I like a lot of it, but that toilet situation 🤔🤔🤔. I don’t like that there’s no room to breathe and they’re on top of the neighbors (but I understand it’s LA, I’m in south Florida we have much of the same) but why no pool? Is this a good price point for your neighborhood?

I almost agree with most criticisms here except we like huge carnivorous spaces however well designed ones. Just to add to everything, the kitchen island is too wide; there’s no space to walk on refrigerator side when its doors are fully open. For instance our refrigerators have 3’ doors however I designed to have over 5’ gap between refrigerators and island, permitting easy traffic flow. I realize I'm stating the obvious, a lot of thought and design consideration goes into a clean proportional design for easy traffic flow based on an area’s use in a house of any shape or size; there are exceptions of course.

I agree that the glassed in toilet is weird, but I see a lot of weird things like that here, like windows between the bathroom and bedroom. I'm sure an architect was involved (not a good one) but probably not a kitchen or bath designer, and I noticed that there is no staging. I may have to go visit it when I see that they have an open house. I want to make sure that I cannot see my back yard from the balcony, but I think that I won't, since the house is down the hill from me. I also want to see what that hall is like in person!

Price point is good for this neighborhood, but most of the houses are quite a bit smaller but on larger lots. Price per square foot is low for the neighborhood because the ratio of house to lot size is too large. There is no pool because there is only a very small back yard. Most houses in this neighborhood do not have pools because it never gets hot here, and you would need to heat the pools.

I expect that this house will sell fairly quickly, despite its drawbacks.

I believe the large lot sold for $750,000, which is quite low for this neighborhood, considering the size of the lot, but it did have a decrepit house from 1950 that had to be torn down and removed.

I think it could be pretty cool with the right furniture and art. I don't like the kitchen flooring with the cabinets.. Either one on their own is fine - just not together.

Now that I look at it again I think all of the choices in the kitchen are off color-wise. The grayish tile and the organgeish cabinets and the brownish wood are not meshing.

Decrepit houses costs $10k around here to remove. So even $30k (adjust for LA) - not much of an issue.

The house looks exactly like what a developer would create and call high end here in my neck of the woods (SW Fl) and it's ugly. It's got all the modern box cliches including the cement block driveway with mexican stones in-between the blocks.

The floor in the kitchen fights with the wood cabinets and the backsplash fights with both.

The windows look out on a fence.

To use the fridge you first have to put your groceries on the island and then pivot 180 degrees to put them away.

Bathroom doesn't work together either. Wood color is all wrong for the tile and floor.

You come out of the shower and where is your towel?

You walk into the house and can go bowling. Nothing to distinguish one room from another. Sorry but when I walk in I don't want to immediately be confronted with my living space. I want some sort of buffer.

Powder room once again cool stone with warm wood.

Fireplace wall and those sliders look like something from an institution, not a home. And what's with the white handles on the bronze doors?

Cheap baseboard molding.

Hope the person in tub in pic 34 doesn't need to reach up to get shampoo or soap when taking a bath or they might slip and fall because the niche is so high up.

#41 is this Let's make a deal where you choose door #1, 2 or 3?

OMG pic 42 with the toilet in the same space as the shower behind a glass door? Granted there's a glass wall between the shower and toilet but hey you can stare into the toilet while you shower!

And you walk in and the first thing you see is the toilet? In the room next to the shower? But hey, it's all good because the tub is outside the glass partition in front of the toilet and shower.

Do the doors to the shower and toilet even open out with the tub in the way?

The finishes of the basic house looks very basic and plain.

Frankly I have toured nicer homes here in FL in the same style with better finishes and layouts and for 1/2 the price.

The glassed in toilet brings bowel movements to a higher level. If there was a door between the glassed in shower and glassed in toilet room, the shower would be considered a full body bidet, which could add another $100,000 to the asking price.

The dandelion gone to seed light fixture in the large entry room makes me wonder about the intended furniture arrangement for the space. It appears to move if you compare image #8 with image #9, unless there are two of the same fixture. That fixture should not happen more than once.

Are those vinyl windows?

It is interesting to go to "Street View" and see the variety of houses on that street.

It is interesting to go to "Street View"

For a better iteration of the same style by a pre-fab manufacturer who promises to complete in seven weeks.

