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

Flipped Northridge West Palmer & Krisel Home With Pool For Sale – Northridge, CA

Built by Cal Frank Homes is this freshly flipped 1956 Palmer & Krisel-designed home in Northridge, CA. Situated on a 9,200 square-foot lot, this home includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms in 1,740 square feet, a detached two car garage and a large in-ground pool and carries an asking price of $600,000.

Front of home

Last sold in December 2015 for $440,000, this former bank-owned home has undergone some clean-up, a few modifications both good and bad. The exterior of this midcentury modern home features later added detailings that seem to take it in a more 1940s California ranch-style update as opposed to midcentury modern.

Entry

The exterior of the garage has recently seen a mullioned white vinyl window with curious red shutters replacing two earlier-added arched windows on what would have originally been a windowless façade. Fresh sod has recently been installed in the front yard space, in what could have been an opportunity to install a drought-tolerant landscape, and older, mullioned vinyl replacement windows give this contemporary home a curious, ranch-like appearance.

Inside, this home is the same model which has been featured recently in Bermuda Woods and Southeast Granada Hills. The living and dining rooms sit at the rear of the home, a long galley-style kitchen sits on the east side of the home, and all four bedrooms are clustered on the west side id the home; two bedrooms facing the front and two facing the rear.

Living and dining

Living room 

Living room with mullioned sliders and 'normalized' fireplace

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

The signature modernist fireplace in the living room has been replaced with a more traditional, subdued version of itself with tile surround and chunky mantle. Walls of mullioned windows overlook the backyard, and the clerestories which would have sat over the dining room and kitchen have been covered up. The kitchen has been updated with white shaker-style cabinetry, grey composite counters, and a stainless steel oven and dishwasher.

Secondary bedroom 

Secondary bedroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bath

Guest bath

The bedrooms remain in their original configurations, with vaulted ceilings and carpeted floors. Both bathrooms have been updated with subway tile and mosaic accents; a style that is popular today but not necessarily in keeping with the midcentury modern roots of the home. On the positive side the home is clean, functional and move-in ready.

Backyard and back of home 

Pool and back of home

The backyard features a large in-ground pool at the center of the space with several mature trees at the perimeter of the yard. More sod has been freshly installed here, which like the front, is a missed opportunity to have installed a more responsive, drought tolerant landscape. A large north facing uncovered patio sits along the rear of the home, offering plenty of space for entertaining.

This home offers great bones and serves as a move-in ready product in Northridge West, allowing for the property to be enjoyed immediately as-is or restored over the long term. Either way these are great homes with large lots in a solid community.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 19925 Londelius Street

Or Zillow.com here: 19925 Londelius Street

Northridge West Palmer & Krisel Priced to Sell – Northridge, CA

With fantastic original exterior lines, this 1956 three bedroom, two bathroom Palmer & Krisel-designed home in Northridge, CA in the San Fernando Valley is priced to move. Situated on a nearly 7,500 square-foot lot, this 1,392 square-foot modernist residence includes a two car garage with an asking price of only $499,000.

The exterior features all those great tell-tale Palmer & Krisel-lines, with clerestory windows on the sides of the home and two-car garage, vertical wooden banding on the garage and over the front bathroom window screening it from street view, and a decorative concrete block wall adjacent to the front door. The roof is vintage white rock which completely fits the style of the home, and the post and beam architecture is visually present through the use of exaggerated beams at the sides of the home.

Living room with signature modernist Krisel fireplace that was unique to Northridge West

Rear walls of living room feature walls of glass overlooking backyard

Living room and dining room

The home features the living and dining rooms at the rear of the home, a small family room at the front, and a galley kitchen along the east side of the home. The living room is anchored by the distinctive large modernist Krisel fireplace that was unique to the Northridge West subdivision with open corner and wrap around block surround. The fireplace acts as the divider between the living and family rooms, while an overhead soffit helps define and divide space.

The living room features signature Krisel walls of glass overlooking the backyard, while the family room features the original four-pane floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard between the garage and front of home.

