2471 Silver Ridge

The closing

2009-07-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone...

I just wanted to write and say that I won't be blogging here anymore. But I wanted to share some good news-- at the end of June, I was sold to new owners. My old owners moved on to start another life somewhere else. We had good times. That's for sure.

My life will continue as a house. I still have my wonderful views. But I won't be blogging anymore.

Before I go, I wanted to share this one last thing with you. It's another slideshow from the Apartment Therapy people. But this one is from the editors of THE KITCHEN.

Check me out:

Kitchen Spotlight: Stephanie & Bob's Primary Colors - The Kitchen

I thank you for reading as long as you did. I had a lot to say. Now it's time for a new beginning.

Love & best wishes,

2471 Silver Ridge

Selling myself from the inside out: Estate Sale This Weekend!

2009-06-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been quite a while since last blogged. And a lot has happened. My owners tried everything to keep me, but had to sell me in the end. And I'm told that I'm now "in escrow"... and will soon have new owners - "If all goes well, fingers crossed, knock on wood," my current owners keep saying.

So...
2009 is a big year for me.
Out with the old and in with the new!

Speaking of that... my furnishings are being sold this weekend. June 13th & 14th from 8-3 is the big Estate Sale. Here's the flier:

ESTATE SALE in SILVER LAKE: Sat 6/13 and Sun 6/14 from 8 AM–3 PM

The beautiful objects in this beautiful home are up for sale!

Estate Sale at 2471 Silver Ridge Avenue in the lovely Silver Lake neighborhood this weekend – Saturday and Sunday 8 AM to 3 PM.

The house made famous by starting its own blog (didn’t know houses could do that did you) and featured in an Apartment Therapy House Tour is having an everything-must-go sale and it wants you to be there. The house is full of great finds from the Rosebowl Flea Market – they can be your finds now! It’s a sale but it’s also a celebration of a wonderful chapter in a house’s life that is now making room (literally) for new owners and their new stories.

Check out the Apartment Therapy House Tour: here

Check out the Picasa Web album with some pictures of specific items: here

A very nice person wrote that for me. Thank you, nice person.

I do hope lots of people will come to the sale and buy things to help make room for the new owners. See you this weekend? Just think, these vintage Herman Miller counter stools could be yours!

Everywhere You Turn, There's a View... thanks to reflective surfaces

2009-01-22T23:52:00.000-08:00

A benefit of the high gloss blue Ikea cabinets is that they brilliantly reflect my view... as shown in the above photo. Check out that palm tree! I love this picture. I love my kitchen. Everywhere you turn, there's a view!

Kitchen cabinets- Ikea (Not sure if they still sell the blue ones... I couldn't find them on their website)

Two Views of Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

This is the sunrise and the view from my kitchen window on Inauguration morning- Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

It's a brand new day!

Open again today 1-4

2009-01-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

What: Open House
When: Sunday, January 11 1PM - 4PM
Where: 2471 Silver Ridge Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039 (Silver Lake)

Click here for more info

January Full Moon

2009-01-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

My views of the full moon last night:

CASA ABIERTO- ESTE DOMINGO

2009-01-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Translation:
OPEN HOUSE- THIS SUNDAY

40 people came through last Sunday. We had four separate private showings this week. Things are bubbling at this new and fabulous price.

What does $799,000 get you? An incredible house with million dollar views and $130,000 worth of upgrades for free. How's that? The current owners paid $799 and put $130 into my transformation. And it shows.

Turn the key, walk right in, put your feet up and you're home. It doesn't get much better than this.

Open House
Sunday, January 11
1 PM - 4 PM

FIRE, FLOWERS & COOKIES: An Open House Update

2009-01-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

The buyers came (lots of them,) they saw...

I declare yesterday's Open House a success! First of all, I looked sensational. Second of all, more than 40 people came through. Of the 40 only three were Realtors, the rest were potential buyers. And several people expressed strong interest. This week will tell whether any of the 40 who came through yesterday will be my future owners.

