Million Dollar Monday: Vintage Pacifica Palmer & Krisel For Sale – San Diego, CA

Perched on San Aquario Drive in San Diego, CA is this 1962 Palmer & Krisel-designed home in Pacifica built by the Drogin Construction Company. With three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,656 original square feet, this home sits on a large 12,100 square-foot lot with sweeping views of Mission Bay and carries an asking price of $1,149,999.

Front of home

The exterior of the home is in need of a little sprucing up, but contains some fantastic specimen Spanish Bayonet specimens along the curb line of the property. The rest of the yard is a blank slate waiting for a makeover that compliments the architecture of the home. The side-entry garage still contains its original clerestory windows, and the façade of the home contains all its original lines, with the exception of the vinyl replacement windows.

Entry hall 

Inside, the home contains most of it original finishes and fixtures. Well-worn with time, it’s fairly rare to see these finishes intact in this neighborhood, as the current million-dollar price tags tend to demand newer and shinier updates. The original paneling in the entry hall is still intact, as is the dividing screen separating the entry from the front-facing living room.

Living and entry

Living room 

Dining room 

The living room is anchored by a signature Krisel modernist fireplace, with simple vertical stone line and low firebox opening. Original vaulted open beamed wood ceilings line the room, and connect the rear-facing dining room with the living. The dining room overlooks the backyard, and large floor-to-ceiling windows provide interior views of Mission Bay.

Original kitchen room divider

Kitchen and family room 

Kitchen and family room 

Family room 

Kitchen and entry hall 

The kitchen is nice and vintage, with original cabinetry and rare surviving original cabinet room divider. The tile countertops are original, as is the hanging globe light above the sink, while the appliances have all been updated. The family room sits adjacent and open to the kitchen, and is well-lit thanks to southwest facing clerestories and sliding glass door.

Hallway

Guest bath

Secondary bedroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bath

Backyard

All three bedrooms are located on the north side of the home, and lie in their original configurations, with the master bedroom at the rear of the home. The bathrooms feature their original floating vanities, tub and shower surrounds.  The backyard is essentially in the same condition as the front yard, ready for a thoughtful makeover that compliments the home.

This home offers a great opportunity to polish a diamond in the rough, and with a few small tweaks this property could be a mid-mod stunner.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5068 San Aquario Drive

Or Zillow.com here: 5068 San Aquario Drive

Second Rare Palmer & Krisel ‘Tampa Home’ Hits the Market – Reseda, CA

In desperate need of a modernist restoration is this rare early 1953 Palmer & Krisel-designed ‘Tampa Homes’ home new to the market in Reseda, CA. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms, a two-car rear-yard detached garage and a may-or-may-not-be-permitted two-bedroom apartment addition, the asking price of this home is $549,980.

Front of home

Entry walkway

One of only 12 Tampa Homes built, this property sits elevated above Tampa Avenue, with garage access via a rear-yard alley. A small flight of steps leads past the sloped front yard to the traditionally-styled entry gate. Random plantings sits along the base of the home, leaving the front yard an excellent blank slate for a water-conserving makeover. Behind the entry gate lies a walkway to the front door, which sits on the center of the north side of the home.

The only living room pic provided is of the tiled fireplace - under the tile is hopefully well-preserved red brick

The entry hall leads into the south-facing living and dining rooms. Both rooms show cluttered and dark, as the large-scaled furniture coupled with windows which have been shortened or reduced in size over time create a darker living space. The original fireplace is still intact in the living room, but unfortunately, due to a 2009 flip, has seen its original modernist red-brick form covered in shiny floor tiles.

Kitchen 

The kitchen sits along the west side of the home, and sports is 2009 flipper makeover, with granite countertops, overly ornate raised-panel cherry cabinetry with leaded glass fronts and crown molding. On a positive note, the open-beamed celotex ceilings are still in place as are the west-facing clerestory windows.

Secondary bedroom 

Master bedroom  

Guest bath

The bedrooms show dark and small, as like the living room the windows have been reduced in height and size, and the east facing clerestories on the two front bedrooms are long gone. Both bathrooms have been traditionally early 2000’s renovated, apparently when the trend of converting old dressers into vanities was popular.

Guest house living/kitchen 

Backyard and back of home

Back of home 

North side yard

The backyard is generally swallowed up by the detached two-car garage and guest house/apartment. The guest house contains two bedrooms, a bathroom and a small kitchenette, but its legality is questionable and may be better off being removed. A small patio with fire pit lies along the south side of the home, while the remainder of the yard is hardscape.