Agreed! 5657 78th st. L.A.Proto Prefab homes

I like elements of it. The stair railings are pretty nifty until you look through 3 layers of it, that gets a little busy.

Why, oh why, when the backsplash tile is horizontal, aren’t the outlets installed horizontally, and in a matching color?

I‘m not sure I like the whole cooktop wall tiled, and no cabinets. If you ever want to install a rack, or shelves, or decor, you have to drill into the tile.

I like the faucets that are set in the wall, except I’d always be splashing on the drywall.

I like the lighted mirrors!

In the master bath, do you have to get a freestanding towel rack for your bath and shower towels?

I think I’d want to block the railing on the front balcony for more privacy, for the bedroom and to use the balcony. Maybe you can grow marijuana out there.

What do you think is under the stairs in the middle of the house? You don’t have basements there, do you? Is it just a short nook?

I like that the buyer will come to us for help with the main floor living space and how to create a sense of entry, where to put the dining table so it doesn’t block the fireplace, etc!

It is aggressively greige. I agree that often times the wood seems warmer than the flooring. I’m assuming the hall of doors is a series of reach-in closets perhaps?

No, we do not have basements here; at least I've never seen any. We do not need them for climatic reasons, and they are scary as far as earthquakes are concerned. No one wants to be in a basement during an earthquake.

Here's another house in the exact same neighborhood, completed in 2020. Here's an article that mentions the builder.

I think the doors in the hallway will swing in towards the rooms and therefore could not be closets. If they are closets, that would be very awkward. I'll check on that when there is an open-house.

I see that the Venice all-house-no-lot aesthetic is marching eastward. High land cost will do that.

I like the asymmetrical two-pane windows and the interior doors, and am indifferent to the rest of the house -- except the kitchen. I really do not like that kitchen, for a number of reasons.

The balcony is unfortunate for the neighbors, and not so great for the occupant. I understand the reason for the modified snout house, but it's a bit cringe worthy, looking too much like an apartment building.

Generic I'm-new-and-I'm-expensive.

OT Lars, we have lots of walk out, full window basements in the Bay Area. Maybe there are ways of fortifying them that are cost effective these days?

Shall we start a list of pictures for Lars to take when he goes to the open house? I want to know what’s in the space between The front door and the garage. Powder room? Closet? And what’s under the stairs. If it’s staged, how do they do the living-dining? Towels in the bath?

And let us know what it is like to walk around the kitchen.

and if you were doing yoga on the back balcony, would your neighbors be able to see you?

My first thought was Lars you are so interesting, what gives?

I didn’t think the house reflected “you”. But I got over that thought fast. What a great place to display art! What a great place for your designs!

Anyway, now I like it.

The bathroom toilet...can someone use some colored glass in their bathroom please?

I love it!

Maybe just on the glass surround of the toilet and not on the shower as shown.

I never had or remember seeing a basement when I lived in San Francisco. At the last place I lived, the bottom story was the garage and therefore at street level. It had a basement feel to it because it was so dark, since the building had three stories of flats above the garage, but we used it mostly for storage the garbage cans.

Nancy, Westchester is mostly south (although southeast) of Venice, and so by "eastward" do you mean Florida? I agree that there is a lot of aesthetic missing from the house, but I think that a lot can be added by the owner, once furniture and art is installed. I rather like a blank canvas for art installations, and one of my complaints about open floor plans is that there are not enough walls for art. However, with large open spaces, one can install larger works of art.

I looked at a newly remodeled home yesterday that had many of the same finishes. It's like a check list of what was current two years ago.

It seems to be typical of the new Tract-Type house of the '20's. We'll have the same reaction to them in the future that we now have to the no-style tracts of the 90's.

Re. basements - you do see them in some vintage homes. Sometimes they are exterior access only and sometimes not. The house across the street from us has an exterior entrance (think root cellar style) basement. We think they are very lucky - good place to keep your wine!

I really hate the walnut kitchen cabinets against the oak stained floor. Terrible.

Lars, I'm on the peninsula. Earthquakes and basements are not incompatible. SF itself may be too rocky for basements, and Venice Beach's water table may be too high, but basements along the San Andreas fault line seem fine.