For any readers out there who are interested, here are 3 things we did to make the house feel extra special:

1. FIRE
We had a fire going. Yes, it was 68 degrees in L.A. yesterday, but no matter. It created a homey feeling and showed off my lovely fireplace (that is both wood burning and gas.) We had a gas fire going so as to avoid the need to continue stoking the fire.

2. COOKIES
There's nothing better than the aroma of freshly baked cookies permeating a house. Take it from this house. Nothing better. Which is why my owner baked a batch of Egg Nog Sugar Cookies an hour before the Open House resulting in:
A. Scrumptious cookies that went quickly &
B. The most delicious aroma known to house

3. FLOWERS
Of course. I probably don't need to say it. But fresh flowers are a necessity. My owners picked up a lovely arrangement from the Atwater Village Farmer's Market in the morning and displayed them throughout the house.

My owners returned at the end of the Open House to find six people still here. Two were neighbors stopping by and four were potential buyers. They were pleased... especially to see how beautiful the view was at 4PM yesterday.

Today my owners told me that they don't want to be selfish and that's why they're selling the house. So someone else can enjoy this view for a while.

It's good to share.

New Year, New Price, Great House: I'm Open Tomorrow

2009-01-03T16:55:00.001-08:00

Sunday, January 4th from 1-4 PM

That's when I'm open. Come on by. See what I feel like in the winter. See the views of the snow covered mountains. Make an offer. Make me yours.

The Best Bargain in Silver Lake... a Mid-Century Modern View Home for $799,000

2008-12-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

Well, there comes a time where every house has to re-evaluate his/her worth. That time for me has come. I've been on the market for four months now and each month it just gets worse out there. So... as a reflection of the times we live in (not my worth- because we all know I'm worth over a mil) my selling price has been reduced...

...by $76,000! Yes, I'm now listed for $799,000! Get me while you can! Because I'm going... going...

and will soon be gone.

The New Listing sheet: 2471 Silver Ridge Avenue

What a Space Shuttle Fly-By Feels Like

2008-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

So I'm just sitting here enjoying a sunny Sunday... no rain, no wind, no fires... when I feel this sudden JOLT. My windows pulse as though some invisible force is about to suck them out. I feel almost pulled towards something that is gone before I realize what it is. I'm shaken. I'm thinking earthquake. Because that's what you think when you're a house in Southern California and you're suddenly moved by something unseen. I have to say that it felt different than a quake. But, quakes do come in all shapes and sizes. So I settle on that theory. And am proven wrong.

What was it?

The Space Shuttle Endeavor.

The Space Shuttle. Endeavor. Space Shuttle. Space! Shuttle!

At 1:25 PM (PST) today the Space Shuttle Endeavor landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base- 101 miles Northeast of me in Boron, California. Endeavor was scheduled to land at Cape Canaveral but was rerouted due to nasty weather in Florida.

Two Sonic Booms occurred when the shuttle broke the sound barrier. And that's what I felt. The Sonic Booms. BOOM! BOOM! I'm still a little woozy from it all. But happy that the shuttle landed safely and feeling like a part of NASA today.

Endeavor Lands Safely at Edwards - ABC Local News

Space Shuttle Diverted to Socal - LA Times

Smoke gets in my eyes (My view of the L.A. fires)

2008-11-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

As a house on a hill I see a lot. Right now, my usual view is clouded. By smoke. From several nearby fires. I'm safe, though. No embers flying this way. (Knock on myself.)

I do feel so sorry for those houses that have been destroyed by these fires. And I want to send a shout out to every house's hero: The Firefighters who risk their lives to save us.

The Sylmar fire caught my attention right away as I had a perfect view when it flared up on Friday night around 10:30 PM. It looked so close as thought it could have been Burbank burning. I saw it before it even hit the news. My owner snapped a photo. It's not the greatest. But you can get a sense of it. The flames were quite pronounced at the start before the smoke clouded the sky.

The second photo- the view of the smoke- was taken this morning from my roof. Needless to say, all my doors and windows are closed. Nobody's breathing too easily in L.A. today.