Just about everything done to this house over the years has taken it away from its modernist midcentury roots, front the chunky lace stucco and mullioned vinyl replacement windows on the outside, to the granite covered kitchen and tiled over fireplace on the inside. But the home presents a great restoration opportunity, one that hopefully a new owner will take advantage of.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 6533 Tampa Avenue

Or Realto.com here: 6533 Tampa Avenue

Classic North Winnetka Krisel Pool Home For Sale – Winnetka, CA

Built in 1954 in north Winnetka, CA in the San Fernando Valley is this classic Palmer and Krisel-designed modernist house. Measuring in at 1,406 square feet, this home incorporates three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a two-car carport and an in-ground pool and spa on a 7,100 square-foot lot and carries an asking price of $495,000.

Front yard view from entry

The exterior of this home maintains its original modernist integrity, with all proportions still intact. The carport carries a striking reverse-angle roofline, with angled vertical siding adding texture and shadow lines to the façade. This pattern is repeated on the front exterior of the service porch fence, adjacent to the kitchen.

Kitchen 

Dining room view

Colorful front door

Inside, the kitchen sits at the front of the home while the living and dining rooms sit towards the rear. While there are no bedroom pictures provided, this floorplan typically accommodates a split master bedroom, nestled between the entry and the living room, and one rear and one front-facing secondary bedroom located behind the kitchen and dining room.

The kitchen appears to contain its original cabinet boxes with long-ago updated raised panel doors and traditional pulls. Appliances are somewhat vintage in their own right, and counters appear to have been replaced over time as well. A partial photo looking out the dining room windows to the backyard is shown, indicating that original floor-to-ceiling windows have been shortened slightly and replaced with vinyl substitutes, making restoration an easy possibility.

Original guest bath

One photo of only one bathrooms is shown, which shows off the original features and tilework. The floating vanity with dual American Standard Pullmans is still in place, as is the soft yellow tub with matching tiled surround.  

Gazebo

Backyard patio 

Pool and backyard

Terrible pool photo

The backyard is ripe for entertaining, with a large in-ground pool and spa at the center of the space. A covered patio runs along the backside of the home, and generous amounts of patio space surrounds the pool. Planters with mature plantings surround the perimeter of the yard, and a small gazeebo sits on the north side of the yard.

With original lines, lots of great features still intact, an in-ground pool and an asking price under $500,000, this home is predicted by Redfin.com to be a swift sell.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 8463 Fullbright Avenue

Or Zillow.com here: 8463 Fullbright Avenue

Marlborough Palms 1958 Palmer & Krisel Pool Home For Sale – Granada Hills, CA

  

Built in 1958 in Granada Hills’ Marlborough Palms neighborhood is this recently flipped Palmer & Krisel-designed home new to the market. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,640 square feet, the home is sited on an 8,300 square-foot corner lot with a pool and carries an asking price of $579,900.

Front of home

Last sold in June 2015 as a bank-owned foreclosure for $431,000, this midcentury home has been cleaned and sanitized from most of its modernist origins. Outside, this east-facing home has had modern redwood siding added to a portion of the front exterior of the home. The original signature Krisel four-pane aluminum windows have all been removed, swapped out for traditional mullioned white vinyl replacements.

Entry

Entry hall 

An English cottage traditional front door accented with a craftsman-style porch light adds to the hodgepodge of styles thrust upon this home by the current owner, resulting in a chaotic and random appearance. The entry hall leads past the master bedroom entrance to the rear-facing living and dining rooms. Walls of mullioned sliders divide the indoors from the out, and for some reason one of the floor-to-ceiling windows has been shortened.

Living room 

View from living and dining rooms

Living and dining room 

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

The original open beamed ceilings are still in place, yet the signature soffit has been removed and strange sconces have been placed at a now awkward height. The signature Krisel modernist fireplace is still intact, but the original north-facing clerestory windows which would have been located over the over mantle have been drywalled over, completely diminishing the sleek lines of the fireplace.

The hodgepodge of styles continues at the front-facing kitchen, with new white shaker cabinets, traditional ornate crown molding, and modern composite counters. Mid-range appliances – but no fridge – round out the rest of the room with modern tiled backsplashes.

Guest bath

Guest bath

Secondary bedroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bath

Master bath shower

Both the guest bath and master bath have received modern trended makeovers, with subway tiled tub and shower surrounds dominating the look of the space. Both bath vanities are shaker-styled, with oval sinks, and stone counters. Identical big-box store mirrors and light fixtures are found in both bathrooms, while neither appears to provide a towel rack. The master bedroom sits at the front of the home, and like the living room has had its original clerestory windows drywalled over, cutting down on the amount of natural light entering the room. The remaining three bedrooms are split from the master, located on the south side of the home.

Backyard

Patio and pool 

Trellised patio

The backyard features a large trellised shade structure attached to the rear of the home. A large concrete patio leads to the large curvilinear swimming pool, which is surrounded by a low seating wall. Mature trees surround the yard, adding privacy and protection from the west-facing sun.

For those who like their midcentury modern mixed with lots and lots of competing styles, then this will be a sweet find for someone. Otherwise, most will find that there’s a lot of undoing to do here.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 10625 Debra Avenue

Or Zillow.com here: 10625 Debra Avenue