I love modern architecture, but this house does nothing for me. It is perfectly marketable and will appeal to the masses, but I think that is the problem--it has no soul.

The layout seems to be like many tract homes. But then, it isn't designed for a particular owner.

It doesn’t appeal to me at all for a lot of reasons already stated. The most obvious is the flooring with the cabinetry. And I can’t get past that glassed in toilet either. Oddly placed windows and doors and the useless balconies are a turnoff to me.

A bit of staging would have helped show this house better.

It’s “modern” with a leering wink and nod as the builder reaches for your wallet and you stand there stunned. It’s a checklist design more than designed.

The pragmatist is here to tell you they build it this way because it sells.

I watch real estate in 2 different towns, and in both locations (6 hours apart) a similar variation of this is built almost every day. Each location has its own flavor/finishes, but in the end this is the current look that sells.

I know we all like to believe we are smarter and more sophisticated than the average buyer. Honestly, many of the long-time posters here are here because we have a deeper interest in this stuff than the average person anyway - so yes, we have a more discerning palate.

Priced appropriately, that house would sell just fine in both locations that I watch.

And yes, the toilet situation is really weird. :)

If it were your home, I would be sincere when I said it's a beautiful home. It's not at all my taste though and I don't think I would be comfortable living there. At all.

Is the back side of the island under the overhang a different species of wood than the side closest to the camera or is that an optical illusion?

The space between the front door and the staircase - what is that for? Is it living room, or all front entrance. There is an entrance to something on the left side - hopefully that is a closet.

Lars - I would like to know how far it is from the fridge to the sink because it looks like a long way for carrying vegies etc to the sink to wash and prepare. So could you pace it for me? thanks.

This kitchen could have done with a sink in the island.

I think with some furniture and colourful artwork the house could be transformed into something more interesting, but as it is now, no.

That type of front architecture is becoming more common here but most of the houses have some wood on the front to add some warmth and interest. And the landscaping is similar being xeriscaping.

Those doors along the sides open out, if my understanding of hinges is correct. The doors at the end of the hall appear to open inward.

Look at the hinges. Along the sides of the hall, is each pair a door and a fixed panel? I’m only seeing hinges on one side.

I think it’s a perfectly nice house. And the throne with the glass wall isn’t a big problem either. Just don’t do your business when someone else is using the bathroom.

The price does shock me. Still. Though LA.

Dallas lags a decade or so behind LA when it comes to real estate prices. Homes that size and quality sell for about $900k in a decent location in Dallas so a $1.9M price for *that* is just weird to me.

I can’t imagine spending that much on something that unremarkable.

I forgot to say that the outdoor sconces are very similar to the ones I installed in our patio in Cathedral City.

Here's a similar house in Westchester, a mile and a half away, and I think it was probably built by the same developer - the bathrooms and kitchens are extremely similar. Most houses in this neighborhood are simply expanded from their original 1950 footprint, as they were built on very large lots and were intended to be expanded, I think. Lately, however, there have been a few houses that have an upper story, but not that many. This house was a rental house, I believe, and probably for LMU students, as it is very close to the university. I guess you could get quite a few students in it to split the rent, but LMU students tend to have wealthy families. At least rent is lower in Westchester than it is in Westwood/Bel-Air, where UCLA is located.

Really dislike the kitchen, especially the look of the sink wall with its little floating cabinets. I also noticed the lack of large drawers. And this bath in a house with this price tag? I did enjoy the many glimpses of the photographer - like playing Where's Waldo?

Mark, the dandelion fixture appears to be right in the center of the big space, right between the tall windows on the side elevation. I would guess that is meant to be a dining room, with a living area at the back with the fireplace and a sitting area by the front door. The wide angle of the images is creating some pretty significant distortions to perspective making it look closer to the far wall in both images.

The homes not to my liking. There are lots like it around where I live. Same deal, remove older home and put in two. The Proto Homes, on the other hand, give the vibe of what I've always liked Mid Century style homes. Well thought out.

Lars, the second home posted, has little or no appeal the exterior is just bland and boxy. Prefabrication can look a lot better than that. The interior is much better.

I'm guessing certain elements are appealing the desires of the local market and price range. The open plan is a checklist item, I am guessing.