I have HOPE - Houses for Barack Obama

2008-11-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Considering that most houses don't have a say in the matter over what political sign their owners stick in the front yard, I was so relieved when my owners crawled up my front hillside and displayed the OBAMA/BIDEN HOPE sign!

Houses for Barack Obama!
Houses can't vote (yet) but YOU can

My Halloween Costume

2008-11-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Feliz Dia de los Muertos! It's the first of November and I'm recovering from my night of Halloween entertaining. I went as a SPOOKY house for Halloween. There wasn't much in the budget for my costume so we went with atmosphere. How was the spooky accomplished?

1. Multimedia. Why not let the classic scary films do all the work for me? That's what I thought. So I borrowed two digital projectors from friends and projected scary movies. In the living room the classic "Psycho" was projected onto my ceiling. The second projector was placed in the bedroom and projected out onto the exterior wall by the bbq. For that one, the movies rotated between "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "An American Werewolf in London," and "Young Frankenstein." The movies added so much atmosphere.

2. Candles. Lots of them. Spooky.

3. A smoke machine. I borrowed this too. It was cool when my owners remembered to use it. You give them one job and.... well, you know. If you want something done you gotta do it yourself.

I also got three orange paper lanterns from a store in Chinatown that added to the Halloween ambiance. And the dark and stormy Los Angeles sky certainly helped with mood. (I can't take credit for that.)

Enjoy the pictures!

My Debut on Apartment Therapy LA!

2008-10-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS!!

Yours truly is a featured House Tour on Apartment Therapy LA today. And people love me! Thank you to the Apartment Therapy readers who have left lovely comments about me.

How did this happen? Well, when I started my blog, I contacted Apartment Therapy just to say hello. You know. Hello, I'm a house and I started my own blog. Anyway, Gregory Han wrote back to say, "Cool blog. Would you be interested in a house tour?" It was as simple as that. Two weeks ago Gregory (who happens to live in Silver Lake) came to see me and took lots and lots of photos. He has a wonderful eye and his photos, if I may say, are simply delicious. I especially like the close up of the Little Red Riding Hood cookie jar head. (A story for another day.)

Here is what Gregory writes about his visit to 2471 Silver Ridge:

"Sitting ontop of winding section of Silver Lake known as Silver Ridge, the home of nearby neighbors Stephanie and Bob Walker affords the couple a near 180 degree view of Los Angeles that stretches from the Hollywood Sign across to nearby Glendale, and all the way to the eastern most San Gabriel Mountains. Although the home is modest in size by modern standards, the home feels expansive thanks to the open floor plan, a liberal amount of large windows and the thoughtful placement of furnishings that are all accentuated by individual colour schemes for each room that runs the gamut from bold and graphical to subtle and soothing." - Gregory Han (AT LA)

House Tour: Stephanie & Bob's Silver Ridge Sanctuary - Apartment Therapy LA

Oh, HOW I'm blushing!

2008-10-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

So, I have a crush... on a house that is way out of my league. It began as pure admiration and has grown into love. This amazing home is located just up the street from me at 2422 Silver Ridge Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Designed by Rudolph M. Schindler with landscaping by Richard Neutra, there's plenty to admire. The house was built in 1925 and is considered a Schindler Masterpiece. It even has a proper name: How House.

Yes, 2422 is definitely out of my league. I admit that. But I can't help but drool. And can you really blame me? Especially now that I've seen pictures of the interior. How, you ask? Well, because the How House is on the market (for a cool $4,995,000) and the pictures are easily accessible to any curious house... or person, for that matter.

Take a look for yourself:
Schindler's How House (my crush) 2422 Silver Ridge Ave. - Redfin

New to the Market: Schindler's How House in Silver Lake - Curbed LA

You are invited to a Virtual Open House

2008-09-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Click here to enter and enjoy!

Where did you find that bed?!

2008-09-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just as without a roof I would be unfinished (and extremely vulnerable), without furniture, decorations, art and accessories I would be... the same. Unfinished. Vulnerable. Naked, frankly, and unfriendly towards my inhabitants.

What I realized recently is that many of my cherished furnishings and decorations were sourced at one fruitful location...

