What we love about our home:

 

HISTORY

Built in 1911, this 110-year-old Craftsman Bungalow has incredible charm on one of the loveliest streets in Crescent Park Palo Alto. Most of the neighborhood is full of adorable homes built between 1890 and 1930 with each having architectural interest and well-maintained landscapes. This home was likely originally a “country” home for a San Francisco family.

 

LOCATION

This location is incredible for someone of any stage of life. It is easy to walk downtown to the farmer’s market on Saturdays, the Post Office, restaurants, salons, shops, and more. It’s a wonderful place for neighborhood walks with sidewalks on all streets and many parks nearby for children to play. It is also just a mile from Stanford University and Stanford Shopping Center and a 7-minute drive to the Facebook campus. All other tech hubs are easy to access in SF or SJ given our location near 101, 280, and Caltrain. Many of the express trains stop at the Palo Alto Caltrain station and it is possible to get to downtown SF on those in ~40 minutes. Buyer should verify but our understanding is that the public schools are Addison Elementary (.6 mi), Greene Middle (2 mi), Palo Alto High (1.5 mi). Many people in the neighborhood ride with their kids to school on their bikes.

 

QUALITY

Before our purchase, the home was extensively remodeled and expanded around 2008. The owners (who are still local and will share all plans and photos), were extremely careful and thoughtful when expanding from 2BR/1BA to add the additional family room and master bedroom/bathroom, making it a 3BR/2BA home. They preserved many of the original details like the window frames, sloped ceilings, gorgeous wood floors, and doors. At the same time, they updated all of the systems and designed the back of the house with lovely high ceilings which are rare to find in a home of this era. As a result, there is wonderful natural light throughout the day. The bonus room in the front of the house is a perfect office for working from home or home school.

 

In 2014, we remodeled the entire kitchen with all new wood cabinetry by Mike Stuart, Tom Dixon pendant lights, Kichler sink light, new premium appliances (48" Wolf range and microwave, KitchenAid dishwasher (2017), JennAir refrigerator (2019)), new Texteria soapstone countertops, walnut floating shelves and walnut butcher block peninsula, new Heath Ceramics tile backsplash, and Sun Valley Bronze hardware. Our interior designer was Lori Yeomans of San Francisco and the general contractor was Stephen Burch of SMB Construction in Los Altos (License #349972).

 

We also replaced sconces in the front living room with Wyatt Sconces from Cedar & Moss. We modernized the tile in front of the fireplace to "copper penny" tile. All of the bedrooms have roman shades in linen with blackout lining. We installed screen doors from Screen Solutions in Campbell to the back french doors. In 2017, we installed new Electrolux washer and dryer.

 

In 2017, we also redid all of the landscaping, hardscaping, and built the deck to allow for easier entertaining in the backyard. There is room in the back to create a garden or insert a small playset for children. The yard also features a producing lemon tree and the front of the house is framed with two Japanese maple trees and a beautiful dogwood tree. As the landscaping matures, there will be even more natural privacy for the property. 

The garage is wonderful for storage and could also potentially be converted into an ADU given the revised California guidelines (buyer to verify).

 

NEIGHBORS

All of the neighbors are lovely people. Across the street, Peter is the former mayor of Palo Alto and an environmental expert. His wife Amy is a dermatologist at Palo Alto Medical Foundation. They have a 10-year-old son who attends Addison elementary. Amy’s parents live in the house adjacent to them. When we are on vacation, they are wonderful about taking our garbage out and generally watching out for packages. We’ve been happy to do the same for them. The neighbors next to the house and behind are also equally friendly and have young families. There is an annual block party down the street every year for neighbors to get to know each other.

 

ENTERTAINING

Our interior designer took great care to help us design the house to be warm and inviting for group gatherings and dinner parties. The front room perfectly hosts guests when they arrive and the dining room can fit 6-8 guests comfortably, 10 if you squeeze! We also find people love to spend time in the kitchen, seated at the counter and chatting when we cook. Of course, the back deck is perfect for any meal of the day, sipping coffee and tea, or after dinner socializing. We have many happy memories from our 7 years here and hope you will too!