I noticed the fighting wood in the kitchen right away. I wonder what it looks like in real life. It seems like the back side of the island has a strip along one edge. I can only hope that is an artifact of HDR, and that the back panel is properly matched. But the floor is fighting with the cabinets (and with the undertones elsewhere, as people have pointed out), just like the bench in the shower with the wall tile.

I agree that there is a lot wrong with this house, and I made quite a long list myself but did not get around to posting everything, as I figured the rest of you would spot the flaws. In this type of house, they are easy to see, especially since it is not staged. I think they are trying to appeal to the Silicon Beach market, and this house is priced very well for that market. When you get into Marina Del Rey and Venice, the prices really go up, which is why people are moving from there (like I did) to Westchester. Here's a listing for a smaller (but nicer) house in Venice. It will probably remain a rental. Here's one right on the beach, in case you want to wave at passers-by on the boardwalk. I haven't spent all that much time in Venice after we moved from there.

Wow. Those California prices!

There's a lot to dislike. No need to repeat what others have said. I hate gray/greige, so most of the tile is unacceptable. No one mentioned how shiny the white cabinets are. Is 1990's laminate returning? Those mirrors with built-in lighting will be easy to date to 2018-2020. I like freestanding tubs, but not out in the open because the right temperature for the room often isn't the right temperature for the bather.

In a contemporary architectural environment, it does not permit multilingual aesthetic expressions.

This is a very well designed and built house, but for most people, if you end up with a house like this one, you may find that you will have to buy all new furniture, bed sheets, towels, drapes, pots and pans, silver flatware -------, etc. I don’t even feel comfortable handing family pictures on the walls.

I am from NY. What do I know.

Actually, I do know that in NY all those metal railings are illegal. No horizontal elements allowed. Very dangerous for children to climb and fall over. Those front steps must have handrails.

dcarch

Interesting that the horizontal railings are illegal in NY. I can see how they could be used like ladders by children. I don't think this house would appeal to people with small children, but I do recognize the danger, now that you mention it.

Here's a mirror with built-in lighting that I bought for our house in Cathedral City:

I chose this one because the light is at the very edge of the mirror and there is no mirror "frame" around the light. This one has controls for dimming and for changing the light temperature from warm to cool. It is actually a very practical design, and I am not concerned about whether someone thinks it will be dated at some point in the future.

I like the general vibe of the house, but I like modern architecture and dislike traditionnal (well, I like real traditionnal, old houses carefully restaured and furnished) but a lot of the traditionnal features often seem fake to me.

This said, the price is outrageous in that it is not a huge house, finishings are nice, but do not seem of an expensive quality. I understand that LA is out of price in general, but if I had this type of money, I would go live somewhere else and have something nicer and custom. I wonder how ordinary people can afford to live in LA.

I have the picture of this wonderful double sliding door on my screen right now and frankly, I would not have the view it has. Do you really want to sit on the balcony and see other houses and cars ?

In L.A., real estate prices are based on land values. For example, 75% or more of the value of my house in Westchester L.A. is just for the land. I think the same is true for places like Vancouver and San Francisco. There are cheaper neighborhoods in L.A., but when you get close to the beach, the land prices increase rather dramatically. Also, the weather is much nicer close to the beach here, and so very little money is required for heating or cooling. I did not have A/C in Venice and I very seldom used my wall heater. I never had A/C in San Francisco either, but it did get very cold there in the winter.

Our house in Cathedral City is a fraction of what our house in L.A. is worth, but we have to live in L.A. for work. I don't have to anymore because I am mostly retired, but employment opportunities in Palm Springs can't compare to the opportunities in Los Angeles. In addition to Sony (which is in Culver City, where my brother works), there are a lot of tech companies in our neighborhood, and so wages tend to be quite high here, which helps to drive up the cost of real estate.

Looks like the other side of the street hasn't been gentrified yet, but is getting there. A lot across the street is listed at $850k. It's about 25% larger that the lot at this house. A house on a a slightly larger lot is listed for $899k and the house is less than 1000 sq ft. A tear down?