The Rose Bowl Flea Market

Every time my owners go, they returns with nuggets. Wonderful finds for a fantastic value. These are three of my favorites:

The bed has a story. It is a Swedish platform bed with floating nightstands and a drawer built in for storage underneath. It is the exact bed my owner wanted for the guest room. She searched all over for the right one, but they all exceeded her budget. Until she found this bed at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. My owners pulled into the giant parking lot at 7AM in a U-Haul they had rented for the bed they had yet to find. Climbing out of the U-Haul a fellow market shopper scoffed: "Someone's a little confident." Confident. Yes. They would find the bed that day. And they did. Within ten minutes of arriving. It was there waiting for them for a steal. $500.

This Rose Bowl find is more of a temporary solution to the large blank wall space in the dining/living room. We want to put several matching low credenzas there with art work hanging above. But several matching credenzas would be, I'm told, expensive. So this wonderful mid-century credenza and hutch was purchased as a placeholder for $300.

The mosaic. It's grown on me. It was a gift from my owner's mother to celebrate the kitchen re-design. I'm told that she spotted it at the Rose Bowl Flea Market and had to squash her enthusiasm so as to be able to talk the seller down. Which she did. I don't know where the price began, but she walked away with this wonderful grounding piece of handmade art that hangs above the stove in a "I was made for this spot" sort of manner for $60.

The Rose Bowl Flea Market happens the 2nd Sunday of every month at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Color Inspiration in a bag of beans

2008-09-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

When the glass back splash originally planned for the kitchen turned out to be a bit too pricey, Rebecca (the designer) suggested a brightly colored back splash created with high gloss paint (easy to clean.)

The color chosen was inspired by a bag of Black Cat Espresso beans by Intelligentsia Coffee that my owner (an Intelligentsia enthusiast) had left out on the counter for aesthetic reasons.

"I just love the bright color of the packaging and how it looks on the counter," said my owner.
"Why don't we paint the back splash that color, then," replied Rebecca.
"That color? Really?" said my owner.
"Yes!"

And so they did. A good move, if I may say. Such a bold, happy color inspires great creativity. A good thing for a kitchen.

SUNDAY OPEN SUNDAY

2008-08-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'm open from 2-5 PM today just for you.

So if you're skipping the beach or the park or the traffic on the 5, come on over to Silver Ridge Avenue for a little tour. My pictures are pretty, yes. But nothing is better than seeing me in person. Honestly, what's better than touring open houses in Silver Lake on Labor Day weekend? I can't think of anything. Nothing at all.

Open House
Today (Sunday, August 31)
2-5 PM

2471 Silver Ridge Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90039

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOUSE CLEAN? PUT IT ON THE MARKET.

2008-08-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

This morning as the sun rose up over the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance, I admired the light splashing around my living room. I felt good. Clean. And then it hit me. I have been clean for two whole weeks straight! My owners have never fussed so consistently over me than these last two weeks. Dishes get cleaned and put away immediately after use. Clutter is a dirty word of the past. Dust balls are promptly sucked up by the Dyson. Beds are made. Bathrooms scrubbed. Windows washed. I sparkle. It feels good. I look inviting. Appealing. Dazzling.

Perhaps you’re familiar with this phenomenon. I admit, it is a wonderful side effect to being ‘listed.’ The threat of a potential buyer walking through the house on any given day is enough to motivate even the laziest homeowner into action. Okay, so that was slightly judgemental. I know. Lazy is harsh. You homeowners are a busy bunch. It’s not laziness it’s busyness. Right? Whether it’s laziness or busyness or a mixture of both, the phenomenom still holds true.

In order to help them maintain my cleanliness, my owners have been following a tip passed along to them by Pam Weinert- a realtor from Barrington, Illinois (and my owner’s mom.)

Pam’s tip:

"Commit to keeping the house 5 minutes away from showing condition at all times!"

You could try this without putting your house on the market, but I think the fear of people walking through is what makes it so effective. Nobody wants strangers to think they’re lazy. And when you’re selling a house (this couldn’t be more obvious) you want it to look its best.

