University City Expanded and Modified Palmer & Krisel For Sale – San Diego, CA

Built in 1962 is this expanded and modified Palmer & Krisel-designed midcentury home in San Diego’s University City. With four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 1,596 square feet and a two-car garage on a 6,300 square foot lot with an asking price of $799,000.

Front of home

The exterior of the home has been modified over the years, namely with the removal of the original clerestory living room windows to the left of the entry, stone veneer added to the base of the home and an addition occupying the space between the front of the home and the (formerly) detached garage. The modifications to the home alter the original proportions a bit, but those with a keen eye will notice that this is the same floorplan at Monday’s featured Palmer & Krisel home in La Jolla (with a price tag of about $900,000 less).

Living room and entry

Living and dining room

Dining room

The living and dining rooms sit along the north side of the home, stretching between the front and back of the home. The living room is anchored by a traditional looking fireplace that has had its modern lines made more ‘traditional’ with the addition of stone pilasters and a thick, heavy mantle. The dining area sits adjacent to the kitchen and features floor to ceiling clerestories and windows overlooking the backyard.

Kitchen

Kitchen and breakfast bar

Family room and kitchen

Family room

At the center of the rear of the home are the kitchen and family room. The kitchen has been updated at some point, with newer bright blue cabinetry, counters and appliances. The refrigerator doesn’t quite fit in its designated space, along with the range and in traditional color theory blue is considered the most unappetizing color, leaving plenty of room for improvement in this space.

Master at rear of home

Master bath

Secondary bedroom

Secondary bedroom

Guest bath

Half bath at bedroom at front of home

The four bedrooms sit along the south side of the home, with the original master at the rear of the home and an added master at the front. The bathrooms have all been updated over various points over the decades, from the 1980s, 1990s to early 2000s.

Backyard and patio

Backyard

Patio

The backyard is essentially a blank slate ready for a modernist makeover, with a simple concrete slab sitting off the family room. The remainder of the yard consists of a lush green lawn, a few small trees and border plantings along the rear fence.

While the home has been altered over the years from its midcentury modern roots, it’s still a great property that Redfin predicts will sell within the next 10 days.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5871 Stresemann Street

Or Zillow.com here: 5871 Stresemann Street

Upwardly Expanded University City Palmer & Krisel For Sale – San Diego, CA

Built in 1962 is this butterfly-roofed Palmer & Krisel-designed home in San Diego’s University City neighborhood that’s relatively new to the market. It’s been vertically expanded with a two-story addition that significantly alters the appearance of the home; however the addition has been in place for several years and was not a decision made by the current sellers. With the addition, this home includes five bedrooms, three bathrooms in 2,494 square feet, a two car garage and a 6,500 square foot lot with an asking price of $899,000.

Entryway

The front yard offers great curb appeal to the home, with a drought-tolerant low-water use landscape with lots of succulents, palms and agaves. A courtyard entry welcomes visitors to the home, which is accessed through a subdued orange door.

Living Room

Living, Dining and Loft

Living Room as viewed from loft

The rear of the home is essentially a separate structure, as the living and dining rooms were blown out to create the second story addition. They now incorporate a raised, vaulted ceiling creating an open, voluminous space. Interestingly enough, the original fireplace is still in place in the living room, with a raised chimney hood to accommodate the heightened ceiling. The windows and exterior door openings were kept proportional to the original design, and appear to be in their original intended locations, letting plenty of natural light into the space.

Kitchen and breakfast nook

Kitchen

The kitchen and breakfast nook are just about two of the only rooms to accommodate the original butterfly  ceiling, with original acoustical tiles and beams still in place. The kitchen appears to have been last updated in the mid 1980s, with white laminate cabinetry and white laminate countertops.

Guest bathroom

Guest room - lowered ceilings change the volume of the space

Guest room

Second floor loft

Second floor loft

Upstairs Master bedroom

Upstairs master bathroom

Upstairs guest room

The upstairs addition incorporates a large open loft space, secondary bedroom and master suite. The remaining bedrooms are downstairs, and now incorporate flat ceilings. The clerestories have been removed, as their context has been changed, cutting down on the amount of natural light entering the rooms. The remaining bathrooms appear to have last been updated when the addition was placed on the home, and are more Spanish-style than modernist.

Backyard - only the lower level windows indicate that this is a Krisel-designed home

This home presents an interesting design challenge, as half of it is Palmer & Krisel midcentury modern, while the addition reads from the era it was built, mid-1980s. The addition was done well, and even though it is not at all the style of the home, adds valuable square footage onto the home. There’s always the option to mitigate the appearance of the addition, through paint, a revised roofline, or for the deep-pocketed buyer, restoration.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 5842 Stresemann Street

Or Zillow.com here: 5842 Stresemann Street

Million Dollar Monday: University City Butterfly-Roofed Palmer & Krisel For Sale – San Diego, CA

Priced at nearly a million dollars is this spectacular 1962 butterfly-roofed home in University City in Sa Diego, CA. This home features five bedrooms, two bathrooms in 2,404 square feet with a two-car garage on a corner view lot with an asking price of $950,000.

Walkway to front of home 

Driveway and front yard

Entry and vertical shadow blcok

The exterior of the home has some great signature Krisel features – shadow block on the façade of the home, clerestories, exaggerated overhangs and a stately pair of red double doors leading visitors to the home. The north-facing front yard is green and lush, with lots of ivy ground cover, shrubs and trees accented with a decorative screen block wall next to the entry walkway.

Living room with signature modernist fireplace

Living room with views to the front yard

Walking into the home, one enters the large living room with clerestories with both front yard and backyard views – a rear feature for a Krisel home to incorporate both. The living room is anchored by the simple modernist fireplace, with floating concrete hearth and surrounded by a simple steel rectangular frame.

The kitchen doesn't stylistically fit the home

The kitchen is at the back of the home and is modern, with traditional cabinetry that doesn’t necessarily reflect the mid-mod coolness of this home. Its more Tuscan style, with overly ornate wood-finished raised-panel cabinetry and busy granite counters. It’s a shame, as this home such fantastic curb appeal with such an unfitting kitchen.

Addition at rear of home

Master bedroom

Master bathroom with one of the coolest tile surrounds we've ever seen

Secondary bedroom

There’s an addition on the back of the home with a drop ceiling that resembles more of an office than a bedroom, but adds square footage onto the home. The master bedroom sits at the rear of the home, and incorporates clerestories and a full wall of windows overlooking the backyard. The biggest hit is the master bathroom. The vanity and sink have been updated with cabinetry that matches the kitchen, but the tile surround at the bathtub is fantastic midcentury black and white streak pattern.

Backyard has lots of space for entertaining

The backyard has fantastic views of the nearby valley, with a large covered patio off of the kitchen and breakfast nook. There’s also lot of uncovered patios space, planters and mature vegetation.  

This is an eye catching home that should sell fairly quickly. It’s definitely a head turner, and great opportunity to own an iconic design in a desirable area of San Diego.

Check out the Redfin listing here: 2597 Soderblom Avenue

Or Realtor.com here: 2597 Soderblom Avenue