Real Estate

$1.8 Million Homes in California

What You Get for $1.8 million in California

24 Photos

View Slide Show

Open Homes Photography

Oakland | $1.795 Million

A Tudor Revival house built in 1930, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, on a 0.1-acre lot

This storybook house was designed by Walter W. Dixon, an architect who designed several other homes on the block, as well. It is within walking distance of College Avenue, the area’s main thoroughfare, where there are two large grocery stores, a Chicago-style pizza restaurant, a gastro pub and a See’s Candies shop. It is also an easy walk to the Rockridge BART station, where the train carries passengers into San Francisco in about 30 minutes.

Size: 2,578 square feet

Price per square foot: $696

Indoors: The front yard reflects the Tudor style of the house, with low hedges wrapping around manicured grass and flowering trees. Beyond the arched front door is a foyer with hardwood floors. The hardwood continues into a sunken living room with large casement windows, a fireplace with a stone hearth and decorative ceiling beams.

The dining room is also off the entry hall, but elevated slightly, with more casement windows, a wrought-iron ceiling fixture and a door to the kitchen, where the standout feature is a fully restored white-enamel O’Keefe and Merritt stove.

From one side of the kitchen, steps lead down to a bright studio that the sellers use as a crafts room. On the other side of the kitchen is a door to a breakfast room with an original built-in china cabinet and windows that look out over the side yard.

A short corridor connects the dining room to the primary bedroom, windowed on three sides, with a deep closet that has its original crystal doorknob. Next door is a bathroom with well-maintained 1930s tile in a lavender-and-green color scheme.

Across the hall are stairs to the upper levels of the house. Halfway up the staircase is a guest room that could comfortably hold a full-size bed and desk. At the top of the stairs are two more guest rooms, one with a view of the property’s palm trees and the other with an attached bonus room that could serve as a home office or a nursery. They share a windowed bathroom off the hallway with a stall shower.

Outdoor space: Both the kitchen and the living room have access to a backyard with tall hedges around the perimeter and a mix of trees and flowers planted along the edges of the lawn. A canopy covers a paved patio big enough to hold a dining table, and the detached garage holds one car.

Taxes: $22,440 (estimated)

Contact: Perry Riani, Compass, 510-813-3799; compass.com


Credit…Cameron Carothers

Sierra Madre | $1.788 Million

A midcentury-modern house built in 1954, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, on a 0.2-acre lot

Jack Corey, a U.S.C.-trained architect whose work was in high demand in the 1960s thanks to his artful use of post-and-beam construction, designed this house while still a student, as a home for his parents. Later, he used it as his own residence. The house was restored this year by the design firm HabHouse, in consultation with Mr. Corey.

The city of Sierra Madre sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 15 minutes from Pasadena and Altadena. It’s about 40 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, depending on traffic.

Size: 1,476 square feet

Price per square foot: $1,211

Indoors: A brick path leads from the sidewalk to the front door, which opens into a foyer. To the left is a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, a brick fireplace and exposed beams that stretch across the ceiling and outdoors, over a patio, making the space feel larger than it is. On one side of the living room is a dining area and a door to a kitchen with custom birch cabinets and floor tiles from Japan.

A window-lined hallway off the foyer connects two bedrooms and a bathroom. The bedroom nearest the foyer is behind wood sliding doors, and is large enough to hold a full-size bed. Next door is the primary suite, which has a wall of built-in closets, a row of clerestory windows and a glass door that opens to the side yard; the en suite bathroom has new Japanese floor tile and an original pink pedestal sink repaired during the renovation.

A third bedroom, off the kitchen, has exterior access. Also on this side of the house is another full bathroom, with an original blue bathtub and matching toilet, as well as a laundry closet.

Outdoor space: The renovation extended to the outdoor spaces as well: A trellis detail lost over the course of the home’s life was restored to the deck, providing shade from the sun. The deck is large enough to hold a dining table and chairs, and has views of the San Gabriel Mountains. The landscaping surrounding the deck and the side yard was done with an emphasis on drought-tolerant plants. A rear alley provides access to the garage, which holds two cars, with additional space for storage.

Taxes: $22,356 (estimated)

Contact: Nate Cole, Suprstructur, and Joey Kiralla and Michelle St. Clair, Sotheby’s International Realty, 562-673-3550; suprstructur.com


Credit…Reside Visuals

Santa Cruz | $1.75 Million

A ranch house built in 1947, with two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms and a studio guesthouse with one bathroom, on a 0.2-acre lot

A beach city about 45 minutes south of Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz draws Bay Area residents looking for a slower pace of life and access to some of California’s best surfing. This house is about two miles from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, built in 1907 and a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. The Santa Cruz Riverwalk, a public trail that runs along the San Lorenzo River, is about a mile away. The campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz, which has about 17,000 undergraduate students, is about 15 minutes away by car.

Size: 1,578 square feet

Price per square foot: $1,109

Indoors: A wood fence divides the front yard of this house from the street. A paved path leads to the porch, which has brick detailing.

The front door opens into a living room with vinyl-plank floors, a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace surrounded by white-painted wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors that open to a deck.

To the right of the living room is a kitchen with stone countertops, stainless-steel appliances and windows overlooking the deck. A combined laundry room and pantry extends off one side of the kitchen. A half bathroom and a door to the side of the property are also on this side of the house.

From the living room, a hallway connects the two bedrooms and the bathroom in the main house. To the right is the primary bedroom, which has glass doors that open to the rear deck. At the other end of the hall is a guest room with a window facing the front yard. Between the two bedrooms is a bathroom with a walk-in shower and a marble-topped double vanity.

As part of a 2014 renovation, the home’s HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems were updated, and the owners added a keypad alarm system. The detached garage was converted into a guest studio, complete with a kitchenette and a full bathroom.

Outdoor space: The rear deck,made from Brazilian ipe wood, is big enough to function as an outdoor living room, with views of the nearby mountains. Stairs lead from the deck to a garden with fruit trees below, where the sellers added new lights.

Taxes: $21,876 (estimated)

Contact: Jonathan Rossi, The Portola Group, Keller Williams Santa Cruz, 831-440-8367; theportolagroup.com

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

Related Articles

Back to top button