But, I suppose if you need something to really motivate you to clean your home without going so far as putting it on the market, you could throw a dinner party. At least it will be clean for a few hours. And that’s better than never. Your house will thank you for it.

Pam Weinert- Re/Max of Barrington (Illinois)

Oh, how my garden grows!

2008-08-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked by other houses in other parts of the country what I like about being a house in Los Angeles, California. Well, aside from the obvious answer (I never get buried in snow) one of my favorite aspects is the fact that it's a wonderful place to grow an edible garden. As part of my garden renovation, I was given a small vegetable and herb garden tucked into a nice L shape behind the built-in seating in the dining area. Not only is it attractive, it's also fragrant and delicious.

My owners, having never attempted a garden like this before, planted a variety of herbs and vegetables including:

Tomatoes (including the delicious Sunsugar cherry tomato variety pictured in the photo)
Japanese Eggplant
Edamame (sadly this didn’t survive)
Zucchini
Italian Purple Basil
Green Basil
Swiss Chard
Lemongrass
Garlic Chives
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Cilantro
Arugula
Greek Oregano

My owners are over the moon about being able to grow the food they eat… especially as first-timers. Over the summer, they’ve used ingredients from the garden to make fabulous salads, gazpacho, chimichurri sauce and vegetable kabobs. They’ve tried new things including eating squash flowers- that they chopped up and baked them into a fritatta. They ate more aruglua this summer than all the arugula they’ve eaten in their entire lives. They can’t get over the deliciousness of their tomatoes. And the fact that they grew them themselves. In my backyard. In my soil.

I credit the soil. The climate. The climate controlled irrigation system. California. Whatever it is, this little veggie/herb garden is flourishing- as evidenced by the fresh tomato and basil salad pictured above. Delicious. (So I hear.)

It does make me proud to provide like that. A garden that gives vegetables. A tranquil place to relax and eat said vegetables. Last night, after enjoying the salad seated at the outdoor dining area, my owners then enjoyed a glass of wine by the fire. And they were happy. I could tell. They were smiling. And staring at the flame.

You may think I’m just a house. But I’m so much more than that. I’m a home. A sanctuary.

(By the way, a great resource for Southern California gardeners is Sunset Magazine. Click Here)

Now you see it, now you don't

2008-08-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

The tree, that is. I used to have a dead tree in my side yard. It's gone now. Thank you very much. One of the first things my owners did was remove that dead tree. Stephanie Bartron did the rest. She posted this fantastic before and after image of my landscape renovation on her blog.

BEING PIMPED OUT BY CRAIGSLIST (AGAINST MY WILL)

2008-08-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

So today I made a troubling discovery. I have a Google alert set up in my name and today Google alerted me that I'm being rented for $7500 a month on Craigslist. Yep. There's a posting there and everything. This was, of course, news to me. So I checked with my owners and they were equally mystified. Hmmmm. What sort of a scam might this be? I'm still waiting to hear back from the abuse department at Craigslist. That sounds wrong. Abuse department. The e-mail address is actually abuse@craigslist.org. Anyway...

For anyone out there looking for housing for rent in Silver Lake, do NOT respond to the craigslist posting that says I'm available for $7500 a month. It's a LIE!!

UPDATE: Since this was first posted, Craigslist flagged the bogus posting for removal. They were ever so quick to respond to my e-mail. Still, I wonder who it was that was trying to rent me out. Perhaps an interested buyer who was testing the Craigslist rental market in a uniquely unethical manner? Perhaps. Now that the post is gone, I'm feeling slightly less violated.

UPDATE 2: It seems this Craigslist thing could be another Nigerian scam. Just found this story about it: "Homeowners, Realtors Angry Over Rental Scam On Craigslist"

I'M OPEN TODAY

2008-08-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hello, welcome. Come on in!
TODAY- SUNDAY, AUGUST 17TH FROM 2-5 PM is Open House # 2. The first one (last Sunday) brought 25 people through to check me out. I'm enjoying the attention, actually. Between the showings and the open houses, close to 80 people have been by to see me in the last week. We'll see what today brings. Could it be you?