Family room with large south-facing windows

Kitchen features signature floating island and original cabinetry

Folding cooktops steal the show in this kitchen

Original wall oven helps complete this kitchen along with original folding accordion door

The kitchen is wonderfully original, with butcher-block laminate countertops and a dishwasher being one of the few updates. The signature Krisel floating island between the family room and kitchen is still in place, white the original oven and futuristic drop-down cooktops steal the show. It’s pretty rare to see an original drop-down range still in place, and we hope it stays with the home. Hidden behind the original wooden accordion doors is the laundry room, which also sits next to the family room.

Bedroom at corner of home

Secondary bedroom

Guest Bathroom

Master bathroom features original cabinetry

All three bedrooms incorporate their original four-pane windows, while the bedrooms on the west end of the home still feature their original clerestories. The bathrooms have been updated in some places but still feature some great original flare, including original cabinetry and sink in the master, along with vintage retro-esque medicine cabinets.

Backyard patio

Backyard is heavily mulched and features several mature trees

The backyard includes a covered patio, several mature trees and a heavily mulched ground plane. We love seeing Palmer & Krisel homes that are chocked full of original goodies, and this one’s got plenty of great detail with loads of great original character that hasn’t been ruined. Predicted by Redfin to be a quick seller, the current asking price is too good to pass up for those looking for that perfect midcentury modern home in the San Fernando Valley.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 19909 Acre Street

Or Zillow.com here: 19909 Acre Street

Colorful Krisel in Northridge West For Sale – Northridge, CA

New to the market is this 1,392 square-foot Palmer & Krisel-designed home in the San Fernando Valley subdivision of Northridge West, built by the Cal-Frank corporation in 1956. This three bedroom, two bathroom home includes a detached two-car garage and sits on a 9,200 square-foot lot with an asking price of $499,000.

Front yard patio at entryway

The front yard of this property is surrounded with a white picket fence, enclosing a grassy front yard that also provides a large south-facing brick and concrete patio.  A bright turquoise traditional leaded glass front door leads visitors into the home to the backyard-facing living room.

Living and family rooms are divided by the signature Krisel Northridge West fireplace

Original Northridge West Model as photographed by Julius Shulman in 1956.  © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

Living Room with signature soffit

Living room features signature walls of glass overlooking the back yard

Anchoring the living room is the unique Northridge West modernist fireplace, which serves as the divider between the living room and front-facing family room, which is currently used as a dining room. The living room windows overlook the unlandscaped backyard, and the former dining room, currently used as a sitting room, lies at the entrance to the kitchen.

Dining room in former Family Room at front of home

Dining area is open to kitchen

Galley-style kitchen provides lots of natural light

Former dining room is used as sitting area adjacent to kitchen

The kitchen has been updated, with very traditional raised-panel cabinetry, granite counters and black appliances. Large clerestories let lots of natural light into the room and help the galley-kitchen feel larger than it is. The kitchen has also been opened up to the family room and provides an access door to the adjacent sideyard service porch. A mullioned white vinyl sliding glass door has been added to the dining room, allowing for access to the front yard patio and letting additional light into the room.

Master bedroom features sliding glass door to private front patio

Master bedroom and bath

Master bathroom

Private patio off of master bedroom

Guest bath has been updated at various points over the years

Secondary bedroom

The bedrooms are all still in their original configuration, with ceiling fans and mirrored closet doors added. The master bedroom sits at the front of the home, and a slider has been added where the original window was, offering access to the private enclosed patio between the garage and home. Both bathrooms have been updated at various stages over the years, and are functional but not fitting of the style of the home.

Backyard is a blank slate

Backyard has plenty of room for entertaining

The backyard is a blank slate, awaiting a transformation. There’s a concrete pad that runs the lengths of the home, a decorative gravel bed, and bare earth for the majority of the yard. There’s also a small trellised service porch off of the kitchen side yard. The backyard fence has been painted a bright turquoise that may be a little bold at first glance, but offers an element of fun to the property.

This home has great bones and holds a lot of potential to become a modernist showplace. Priced at only $499,000 it’ll definitely go fast, hopefully to a new owner who appreciates it’s clean modernist lines.

Check out Redfin for the full listing here: 19933 Londelius Street

Or Zillow.com here: 19933 Londelius Street