This 104-year-old Craftsman-style house in Pasadena was an all-white washout in need of some curb appeal to help it sell.
It was a bit of a challenge because the entry door is on the side of the house instead of in front.
Thanks to some new paint and landscaping, it’s turning more heads now. Take a look!
An Old California Craftsman Gets a New Look
Now the trim and details of the house really make an impression. Can you spot all the changes they made to the exterior? Here’s an angle that shows the front door before, which is on the side of the house facing the driveway:
As much as I like white houses, the Craftsman style of the house just looks more interesting with color.
With the new blue siding with red and white trim and a bold red door, it’s no longer a drive-by.
The entire house has been updated. Now the entry hall carries the bold blue from the exterior inside:
Here’s a look inside the front door to give you an idea of what they had to work with when they started the remodel:
Here’s the same room today (taken from the opposite angle):
The living and dining rooms clearly had potential. Talk about great bones!
The living room now with new tile, mantel, and bookshelves around the fireplace:
The dining room before:
And today, with plum walls and refinished floors:
The listing says, “After 104 years, multiple additions and a really bad flip job, this house was restored in a 2014 remodel. The second story was redesigned by gutting the original 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and transforming the space into 3 large bedrooms — each with a walk in closet and ensuite bathroom. The backyard is now an entertainer’s dream with a new saltwater pool and a patio with gas fire pit.”
Thanks to to Partners Trust for sharing the project with us.
Check the listing held by Jerry Current for more information.
Are you hooked on houses? More to tour:
A Light-Filled Little Bungalow with a Fresh New Look in Berkeley
“It Was a Disaster:” Bringing a Beat-Up Bungalow Back to Life
This Neglected Old House in Massachusetts Got an Amazing Makeover
Eyesore No More: An Old Cottage in Atlanta Gets a New Look
An Updated Spanish-Style Home For Sale in San Marino
This is gorgeous! It wasn’t terrible with the white exterior, but the blue is stunning! You’re right about this house having great bones, Julia. What generous proportions in the principle rooms! Boy it had been a looooong time since those rooms had seen paint. This was tastefully and beautifully finished.
Yeah, it looked like it had the original white paint both inside and out, didn’t it? Time for a fresh coat (or two). 🙂
Foundation planting? I would espalier 4 plants at the house, move forward the foundation hedge to the tree, and flagstone within the new hedge to the house.
Voila, a courtyard, and the scale is proper with the house.
The firepit and benches? Ouch. Merely needs a row of 2′ x 2′ concrete squares on each side for space. Cheap, gotta love a cheap fix.
Front yard too, merely reuse existing plants, just move them.
New colors are great, even better, they painted the downspouts. Bravo.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Very pretty job, especially with the paint and interiors, but when I saw that price, I had to scroll back up to the location, ’cause ouch, that’s a hefty price tag! Makes me think a lot folks must live in boxes in Pasadena.
Oh, I know, it’s not cheap to leave in Pasadena, that’s for sure! They seem to have more than their fair share of beautiful old houses, too.
It’s gorgeous! If only I had 2 million dollars….
Also, I would plant some lemon trees. I’ve always wanted them but they wouldn’t last long here in polar vortex Chicago.
I like that idea. Fresh lemonade! 🙂
I do really like this after. It is almost as if the house is “happier” with the new paint job. Great door, too! Thanks for sharing.
“Happier” is a good way to put it. It looked a little sad before.
The best thing about a Craftsman is the woodwork, so even though I would have chosen different colors, I’m glad they painted the exterior and the interior rooms to show that off. It really pops now. It’s too bad the interior woodwork was already painted, though. It’s also too bad that they removed the dining room wainscoting. I would love to have that!! It’s all way too modern for me (and for a Craftsman house), but – to each his own!
Good point about the dining room. They seem to have salvaged all the other woodwork and even added to it, so I wonder what happened there?
The wainscot was nice, but we had to remove it to make some repairs to the walls. We did save the wood to put it back, but later I decided I did not want it so I could get more pop from the wall color. Otherwise the wainscot was so tall, the room would have been all white and I feel less impactful.
Ah, there’s our answer! Thanks, Jerry! 🙂
They did a great job in reconfiguring the upstairs and bringing color and contrast to the lower levels. The home does have some great bones. This is one of my favorite areas of the greater LA region — the old homes, the flea market, and the great downtown shops and restaurants.
I do feel, though, they seem to have run out of budget when they got to the kitchen. For example, the partial overlay cabinets that don’t go to the ceiling seem like a budget choice compared to the effort and expense in the rest of the house.
Stunning remodel. I love older homes and am fascinated that while keeping the original they can update to modern times. Yeah it’s hard to see beautiful wood painted over, but this is so fresh and gives another 100 years of life to a lovely house.
I remember this house being on the market the first time. Gosh was it in bad shape. Then someone flipped it. It was OK with the flipped version, but no wow. I’m glad someone else bought it, but to flip it again? I like the color on the outside. It does give it that wow factor. The only problem I have with it is how modern it looks on the inside. This is in a neighborhood with some pretty great houses that were preserved. I know it’s been messed with many, many times, which gives the new owners a pass on trying to save anything. I just wish they would have gone a bit more period with their renovation. And hopefully they did a good job too. Some of these flips are horrible, even if they look good in the pictures.
I went and looked at the house on the Partner’s Trust site, and one of the photos shows the fireplace as solid tile, no opening, as in an artistic rendering that someone forgot to finish. Wonder how many are actual photos. They all looked awfully perfect! (sorry, I am a cynic!)
The paint job and landscaping is beautiful, but I’m not pleased with what they to the inside. They not only took out the wainscoting in the dining room, they actually made the main window smaller.
It’s always wrong, in my book, to decrease natural light. Then again, I’m also a purist when it comes to historical buildings.
I love what they have done with this home! I have driven by this home many times. Thank for sharing the it with us! I live one town over in La Canada and who move here in a heartbeat!!!!!!
Beautiful, just beautiful!
I love Pasadena and could definitely live in this house! Love it! Unfortunately, I’d have to win the lottery!
So elegant, just gorgeous! Thank you for sharing.
I love the exterior paint colors. Before, you barely noticed the brick, but now, thanks to the new color scheme, the brick work really stands out. Someone suggested bringing those landscaping beds all the way to the tree, and I agree. I like a big, deep landscape border and this one looks a little puny from the photos. I kind of miss the little picket fence border along the driveway, but I am just a sucker for picket fences. Aesthetically, it does look better with the fence removed. Haven’t seen all of the interior shots yet, but the exterior transformation is stunning.
I love the exterior color and the way the house has so much more joyful presence on its lot. I agree that the beds could be enlarged and turned into a real garden.
So sad about the wainscoting. I understand the owner’s reason. The color does pop beautifully and that wouldn’t happen with white below. But it’s such a permanent solution to a temporary paint job. I guess they could have restored the wainscoting and painted that the dark color and achieved a similar, but more layered effect.
Looks a million times better and so homey. I love the front door!
I have to say that the price tag is heart stopping. California continues to blow my mind with what they get away with price wise in real estate.
Hi Julia,
I love this house and have borrowed some ideas for mine.
I notice that there are no window coverings. Is this just for sale, to let maximum light in? or is it common in the States.
XO
Donna (from Australia)
Hi Donna! My guess is that it’s because the house was fixed up to sell, but that the new owners will want to add window coverings. Some people leave them bare, but I imagine most would need some kind of privacy. I have read that they often remove the screens from model home windows to bring more light in, which makes the houses sell faster!