Twilight Open House

2008-08-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 12th from 7 - 9 PM you are invited to meet me in all my twinkly splendor during the TWILIGHT OPEN HOUSE.

What will you see if you come? Well, me, of course. And my views of the hills at sunset, the sparkle of the city lights, the flame from the fire pit dancing around in the back yard and my stunningly lit landscaping. Come check me out in person while I'm still available. I'm just sayin'.

Also, you can tour me virtually by clicking here: Virtual Tour

How I'm selling myself

2008-08-08T12:01:00.001-07:00

Let me just say this. I didn't begin this blog as a sales tool to help attract my new owners (whoever the luckies may be.) I began it to show the world what it's like for a house to become a home. To brag about my transformation. I mean, I did go through it.... the least I could do is blog about it. Those swans got their own reality show. All I'm asking for is a little corner of the interweb to share my insights and display my before and after pictures. And yes, okay, maybe I was hoping to attract Steven Spielberg. Like I said in a previous post, it's only natural for a house in the City of Angels (especially one with a view of the Hollywood sign) to dream about becoming a star.

But, between the time I began blogging and now, things have changed. My owners have chosen to put me on the market. Why, I'll never understand. I'm a house. I can see the world around me from the street below to the snow capped mountains in the distance (snow capped in the winter. Not now, obviously) and everything in between. There's a lot to see and even more to understand. But enough about that. You just want the facts. You want to know my price, my square footage, whether or not appliances are included (they are, by the way, and they're all stainless steel and high end. Viking Range, anyone?,) do I have central air and heat (yes!) and all that stuff. So, without further ado, I give you my official MLS Listing Sheet:

Landscape designer to the rescue!

2008-08-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is the LANDSCAPING AFTER post you've all been waiting for. I'm sure you've all been waiting for it, right? Well, you've already seen some pics in previous posts of the landscaping "after." There are the pictures of what I look like decorated for a baby shower, and what I look like outside at night by the fire pit. Awesome, right?

Well, let me tell you a little about how I got so pretty. It wasn't by the dirt and sweat of my owners, let me tell you. They know nothing about gardening and construction and all that stuff. But they do know what they like and how to organize the resources to get it done. They're experts at that. The resource in this case was the cashola and the right designer.

(Sound the trumpet now)
Stephanie Bartron to the rescue!
Stephanie Bartron of SB Garden Design lives in the neighborhood. My owners found her through Barbara Bestor's book: "Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake." She and her team worked some magic and gave me the ultimate makeover.

Stephanie Bartron had great vision. It was her idea to remove the majority of the ugly planter to make room for a table and built in seating. Well, she had all the ideas, actually. Things I hadn't thought of myself. She designed an amazing space that everyone is thoroughly enjoying! It's, as they say in the real estate industry, an "entertainer's paradise"! Truly.

The cracked concrete patio became small gravel and the perfect location for the fire pit (as you can see in the nighttime photo.) My owners love to sit out there with friends at night and stare at the flame. I don't get the appeal, personally. Staring at fire, I mean. Probably because I'm a house and fire is my enemy. But the humans like it. As long as it's enjoyed at a safe distance from me, I guess I'm okay with it.

Anyway, back to the yard. Where the dead tree and dirt slope used to be is now lush long "never-mow" grass. Stephanie calls it the "bad hair cut" grass. Everyone loves it for its lushness and low-maintenance quality. That's Pablo there in the picture. Pablo is the beast on fours that calls me home. He loves that grass.

Don't you love all the bamboo? It's of the clumping variety, by the way. They went with the bamboo fence at the entrance... as you'll see in the picture of the stairs. That's how you get to me, by the way. Through the bamboo gate, down the stairs to the front door. That fencing you see was custom made. Custom= expensive. That's what I hear. But I sure love the design. Thank you, owners, for splurging on that. It's not only safe, but also striking and unobtrusive.

Okay, enough about me blabbing on and on about my makeover. I'll just bullet-point the rest.

