Season for construction...

Today, two quick updates.

First, update on a new Spanish home going up on the Drive in Valmonte.  The homeowners purchased this tear down home in December 2010 for $839K.

(Source: Google Maps, MLS)


The homeowners then hired Doug Leach to design a Spanish home.  As of this weekend, here's the progress that's been made to date:

(Source: NJC)

As you can see from the photos, it's a fairly predictable facade, with two garage doors on the eastern side, a central tower, and a living room on the western side.  What is hard to tell from this photo is that the home is centered around a courtyard which is open to the west.  I'll try to get better photos next time.  Let's hope this home is finished in white with a nice, authentic red tile roof.


The other update is up in Lunada Bay, the sequel if you will, to the McMansiony home I wrote about it before (click here to read that post).  This home is a single level, home that sits on a very expansive lot.  I presume the home is only one story to preserve some of the view for the home behind it which is listed for sale at $3.8M.

(Source: NJC)

This home has the potential to turn out well - only time will tell.  I do not like how the front of the home sits right up on the street, with not so much as maybe a 15 foot setback.

Densification alert - Update - Part 1

Happy Holidays to everyone!  In the true spirit of giving, one HoPV reader has kindly sent me some more information about the plans for one of the double-wide lot teardown candidates (click here and earlier post here) I wrote about.  Well, as I had feared, indeed the owner of these lots has elected to split them back into their two very small constituent lots, totaling roughly 6,200sf each (with 60-foot frontages).

(Source: Google Maps)


On the larger of the two lots, 1609 Via Garfias (which totals approx 6,500sf), a 2,880sf home with a two-car garage is proposed.  The home has 5 (!) bedrooms and 3.5 baths.

 (Source: TT)

(Source: TT)

As you can see from above, the home is Spanish in style.  There are a few things I like about the home.  First, the layout is unique - its not like the usual quasi-symmetric new build facades you see like the Doug Leach Lunada Bay I wrote about before.  Similarly, the fact that there is a little courtyard on the right side provides additional space for convening and gathering - a plus.  But unfortunately, that's where my accolades for the home end.  Let's start with the garage - the walls around the door look a bit on the skinny side.  The garage door itself? Not a fan of the panels - but lets at least hope they're actually made of wood and not the brown-painted plastic variety.  Do they really need a set of stairs leading from master to the courtyard?   I like the idea if it were an interior courtyard, but for an exterior one that leads to the outside? I'm on the fence.  On the windows, the scale is right but the proportions and placement look a bit off.  The top of the windows abut the molding and my guess is they're not properly recessed.  The entry tower, while I love the idea, looks undersized relative to the two other masses and garage.

First floor:

Second floor:

I like the uniqueness of the first floor layout.  Its different.  Unpredictable in some ways.  The living room is cozy, the foyer is equally snug.  It's nice walking into a house and not being able to see straight through to the backyard.  It's equally nice to not face the stairs upon entry (and bad feng shui!).  I'm not crazy about the placement of the guest bedroom door - it's directly in front of the entry.  The family/dining room and kitchen area are superb, though.  I really like the sizing and layout.  On the second floor, the rooms are small.  12x12 is hardly ample space for a luxury custom home bedroom.  Also, to have only one shared bathroom to accomodate THREE small bedrooms, obviously this architect doesn't have kids!  

All in all, the numbers don't lie.  2,900 square feet is not enough space to fit 5 decent bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a formal living room, a dining area and full size family room and kitchen.  Its just too small for the size.  To add to that the lot is only 108 feet deep or so, with the home itself taking 70 feet of that plus 20 feet for a driveway.  That only leaves 18 feet for the backyard!!!

Like I said before, the buyer of the lot should have put a nice sized 4,500sf home on the double lot rather than crowd it with two undersized homes.  PV is not the place for densified living!  That's what the beach cities are for!!!

More on the second home to be built here later.  Stay tuned.