San Rafael | $1.495 million
A Spanish-style house built in 1928, on 0.1 acres
This three-bedroom, one-bathroom house is a block from the Marin Tennis Club and a five-minute walk from Dominican University of California. The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art and the Marin History Museum are less than two miles away, as is the center of San Rafael, home to restaurants, grocery stores and a Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station.
Driving to Muir Beach, on the Pacific coast, takes around half an hour. Sausalito is a 20-minute drive and Oakland and San Francisco are both less than 45 minutes away.
Size: 1,380 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,083
Indoors: A low wall lines this home’s front yard and a paved path leads to the front door. Inside is a foyer with hardwood floors, and off on one side is the living room. It has wood ceiling beams and a fireplace with a Spanish-style tile surround and hearth. Beyond this space, up a few steps, is the dining room, which opens to a patio. The kitchen, on the other side of the dining room, has wood-paneled ceilings painted white, and stainless steel appliances including a range with a gas cooktop and a tile backsplash. There’s a banquette in the far corner of the room.
All three bedrooms are off the other side of the foyer. The primary bedroom fits a king-size bed, and has side-facing windows and a ceiling fan. The other two bedrooms, one with street-facing windows, can both fit queen-size beds. A bathroom off this part of the house has a combined tub and shower, a porcelain pedestal sink and floral-print wallpaper.
Outdoor space: A gate on one side of the front yard and French doors in the dining room both open to this home’s patio, paved with brick and big enough for dining and grilling. A fire table sits in the center of the patio, and the small yard is surrounded by mature hedges and plants, including a flowering pink hydrangea bush. The detached garage holds two cars.
Taxes: $18,684 (estimated)
Contact: Jenn Pfeiffer, Corcoran Icon Properties, 415-302-3198
St. Helena | $1.499 million
An 1899 Queen Anne Revival cottage, on 0.1 acres
This two-bedroom, two-bathroom house is a few blocks from St. Helena’s Main Street. St. Helena Elementary School is a five minutes away by foot. A bakery, a wine store, and a 1913 movie theater that shows independent and classic films are also within easy walking distance. The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is less than 10 minutes away by car, Napa takes 30 minutes and Santa Rosa takes 45.
Clear Lake, known for fishing and bird-watching and the largest freshwater lake in California, is an hour and 20 minutes away. Driving to San Francisco and Sacramento takes less than two hours.
Size: 1,029 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,457
Indoors: A paved path runs from the street to this home’s covered front porch, big enough for a set of chairs or a swing.
From here, a door opens to the living room, which has new windows overlooking the street and the side yard. The walls are mint green, and original fir floors continue back into a dining room with yellow walls and direct access to an updated kitchen. A Wolf gas cooktop is built into one counter, and a set of interior windows above the sink peer into the sunroom.
The sunroom, at the back of the house, has dark green walls and windows that face the rear patio, with space for a dining area in one corner and a sitting area or work space in another.
Both bedrooms are off a hallway from the living room. The bedroom at the front of the house has carpeted floors and built-in bookshelves, and a nearby full bathroom has tiled countertops.
The back bedroom is big enough for a queen-size bed, and has direct access to a second full bathroom and a laundry room with a washer and dryer.
Outdoor space: Behind the house is a patio enclosed with wood fencing. Apple, fig, and plum trees grow in the yard and a detached garage with redwood siding holds one car.
Taxes: $18,732 (estimated)
Contact: Jamie Johnson Cook and Connie Johnson, Sotheby’s Realty, 707-337-0676
Santa Monica | $1.488 million
A unit in a 1978 condominium building
This two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom unit is in a three-unit building designed by the architect Michael Folonis, whose projects include UCLA’s Outpatient Surgery and Oncology Center and other properties in the Los Angeles area. Ocean View Park is less than a mile away, and a Gelson’s supermarket is a 10-minute walk.
A stretch of Abbot-Kinney Blvd., home to popular restaurants, including Gjelina, is a five-minute drive. The Third Street Promenade, an outdoor shopping mall, takes 10 minutes. Downtown Culver City and the Los Angeles International Airport are less than half an hour away by car.
Size: 1,639 square feet
Price per square foot: $908
Indoors: This unit’s front door, with a glass-block wall at one side, opens to a foyer. Stairs with a metal railing rise to the second floor, which holds the living and dining areas. The living room, at the front, has floor-to-ceiling windows, wide-plank floors and a gas fireplace.
Behind the living room, on the other side of a fireplace, is a combined dining area and kitchen, with concrete floors and wood cabinets. High-set windows fill the kitchen with light, and a stacked washer/dryer and a powder room are around the corner.
Both bedrooms are on the entry level, with the primary suite at the back. It has a wall of built-in storage, a separate closet and an attached bathroom. The second bedroom also has its own bathroom. The unit’s top floor is a lofted open space, currently set up as a home office, with a door to a private terrace.
Outdoor space: The terrace can fit a small outdoor dining set or a set of chairs. The complex has a picnic area for residents, and this unit comes with two parking spots.
Taxes: $18,600 (estimated), plus a $500 monthly homeowner association fee
Contact: Jeromy Robert, The Agency, 310-467-7490
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