So here are some of the highlights:

*Installed a Weathermatic Irrigation System
*New retaining walls
*Poured concrete
*Concrete spacers
*Built-in grill with spacious concrete serving counter
*Built-in concrete seating
*New bamboo fence and gate
*New, bigger and safer landing at entrance
*Beautiful gas fire pit in gravel "lounging area"
*Custom railings
*New deck (to replace the dilapidated eye sore that came before)
*Architectural, drought-resistant landscaping
*Built-in lighting in the stairs
*up lights
*pendant lights over the outdoor dining area
*vegetable and herb garden

START THE TIMER NOW!

2008-08-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

It looks like my 15 minutes of fame have begun! Curbed LA blogged about me and my blog today! Someone even responded and gave me a gold star. I think they might have been being sarcastic, but then I'm a house and don't know much about sarcasm. But I do know what Dr. Horrible would say: "Wow, sarcasm. That's original."

Still a gold star is a gold star.

Check it out:

Curbed LA

P.S. I will post my selling price and more details by the end of today.
P.S.S. The Address that Curbed LA has links correctly, but there's an error. The 4 & the 7 were reversed. It's 2471

PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES

2008-08-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

More memories...

2008-08-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Two more shots of the baby shower:

Ah, memories!

2008-08-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of the good times had here. The memories documented here include:

*Thanksgiving 2008
*The Gausselin Baby Shower
*Hanging out in the backyard by the fire with friends and wine

If anyone out there has pics of good memories at 2471 Silver Ridge they want to share, now is the time!

Thanks for the good times, all!

Selling myself

2008-08-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well... it's true. My owners are putting me on the market. I'm a bit disappointed in them, but they assure me that they'll miss me tremendously and that it is with mixed emotions that they're doing this. I'll miss them so much. They've taken such great care of me and given me so many upgrades. But, they tell me that there's someone else out there who will appreciate me even more.

And here's the thing. I KNOW I'm special. Everyone knows it. But it's still hard to be let go like this.

I suppose as soon as we have the first open house (this Sunday, August 10th) I'll feel better as people go gaga over me. And they will. I'm sure of it. I'll be using this blog to post information about the sale and how you can come see me and all that.

Apparently my owners are still finalizing everything, but they do plan on having the first open house on Sunday, August 10th (not sure of the hours,) the first Realtors tour on Tuesday during the day and a Tuesday Twilight Open house to dazzle everyone with my brilliance on Tuesday, August 12th in the evening. More details to come.

For now, here's a little description of all that I am:

A stunning mid-century modern view home in the Silver Lake Hills

This 1958 Mid-Century Modern 3 + 1.75 + bonus room and detached garage is situated on a street-to-street lot in the Silver Lake Hills and features Million dollar Panoramic views of Griffith Park, Griffith Park Observatory, Hollywood Sign, San Gabriel Mountains, Treetop, City Lights, Surrounding Silver Lake Hills, Beautiful sunrise, sunsets and moonrise views, Mid-Century Modern architecture, open concept kitchen/living/dining room, beautiful hardwood floors throughout, lots of light, brand new designer kitchen with Caesar Stone countertops and a large island/breakfast bar, high-end appliances, a 40 foot long balcony that spans the length of the house, a large original wood burning brick fireplace, brand new closets and a fabulous outdoor oasis with architectural drought-resistant landscaping, built-in lighting, Weathermatic Irrigation System, perfect for entertaining including built-in grill and concrete seating, beautiful fire pit and bamboo fencing. Walking distance to the Red Lion, Gingergrass, Silver Lake Wine Store, Starbucks, Ralph's, The Coffee Table and the new (currently in progress) Silver Lake library!! Near the 2 and the 5, minutes from Elysian Park, Dodger Stadium and a ten-minute drive to downtown, Eagle Rock, Glendale and Pasadena.

PRICE? Well, you'll have to check back to find out. Like I said, this is all very preliminary. But if I had my wish I wouldn't let them sell me off for less than one million dollars. That's what I'm worth. But, not in this market, they say. So someone is going to get me for a song. Could it be you?