Lisa, those lots are less desirable because they back onto La Tijera Blvd, which is a very busy street, especially during rush hour. They also appear to have houses that have not been updated since 1947, and so they would either be tear-downs or gut jobs. There are a number of houses in this neighborhood that could use some updating, but once they are updated, they become a lot more valuable. The neighborhood is not completely gentrified, but it is slowly getting there. Most houses were built between 1947 and 1953 and were originally intended for workers at Hughes Aircraft, and tended to have around 900 square feet and two bedrooms.

The large corner lot of the first posting was vacant for several years and had a 1947 house that was falling down. That was the last house in this neighborhood in that condition, and I wondered how it remained that way for as long as it did. Better to have two houses on that lot than a condo complex. I do not think apartment buildings are allowed in this neighborhood, with the exception of lots on La Tijera Blvd. This is probably student housing.

Lars, lots of basements in my area of LA. Most new construction have them, to maximize space and increase profits, due to the high land costs. The basement spaces get priced at the same sq.ft price as above ground space. Most of the new construction homes will have a large family room, guest bedroom and bathroom in the basement. Code requires very large light wells for emergency egress. Anyone that comes from the northeast, doesn't think twice about a basement, they just expect a house to have them!

I think a lot of it is fine and depending on where it is that is a scream of a deal for a new house compared to Vancouver. I love big open spaces in house and few walls. There are things I don't love about it but if I was in the market to buy brand new vs build new I would consider this one. There aren't enough problems with it that I wouldn't go in that's for sure.

I know many people on the west coast, where earthquakes are potentials, who have basements. Every house I've ever lived in has a basement. Current new build also does.

Lars, I don’t think the Venice house is meant for a family with children, either. Besides the TWO open cabinets of liquor, another of accoutrements, and the bar glasses on reach, the bottom cabinet is wine storage. When can I move in? JK, I lost my heart to Manhattan Beach when I stayed out there for a confererence in 1989.

Comments (without reading anyone else's)

Kitchen: looks fine except that wall of squares and rectangles. I am glad no subway, though I would have wanted something warmer for the tile color. Island and floor are stunning. I like the cabinet pulls.

Bath: Again, happy with no subway. I could do with a lot less gray, and I think the shower tiling is way too busy. That mirror is cool.

Back yard: Too small for the price this is offered at, but this is San Fran after all. For what they have, they did a nice job.

Exterior: I'd like to see a light tan or beige color to that stucco. Just to keep it less industrial looking.

Front entryway: That could grow on me.

Much of the interior: WAY WAY too open for me. Too much noise bouncing around. Spend some moolah on some properly-placed walls! I'm with you, Lars!

Bath sink area: I like the marble or granite they used, and the fixtures -, the door is not me at all.

Stairs going up: I like.

I have to stop here and note that the dire lack of color on walls is truly disturbing, but nothing that can't be solved with several or more gallons of PAINT.

Things were going good until bathroom image 32. That thing I'd replace within a week of purchase. Or was that a laundry room? Terribly vanilla for a high end home, or for any home.

I like lots of balcony space.

Hallway with all the doors: would have to see why all those doors, but I do like that they are wood-framed - adds some interest to the home.

I love the unique light fixtures.

I hate the glass walled toilet room. Don't care for the glolssy white cabinets in the kitchen.

I think the hall of doors is the master closet, with the bathroom beyond that (you can see the door to the room in the same photo, and the ones on the right are on an outside wall, so you can see that it's about closet depth).

I think some of the above comments about openness and coldness are because there's no furniture. We all say we can look beyond staging, but when it comes down to it, we're still impacted by it.

One thing I do not like about open floor plans is being able to see the kitchen as soon as you come in the front door, but this was avoided in this case, as the main area downstairs is "L" shaped. I agree that it needs staging, and most houses here do have that, and so maybe that will come later. This house was just completed in January, and so it's been on the market only a matter of days. We drive past it every time we go shopping in our neighborhood, and so I got to see when the for sale sign went up. I think the house next to it is not yet completed.

I do like the glossy white cabinets in the kitchen, but I do not otherwise like white cabinets. I think the glossy ones are easier to clean. I had a white kitchen when I lived in Venice, and I did not like it.

I'm sure this house is going to have a lot of echoes until it get staged, and I also think the prospective buyers are going to expect staging - at least on the lower level. I think anyone can imagine bedroom furniture in a bedroom.