Los Angeles | $1.499 million
A Spanish-style house built in 1928 on 0.2 acres
This recently renovated, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house sits in the hills of Los Angeles’s Mount Washington neighborhood, 15 minutes north of downtown. The adjoining lot is included as part of the sale, allowing for the addition of another structure.
Mount Washington is within 10 minutes of Occidental College, the popular Highland Park Bowl and a host of popular eateries. A nearby stretch of York Avenue is home to several Mexican restaurants, an Italian-style sandwich shop and a handful of bars. Mount Washington Elementary School is five minutes south. The Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods are both around 20 minutes west.
Size: 1,494 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,003
Indoors: A gate in an ivy-covered wall opens to the home’s driveway and garage. From here, stairs lead up to the covered front porch, where the door opens directly into the living room. The hardwood floors and windows are original. French doors next to the fireplace open to the rear patio.
Windows looking out to the nearby treetops frame a combined kitchen and dining room. The kitchen, updated as part of the remodel, has bright red cabinets, white stone countertops, stainless steel appliances and a white porcelain farmhouse-style sink set beneath a garden window.
There are two bedrooms on this level, both to the right of the living room. One has direct access to the rear patio. They share a bathroom with a combined tub and shower and a new vanity.
Stairs on this side of the house lead to the lower level, used as the primary suite. The bedroom has more original windows, restored as part of the renovation, and a walk-in closet. The bathroom has a black-and-white color scheme and a walk-in shower.
Outdoor space: In addition to the rear patio, which has Spanish-style tiles and space for a dining table and a grill, the home has a terraced garden landscaped with drought-tolerant plants and a smaller patio with a decorative fountain. The detached garage, at street level, holds two cars.
Costs: $18,732 in annual taxes (estimated)
Contact: Laura Martinez and Robert Kallick, Compass, 323-559-8865
Kensington | $1.495 million
A 1977 house with a detached studio on 0.1 acres
This four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house with a detached studio is in Kensington, an unincorporated community just north of Berkeley in the East Bay. The property is adjacent to a nature preserve with hiking trails and has easy access to Ye Olde School Trail, which puts the well-rated Kensington Hilltop Elementary School within walking distance. The botanical garden at the University of California, Berkeley, is a mile north, and the school’s main campus is three miles south.
El Cerrito Plaza, a 10-minute drive west, is the nearest BART stop, with a Trader Joe’s and several other supermarkets nearby. San Francisco is between 30 and 45 minutes away by car.
Size: 2,250 square feet
Price per square foot: $664
Indoors: A staircase climbs the side of the house to the front door, which opens to a foyer with steps to the upper and lower levels. Upstairs is the living room, where a built-in bench seat is tucked beneath a casement window with views of the neighborhood. The fireplace has a raised hearth and a gray tile surround. Hardwood floors continue into the dining area, where windows overlook the street below. The kitchen has granite countertops and a butler’s pantry with ample storage space. A kitchen door opens to steps leading down to the backyard.
On the other side of this level are two bedrooms, including the primary suite, which has backyard-facing windows and a wall of closets. The bathroom has a skylight and a combined shower and bathtub. The bedroom next door currently holds twin beds.
Two more bedrooms are on the lower level. Both face the backyard and share a bathroom with a walk-in shower lined with slate-colored tile. Also on this level are a laundry room and a sunken family room, once the home’s garage, where a wood-burning stove sits in one corner.
Outdoor space: Behind the house are two patios, one closer to the house and the other, paved with stone, set at the far end of the lot. The detached studio, which could be used as a home office or a gym, has sliding-glass doors and wood-paneled ceilings. Two cars fit in the driveway out front.
Costs: $18,684 in annual taxes (estimated)
Contact: David Gunderman and Alison Luce, KW Advisors East Bay, 510-205-4369 or 415-640-2027
Sacramento | $1.445 million
A Craftsman bungalow built in 1920 on 0.14 acres
This three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, which also has a guest apartment above the detached garage, is in East Sacramento, within a few blocks of a cider bar, an Italian restaurant and Sacramento Mural Alley, a public art installation featuring paintings by local artists. An elementary school and a public park are also nearby, and McKinley Park, home to an expansive rose garden, playgrounds and walking trails, is a half mile north.
The California State Capitol complex is 10 minutes away by car, as are the waterfront parks and museums that line the Sacramento River. The Bay Area cities are two hours west, and Lake Tahoe is two hours east.
Size: 1,496 square feet
Price per square foot: $966
Indoors: A gate opens from the sidewalk to the front yard, leading to a covered porch. Inside is the living room, where the cabinets on either side of the brick fireplace are original, as are the hardwood floors. A picture window faces the street, and two smaller windows sit above the fireplace.
A wide doorway framed by wood pillars separates the living room from the formal dining room, anchored by an original built-in wood hutch. Behind the dining room is the updated kitchen, where the center island is topped with a custom-made copper counter. The cabinets were also custom-made, and a green tile backsplash lines the walls.
The primary suite is off the kitchen and has built-in storage space and access to the deck outside. A free-standing soaking tub in the attached bathroom sits opposite a glass-walled shower.
Two bedrooms are off a hallway extending from the dining room, with one currently set up as a home office. A bathroom off this hall has white wainscoting and a console-style sink.
The guest apartment above the garage is laid out like a studio, with a kitchen, a combined living and sleeping area, and a bathroom.
Outdoor space: From the deck, steps lead down to the main patio, which has a red brick fireplace and an outdoor kitchen that includes a Viking grill and a dishwasher. The yard next to the patio includes two stone planter boxes that could hold a vegetable garden. A storage shed was designed to have the same look as the house and garage. The garage has two parking spots, with room for another car in the gated driveway.
Costs: $18,060 in annual taxes (estimated)
Contact: Christine Dariotis, Nick Sadek Sotheby’s International Realty, 916-412-8112
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