RST Design + 73 Construction

2008-08-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Colin & Rebecca from RST + 73 Construction (the wonderful couple responsible for my kitchen transformation) have uploaded our project to their site. Check it out. There are more pictures of the kitchen. And if you move the cursor over the pics, you'll get a little information. Once you enter their site, click on Silverlake III and lo and behold, there I am.

www.rst73.com

LANDSCAPE Before & During

2008-08-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

I used to have a less than desirable exterior. Here I am before and during the transformation:

My retaining walls were buckling, a ginormous planter monopolized valuable entertaining space, a dead tree flanked my side, my concrete patio looked as though someone had taken a jackhammer to it and stopped after deciding it wasn't worth it, railroad ties serving as stairs were falling, my staircase and rickety fence were growing more and more precarious, my entry way was less than appealing, my side yard was just dirt and weeds and my hillside was overrun by relentless Morning Glory...

There was space. But it was ugly. My exterior did not represent my beautiful interior. No one had cared for my exterior in a long time.

My current owners saw the potential and got an expert (who happens to be a neighbor) to help execute the vision.

Stay tuned for the "after"...

KITCHEN Before/During/After

2008-08-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

Time for some BEFORE/ DURING/ AFTER photos of my kitchen. Yay. Now, when my current owners moved in, I admit, my kitchen was dark, dreary and dated. The black linoleum tile flooring was dark and scratched up, the popcorn on one portion of the ceiling left one scratching one's head, a little wall next to the stove that blocked the views and the huge hollow beam blocked light and the larger wall separated the kitchen from the living/ dining area. The cabinets were shallow and didn't close all the way and the water heater was taking up all the space in the pantry.

Colin and Rebecca from RST Design + 73 Construction stripped me down to my bones and started from scratch. Here are some of the things they did (in non-technical terms):

-Installed open shelving
-Built an island
-Counter tops= Caesar Stone
-Removed the water heater and replaced it with a Tankless (energy efficient) water heater in another location
-Removed the old cabinets & replaced with open shelving and new cabinetry
-Removed the beam, half wall and opened up the kitchen to the living/dining allowing more light and a loft/ open concept feel.
-Used bright colors.
-Replaced the black linoleum with hard wood to match the original hardwood floors in the living/dining room
-installed ceiling lights
-built a floating custom countertop/desk

The result? A beautiful space that emphasizes the amazing views and serves as a highly functioning kitchen where everyone gathers & people cook more often. A term that seems to be used all the time on design shows is "open concept" and it does apply here. Removing the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining/living area created a much more open loft-like space... now when someone's in the kitchen cooking, they're still a part of the rest of the house and the conversations that are happening in the living/dining areas.

Colin and Rebecca did and amazing job!

Not a day goes by that I don't brag to myself about how awesome my kitchen is.

MI VISTA

2008-07-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

Living on a hill has lots of advantages. Number one, I can always see you coming. Number two, I have awesome views! Since I never get to travel (since I'm a house,) it helps that I can see so much from my perch on my Silver Ridge hillside. I have lots of windows that frame beautiful and interesting views. From my front balcony (that stretches across my entire width,) I watch the sunrise and set over the diverse Los Angeles landscape. Here are some of my favorite views.

I AM HOME

2008-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am a 1958 Mid-Century Modern home in the hills of Silver Lake- a wonderful community in Los Angeles, CA. I am starting this blog to share my views with all of you... and to allow you to take a virtual tour.

My current owners purchased me almost two years ago and have renovated my kitchen, living room and yard. I'm quite happy with the results.

Here are some basic facts about me:

3 bedrooms
1.75 baths (that means that one of the bathrooms has a shower instead of a tub/shower combo)
open concept living/dining/ kitchen
180 degree views of the Griffith Park Observatory, Hollywood Sign, Griffith Park, San Gabriel Mountains

Stephanie Bartron from SB Garden Designs is responsible for the wonderful yard and landscaping. Here's a link to her website: www.sbgardendesign.com

Rebecca Rudolph and Colin Thompson from RST + 73 Construction are responsible for the amazing kitchen/dining/living transformation. Here's a link to their site: www.rst73.com

As for the rest, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.