Westridge Park Palmer & Krisel Time Capsule For Sale – Winnetka, CA

Built in 1959 by builder George Heltzer is this time capsule of a home in Westridge Park in Winnetka, CA in the San Fernando Valley. Designed by architects Palmer & Krisel, this home features three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,823 expanded square feet, a detached rear-yard garage, and an in-ground pool all on an 8,600 square-foot cul-de-sac lot with an asking price of $509,000.

Unfortunately there aren’t many photographs of this midcentury modern time capsule, but this home was too good not to share. The home sits behind a small front yard, currently the perfect candidate for a modernist water-conserving makeover. The façade of the home features a fun checkerboard screen concealing a front-facing bathroom window, a combination of clapboard siding and stucco and Krisel’s signature four-pane windows. A neatly trimmed hedgerow sits at the base of the home, while wild junipers grow along the south side of the front yard.

Inside, the living room sits at the rear of the home while the kitchen lies at the front. On this floorplan, the master bedroom and bath sit between the entry and living room at the front of the home, a breakfast nook adjacent to the entry and the kitchen opposite the nook. There’s also an approximate 400 square-foot family room addition at the northeast corner of the home, which unfortunately there are no pictures of.

Living room - WOW!

The rear facing living room looks straight out of 1959, with Krisel’s signature modernist fireplace anchoring the west wall of the room. Clerestory windows sit above a paneled overmantle, which in turn sits above thin, horizontal stonework. Topping off the room is a thoughtfully-placed vintage George Nelson cigar lamp helping to anchor the fireplace and set the mid-mod tone for the room.

Kitchen 

The kitchen still maintains its original dark-stained cabinets, white tile countertops, along with vintage appliances, including fridge. The floor looks to be mid to later 1960s, but is still pretty wild and vintage in its own right.

Pool and rear yard detached garage

Backyard and pool

The large backyard contains a good-sized in-ground pool, a covered patio off of the living room and a detached garage accessed via an adjacent alleyway. Mature trees and shrubs line backyard, and like the front, is in need of a modernist makeover that better suits the style of the home.

There aren’t any photos of the bed or bathrooms, but judging by the few home photos shown, they’ve got to be straight out of 1959. Frighteningly, the listing agent suggests that this home needs updating, hopefully a Krisel enthusiast will bring out the best and retain the features that give this home so much character.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 20839 Blythe Street

Or Zillow.com here: 20839 Blythe Street

Westridge Park 1959 Palmer & Krisel-designed Home For Sale – Winnetka, CA

  

Built by George Heltzer in 1959 is this 1,383 square-foot Palmer & Krisel-designed midcentury modern home in Winnetka, CA. The property includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a two car detached garage and an in-ground pool all on a 7,400 square-foot lot with an asking price of $498,000.

Front entry

The home sits on a corner lot and generally faces south. With a lush green lawn and mature shrubbery, the property maintains a green appearance while being devoid of any shade trees, with the exception of one lone palm at the rear corner of the backyard. The garage is located at the rear of the property and accessed from the corner side of the lot, keeping the front yard free of driveway space. The front of the home is rather unassuming and modest, with the exception of a full-height decorative screen block wall obscuring the guest bath and secondary bedroom windows.

Entry

The master bedroom and bath, dining room (original breakfast nook), guest bath and secondary bedroom all sit at the front of the home, while the living room (along with original dining room), kitchen, laundry and secondary bedroom sit at the rear of the home. The entry hall has had a hole cut in the wall, allowing for visibility into the former breakfast nook, currently used as the dining room.  The hole gives visitors and guest an unobstructed view into the kitchen and dining room, eliminating privacy from visitors.

Living room

Living room

The living room is anchored by its original signature Krisel modernist fireplace, whose surround has been unceremoniously covered in floor tile. The original form remains intact, and the original clerestories flanking the chimneys remain. The original dining room was once part of the living room, and still features a ceiling fan over the center, but is now located in the area originally designated as the breakfast nook.

Dining room as seen from entry

Dining and kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

The kitchen has been updated with a very traditional and heavy style of cabinetry, with raised panel doors and thick crown molding. Granite counters, black wrought iron door pulls, ornate light fixtures and stainless steel appliances complete the traditional appearance of the kitchen. The kitchen ceiling has been lowered for an unknown reason, leaving it one of the only rooms in the house with a flat ceiling.

