There are a few Palmer & Krisel-designed homes in
Whittier new to the market this week and this is the first of three to be
featured on The Krisel Connection. Located in east Whittier, this mid-century
modern home features four bedroom and two bathrooms in 1,333 square feet with a
detached alley-entry two-car garage on a 6,100 square-foot lot with an asking
price of $480,000.
The exterior of the home has recently been painted a dark
charcoal color, and the white trim of the vinyl replacement windows pop out
against this dark color. The front yard features a lone water-stressed sycamore
tree while the patchy lawn is a blank slate ready for a modernist
water-conserving makeover. The property fronts 1st Street, a 40
mile-per-hour right-of-way, but is buffered with on-street parking and a
bicycle lane.
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| Living room |
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| Dining room |
The living and dining rooms sit at the rear of the home,
with the kitchen just off of the entry at the front. The home still features
its open-beamed celotex ceilings and is floored in dark ceramic tile, while the
living room contains its original unpainted stacked stone fireplace. A wooden
mantle and surround has been added to the stone fireplace to ‘normalize’ it,
but can be an easy removal if so desired.
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| Kitchen |
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| Kitchen |
The living and dining rooms have all of their original
window placements, as does the kitchen which allows for plenty of natural light
to flood the rooms both through floor-to-ceiling windows and side clerestories. The
kitchen has been updated with raised panel cabinetry, white appliances and
granite counters, and features a side yard access door and small breakfast
nook.
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| Secondary Bedroom |
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| Secondary bedroom |
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| Master bedroom |
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| Guest bath |
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| Master bath |
All four bedrooms are fairly compact in size, remain in
their original configurations and are floored in hardwood whereas the remainder
of the house is tiled. The bathrooms have been updated at some point over the
last 20 years, with the exception of the surround in the master bedroom stall
shower, which still maintains its original green 3” tile. The remainders of the
bathrooms are nondescript yet clean and functional.
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| Backyard |
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| Backyard patio |
The backyard, much like the front yard, is a blank slate
awaiting a modernist water-smart makeover. A covered patio runs against most of
the rear of the home, along with a concrete patio. The detached garage sits at
the southwest corner of the yard and occupies a chunk of the usable space. The
rest of the yard is fairly devoid of greenery or trees, with the exception of a
small row of Italian cypress along the side yard.
This property has some great bones associated with it and
can be enjoyed as-is or renovated with a modernist makeover. The current price is a bit on the high side for the condition of the home, and the upcoming Whittier features are priced significantly better.
