La Canada Real Estate

Open Houses in La Canada This Sunday

For MLS version click below:

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For printable version click below:

Download Open Houses 6.12.11.xlsx

Before and After

4611 Lasheart is finally coming on the market tomorrow. Despite the roadblocks and bike races that slowed the process down, I am thrilled with the finish product (and have to give qudos to my husband for bringing it in only several thousands over budget and a few weeks late). The following is a loose documentation of the progress:

 
 
 

 

 
 

  
  
We will be open on Sunday from 1:00-4:00. Hope to see you there!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

 
 
 

 

 

 

Before and After Chapter 6

I have neglected this post as we went through a long slow-motion period on Lasheart. Things are picking up and progress has been made:

 
To be fair, the shingles were finished until it was noted (by me) that the exterior lights encroached into the shutter (area). Alas, the primed shingles were replaced to make room for new light boxes and the front posts were moved. My poor husband has to deal with me showing up every week or so and making changes...

The interior is humming along with painters, floor finishers and tile setters. Granite has been installed and now we are down to carpet selection and paint colors (if you walk through the house now you will be subject to the 150 paint swatches I am experimenting with). I do believe we will be only 3 weeks behind schedule with a caravan date of March 15...I am holding my breath.

Before and After Chapter 5

The rain has slowed us down but the workers have been very busy at Lasheart. The new windows are in and shingles are up:

 
(note that the old toilet finally made it out of the living room to the pile of rubble in the front yard)

Drywall!

 

Before and After Chapter 4

From bad to worse...

 
This is what I get for complaining about the toilet in the living room...

But really, there has been significant progress on the addition off the back of the house:

 
view from the back yard:

 
More next week as we tackle ordering cabinets and windows.

Before and After-Chapter 2

When we bought the house, the large yard was concealed by unruly yet unprotected trees:

 
It was hard to see how big the yard actually is. One afternoon with a bulldozer and chainsaw:

 
Priceless!

We finally have the building permit. Report on the foundation next week (sounds rather dull but it means the project is moving forward)!

Before and After-Chapter 1

We have once again boarded the crazy train by purchasing a charming fixer:

 
This is what three-quarters of a million dollars looks like in La Canada...all 1400 square feet of it. Over the next several months (my husband claims 4) I will be posting updates and photos of construction progress. The plan is to turn this into a 2400 square foot 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home and then sell it in the spring. If construction continues into next summer, we will be divorced and my husband will be living in an unfinished house on Lasheart.

Before and After...my living room

In the September 4th blog I mentioned our latest endeavor, raising the living room ceiling. After several months of negotiations*, the ne'er-do-well contractor finally stepped up to the plate. Vaulting the ceiling completely changed the room, yet feels like we just exposed the original plan of how the room was supposed to be.

Before:

 

After:

    

*you may see my husband tooling around town in the middle of the day on his new motorcycle that was supposed to be a "scooter" 

The Life and Times of My Front Yard Part 1

Chances are if you own a home you've been through it. That innate desire to make something out of nothing, recreate a room, feather your nest... Whatever. My husband and I have been doing it forever. Since before we were married, before we had kids (together), before I became a real estate agent we have been taking on little home improvement tasks and making mountains out of mole hills. Our current house is perhaps our longest project, a constant reminder that nothing is ever perfect and the cobbler's children have no shoes. We bought this house exactly 2 years ago and immediately began tearing it apart. New kitchen, bathrooms, walk-in closet, yada,yada,yada. When we finally moved in we began the back yard improvement, creating an oasis for our family and various animals. Meanwhile, we became so negligent with our front yard that we started getting visits from the city.

Our house had a huge hedge that masked the property from the street, or so we thought. The lawn died. We started parking on the dead grass. At one point my husband parked his boat there too. Once when showing property on our street, my client was pointing out all of the nice homes as well as the stinkers. Not knowing it was where I lived, he pointed to my house and just shook his head. That evening, as my husband was headed down what was left of our driveway, decked out in spandex on his new road bike, I lowered the boom.

We contacted an old friend, Van-Martin Rowe to come up with a design for our front yard. I envisioned Easter egg hunts on a sprawling front lawn, perhaps a picket fence, off street parking and a trash enclosure. Nothing fancy. A quickie-redo that would take at most 2 months.

Within weeks, we had a fabulous rendering of a dream front yard: low rock wall, gated brick driveway, a trellised pedestrian entry and a covered trash enclosure. We started scouring stone yards for the perfect wall finish. After about 1 month, we decided on a pedigreed stone. New York cobble removed from the streets of NY after 9/11. Originally the stones had come across from Europe as ships ballast. $5 a stone...sold! We had to have it (we also have a $1500 SilverKing vacuum that a door-to-door salesman sold to Greg years ago).

So, the hedge comes down. The last shreds of dead grass blow down the street. Thousands of dollars worth of stones are delivered. A salvage person begins to deliver 1,000,000 bricks rescued from a demolition site in La Crescenta. Our front yard begins to look like Rustic Stone. My husband waters the dirt. We are into the project 3 months at this point.

Finally, the wall begins. We attempt to follow the drawing, stick with the inspiration. No one figured on the slope of our front yard. From the north point to the south point at the street, we go downhill 4 feet. So our lovely "swooped" wall looks more like a ruin:

We stand across the street and argue whether the tops of the columns should be level (my idea) or follow the slope of the land (his idea). I whine that it looks like the Stone Henge set from the movie Spinal Tap, only without the little people. After another month of deliberating, the swoops come off.

Van-Martin comes over to resolve the wall issues and provides marriage counseling services. We finally agree that the wall will be level, but step down slightly on the south side of the driveway. Progress. Our workmen go to another job, and Greg goes on a bike ride.

After another month I have a first class freak-out and the workers come back to finish the wall. Van designs a lovely brick detail and orders trees to keep me happy. In a loving gesture, my husband gets off of his bike and lays out our new circular driveway. The dumpster moves in front of the wall, almost like an ugly statue watching over our unfinished project. 2 months later, the driveway is finished. 1,000,000 bricks set running bond. It is beautiful. But the dumpster is still in front. Stop by if you have excess trash you need to get rid of.

Stay tuned for part 2. I am praying it will finally be the "after."

Before and After

This is an incredible example of making a silk purse out of a sows ear! My friends bought this home in La Canada last year and have done a top-to-bottom renovation and expansion. The before was a 1300 square foot 1940's box. The awkward entry led directly into the living room.

Here it is, a mere seven months later, completely reinvented. Amazing what a lot of talent, skill and money can do to a house! This lovely home is now on the market. Come and be inspired on Sunday, April 6 from 2:00-5:00.