The Krisel Connection: 1959 Point Loma Estates Palmer & Krisel For Sale

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

1959 Point Loma Estates Palmer & Krisel For Sale – San Diego, CA

In centrally located Point Loma sits this 1959 Palmer & Krisel-designed home built by the Drogin Construction Company. This home offers a fairly rare elevation for the Point Loma Estates subdivision, as mostly homes have their gable ends fronting the street view, with a gable-roofed garage, this one features the gables at the sides with a flat-roofed garage. This 2,338 square-foot home has been expanded from its modest footprint; however the additions remain relatively sensitive to the design of the home and aren’t detractors. Featuring five bedrooms and three bathrooms on an 8,900 square-foot lot with a view of Downtown San Diego and an asking price of $849,000.

This home has great curb appeal, with a tidy green San Diego front yard and a wonderful, unassuming elevation. The windows have been replaced with white vinyl sliders, which are considerably chunkier than the original aluminum-framed windows, and oftentimes many homeowners don’t realize that dual pane windows also come in aluminum. The garage door appears to have been updated around the same time as the windows and an upgrade to a flat-panel or opaque glass door would really take the curb appeal of this home up a notch.

Walking into this home visitors immediately enter the living room, which features a signature dramatic Krisel floating fireplace – a square-framed hearth, offset firebox opening and mosaic tile accent. Even more striking is the chimney and clerestory detail – the chimney sits on the outside of the home, yet the original crinkle-glass clerestory spans the entire living room wall and offers a unique, dramatic obscured view of the chimney. The living room feeds into the original dining room, which access the rear family room addition through an opening which would have originally been the back yard sliding glass door.

The family room addition features a butterfly roofline, and vaulted ceilings in the spirit of the original style of the home. The ceiling tiles definitely give away the era in which the addition was built, and the large sliders and clerestories defiantly carry forward the spirit of the home. There’s also some pretty nifty built-ins, and while not completely Krisel-esque they are definitely a wonderful mid-century feature. Even the door pulls on the built-ins are pretty cool.

The kitchen has been renovated, and surprisingly the cabinetry is actually quite similar to original mid-century styles. The granite counters throw things off a bit, and the kitchen remodel would potentially have been more successful had one-inch mosaic tile complimenting that found in the living room fireplace been used for the backsplashes, to give the room a lighter, less-weighty look. A less busy countertop, such as a quartz composite or solid color, would have also been more complimentary to the architecture of the home.

The bathrooms have all been remodeled over the years; however the hall bathroom appears to have the original glass mosaic tile for the tub surround. The bedrooms are all light and bright, featuring those wonderful signature Krisel open-beamed ceilings. The master features a small deck accessed from a sliding glass door, along with large clerestories and a skylight to really let in some natural light. The backyard incorporates a large deck, and best of all has relatively unobstructed views of downtown. The rear yard isn’t huge, but offers a nice spot of green turf for pets or kids.

San Diego real estate is pricey, and this five-bedroom gem is no exception. This move-in ready home is waiting for a new owner, and it won’t take much to make this mid-mod home a show stopper.