zillow.com here: 5884 Los Encinos Street

1955 Long & Linear Buena Park Palmer & Krisel For Sale – Buena Park, CA

Built in 1955 in Buena Park is this long and linear midcentury modern Palmer & Krisel-designed home new to the market. With three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,263 square feet and an original two-car garage all on a 6,500 square-foot lot, the asking price on this home is $519,900.

Front of home

The home sits on a small frontage road, separated from the six-lane, 45-mile-per-hour Valley View Street with a waist-high row of shrubbery. The exterior of the home maintains its strong midcentury lines, with the gable end of the home oriented towards the street and the two-car garage set back towards the rear of the home with a reverse-angle roofline. This configuration allows for a long driveway able to accommodate multiple vehicles and places the front at the center of the north side of the home. From street view, all the original clerestory windows are in place, and topiary plantings add a fun midcentury touch to the home.

The bedrooms of this home sit at the front of the property while the living, kitchen and dining room sit towards the rear. Unfortunately the original windows of this home have been swapped out for mullioned white vinyl replacements, many of which eliminated the original floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the home. The mullions also add division where the language of midcentury modern was to blur the line between the indoors and out. 

Living Room

Living room as seen from kitchen

The living room and dining room would have originally featured a full wall of glass overlooking the back yard, which has now seen the windows shortened in height, and the full size sliders have been replaced with much smaller doors which no longer align with the clerestory windows above them. The original stacked brick modernist fireplace has been recently covered over in dark floor tiles, and a traditional ornate mantle has been added. With any luck the original brick underneath is in salvageable condition.

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen, island and side of fridge

The kitchen has been opened to the living room, separated by a large granite-topped islands highlighted by pendant lights. The side of the fridge is completely exposed to the living room and entry, serving as a good reminder to consider appliance placement when walls are removed in an attempt to open up rooms. Stainless steel appliances surrounded by white-painted cabinetry and ceramic tile floors round out the rest of the room.

Master bedroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bathroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Guest bathroom 

The master bedroom sits at the front of the home, adjacent to the driveway side of the property, while the secondary bedrooms sit on the south side of the home across from the master. Both bathrooms have been updated, while the master bath still maintains its original stall shower, bathroom vanity and white American Standard sink, surrounded by replacement granite.

Rear of home 

Backyard and back of home

The backyard is a blank slate, ready for a water-conserving modernist makeover. A simple uncovered concrete slab runs along the backside of the home, and turf lies between the slab and rear wall. The only shade provided to the west-facing rear yard is that from neighboring trees, the remainder of the yard is devoid of trees and shade.

This midcentury Buena Park Palmer & Krisel has great lines, great bones and is filled with unlimited potential for those looking for a great renovation project.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 8675 Valley View Street

Or Realtor.com here: 8675 Valley View Street

Expanded Buena Park Palmer & Krisel For Sale – Buena Park, CA

Built in 1955 by Louis Lesser Enterprises is this well-used and expanded Palmer & Krisel-designed home which has recently hit the market. With three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,400 square feet, this home includes a two-car garage and sits on a tidy 6,000 square foot lot and carries an asking price of $529,000.

Front of home is ripe for creativity

The exterior of the home is a blank slate for renovations. The north-facing front yard consists of water-thirsty turf and small plantings, ready for a modernist water-conserving makeover. The exterior of the home has been covered in patchy lace stucco, replacing an original sand finish, and all of the thin-framed aluminum windows have been swapped out for mullioned white vinyl replacements.

Inside the home, the living and original dining room sits at the rear of the property, while the kitchen lies at the front. The master is split from the secondary bedrooms, on the east side of the home, while the secondary bedrooms sit along the west. There’s not much midcentury left in the interior of the home, making it a great opportunity for a renovation or restoration.

Entry hall 

Living room 

Living room 

Living room 

The living room overlooks the backyard through mullioned windows, which obscure the intended indoors/outdoors appearance of the room. The original modernist fireplace has been ‘normalized’, with a traditional mantle and tile surround added. The ceilings, like those found in the Northridge West subdivision, feature main beams which run lengthwise across the home. The original wooden ceilings have long been drywalled over, but then again so have the clerestory windows.

Kitchen 

Kitchen

Kitchen 

Kitchen and added dining room 

Dining room 

Small living space adjacent to added dining room 

The kitchen sits at the front of the home, and features traditional, raised-panel cabinetry topped with thick crown molding. Black appliances, Corian counters and stone tile backsplashes round out the room. The former breezeway between the formerly detached two-car garage has been enclosed and is currently utilized as a separate dining room. This allows for the home to have direct access to the garage now, and adds some square footage onto what was originally an 1,190 square-foot home.

Master bedroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bathroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Guest bath

The master bedroom along the east side of the home includes a walk-in closet and separate bath. The master bathroom has been renovated with materials indicative of big box store origins, as has the guest bath. Both are clean and functional and may be utilized as-is until a more appropriate modernist renovation can occur. The secondary bedrooms lie just off of the kitchen area, and are in their original configurations minus original clerestory windows.

Covered patio 

Covered patio and barbeque area

Backyard turf area

Firepit and raised deck

The backyard features a large covered patio for entertaining, including a built in barbeque. A raised deck and firepit sits just beyond the covered patio, and a small grassy area adjoins the deck and patio. Curiously, the entire property is devoid of trees and natural shade, which impact the aesthetics of the property and miss an opportunity for passive solar.

There’s not a lot of midcentury modern left in this midcentury modern home, making it a property with great bones ripe for a renovation.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5842 Los Santos Way

Or Zillow.com here: 5842 Los Santos Way