Master bedroom and partial view of bath

Guest bath

Guest bath with original Italian glass tile surround

Secondary bedroom

Secondary bedroom

The master bedroom is split from the secondary bedrooms, located between the living room and entry hall. With vaulted ceilings, the master overlooks the front yard and appears to retain the original bathroom. The secondary bedrooms sit on the east end of the home and feature their original vaulted ceilings and windows on two walls allowing for lots of natural light to flow in. The guest bathroom features the original marble floating vanity with pink American Standard Pullmans, and the original Italian glass tiled shower surround sitting above the pink bathtub.

Pool & bakcyard

Pool and backyard

Backyard deck

Most of the backyard is occupied by the swimming pool and detached garage, with a small raised deck sitting between the pool and home. A small patch of green lawn sits off to the side of the pool allowing for a small patch of greenery in the otherwise hardscaped yard.

This home has had some traditional elements placed upon it making it read a little less contemporary than originally intended, but luckily it’s got great bones and original bathrooms which still read midcentury. It’d be a great restoration/renovation project, and it wouldn’t take much to make this one shine.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 20701 Arminta Street

Or Zillow.com here: 20701 Arminta Street

Time Capsule Palmer & Krisel in Westridge Park For Sale – Canoga Park, CA

Built in 1960 by builder George Heltzer is this time capsule Palmer & Krisel-designed home in the neighborhood of Westridge Park, located in Canoga Park in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. This 1,383 square-foot three bedroom, two bathroom home includes a two car garage and an in-ground pool on a 7,500 square-foot lot with an asking price of $489,000.

The Westridge Park development contains traditional ranch and Cinderella ranch homes along with Palmer & Krisel-designed contemporary homes. Each home typically shares a singular driveway/curb cut with each other, and the community was laid out with similar homes sharing a driveway with another. This particular home doesn’t quite share it’s driveway with the home next door, but is located adjacent to another Palmer & Krisel-designed contemporary.

The exterior of the home features a slightly steeper raked roofline than found on most other Krisel homes; however, other hallmarks are there including the side entry garage, four-pane floor-to-ceiling windows and an opened eave detail (seen on this home in front of the chimney). The front yard is traditional and well-manicured, with mature shrubs and a lush full lawn.

Living room

Inside, this midcentury modern home looks as great as it did in 1960. The living room sits at the front of the home, and features a sleek modernist fireplace topped with a wood paneled-soffit extending over the entryway. A vintage screen separates the entryway from the living room, flanked by three columns that utilize Krisel’s signature parallel supports with a small square board sandwiched between the tops and bottoms.

Dining room

Breakfast nook and kitchen

Kitchen

Breakfast bar

Kitchen

The dining room sits opposite the living room and overlooks the backyard through a hallmark four-pane window and glass slider. Adjacent to the dining room is the original kitchen which also overlooks the backyard and pool. All cabinetry is original unfinished wood, while the countertops are the original 12” x 6” tiles. The cooktop and oven have been updated, but the pink undermount sink is vintage, along with the chrome ring surrounding it.

Master bedroom

Master bath

Master bath

Secondary bedroom

Secondary bedroom

Secondary bedroom - we hope this floating wall unit stays!

Guest bathroom

Guest bathroom

The master bedroom sits at the front of the house, while the secondary bedrooms sit at the front and rear corners of the home. All bedrooms maintain their original footprints, and feature large, floor-to-ceiling windows letting in lots of natural light. The bathrooms are just as vintage and pristine as the kitchen, with original marble counters, pink Pullmans, and glass mosaic tile surround around the pink tub in the hall bath. The master shower surround appears to have been rebuilt at some point, but works with the style of the home simple, white 3” tile.

Backyard and pool

Pool and backyard patio

Back of home

The backyard contains lots of patio space and a vintage in-ground pool. Shrubs and vegetation surround the perimeter of the north-facing rear yard allowing for additional privacy. This near prefect time capsule of a home will definitely not last long – hopefully the new owner will love it as much as the previous owner appears to have.

Check out the full listing on Redfin.com here: 20711 Lull Street

Or Zillow.com here: 20711 Lull Street