All Blog Posts (114)

Andria and I spent Easter weekend in Los Angeles seeing family and some really great examples of mid-century modern design and architecture.  Even though I was born in the Bay, I grew up in Los Angeles in a cool little neighborhood known as Ladera Heights.  Ladera is located on the west side of LA, West of La Cienega and North of Centinela to give you an idea.  The neighborhood was mostly developed in the 50’s and 60’s and features some incredible mid-century modern architecture usually…

The Greenridge neighborhood definitely has a season when it comes to real estate, and this is the time of the year that we start seeing listings.  With that said, it’s my pleasure to announce that 5293 Greenridge Road will be coming on the market…

Don’t be fooled by looking at the market in black and white.  Last year was a very interesting year for real estate to say the least, and some very profound things were happening here in Greenridge.  Not all Eichlers are created equally, and the condition of the property both physically and financially will make a huge difference in regards to price.  For example, in 2010 we saw multiple sales in the mid-$600k’s while most of the Eichler sales landed in the mid-$500k’s, and one as low as…

Ok, so it's Palo Alto, and they hired the architect who designed Facebook's Cafe to remodel their place, but still some great slideshows and worth taking a look for some inspiration:

  http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203462304577139081964446436-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwMjEyNDIyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email

If you missed the debut of American Masters - Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect & The Painter on PBS tonight, you can look for the reruns (through Dec 27) on KQED on this page - or…

Hello neighbors, we've got a new kitchen coming in and would like to see if anyone would like to have anything from the original kitchen.  We've got slider doors and the original pull out built in table.

We've also got a pretty new oven / convection oven that fits the original cabinet dimensions for sale.

Please email : Kelleekessler@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Kellee

Verne Joss and family are sad to let the neighborhood know that Herb Joss passed away last week.  Herb spent many years tending the foot of the hill Triangle as his gift to Greenridge and many neighbors remember the kind help he gave to them personally.  Herb was a World War II Navy pilot and will have a military burial with honors.  It will be a family affair.

Refinishing the mahogany walls of an Eichler home may be easier than you think and this is an excellent example of a sweat equity project that pays huge dividends.  I’m sure if you do some research you will find a lot of different opinions but this is what I did to get some fantastic results.

Preparation is the key to any project and it’s imperative to have the right tools and work space.  Most of us are living in our homes so you may have to move some furniture to create an ample…

There have been a few stories circulating about this recently - here is a good one from Architizer.com.

 …

Our mahognany walls need to be refinshed, does anyone have instructions, or even better, a trustworthy referral for someone that can do this for us?

Thanks,

Kellee & Kristina

This year I was fortunate enough to become one of the official members of the Eichler Network for real estate in the East Bay!  One of the coolest things about being a member besides the endorsement, is multiple copies of the official Eichler owner’s quarterly magazine, CA Modern.  CA Modern is sent to all owners of Eichler homes per gratis throughout the Bay Area, yet difficult to get for a lot people interested in Eichler homes and their…

The year started slowly, but the last couple of months have made up for lull in the Eichler market in Castro Valley.  On August 12^th, not 1, but 2 Eichler homes in the neighborhood were sold and 2 weeks later a bank owned property at 5638 Greenridge came on the market.   5638 received multiple offers and is already in contract.  Since then, 2 more listings have come on the market, one at 5288 Crown Court and the other at 5941 Highwood, which you may remember from earlier this…

They may not be Eichlers, but there will be 10 stunning modern homes available to tour September 17 & 18 in the city at this year's American Institute of Architects Home tour.

General admission tickets are $85 (discounts available for AIA members, students, some teachers & bicyclists!) and include a cocktail reception on the 17th.  Tickets & full discount details…

http://http://www.aclibrary.org/branches/bkm/default.asp?topic=Bookmobile&cat=BKMHome

I hope many neighbors will visit the Bookmobile on its stop at Lomond and Greenridge tonight (Aug.24) at 5.25pm to 5.50pm. We must utilize this service of the Alameda County Library or lose it. Kids love roaming around and picking out things to…

Do you know about the new "Reduce Your Waste" program? If you downsize your trash pickup bin to the new 20 gallon size, you'll get a $50 credit on your next bill PLUS you'll save money on your monthly bill moving forward on the smaller program.  You can also upsize your green bin and/or recycling bin while you're at it - they now have 96-gallon bins!

Details and the number to call are on the CVSan site at: …

7 yr. old kitty needs a new home.  Her owner is seriously ill and needs to rehome her cat.  She lives in Santa Barbara and my daughter has offered to help find a new home. 

If you would like more information, please contact me via email at rlhermosa@gmail.com.  I'm willing to help transport her to the Bay Area if we find the right home. 

It's that time of year again...  the annual California Native Plant Sale is this Saturday in Tilden, just in time for Spring (isn't it amazing how they time that?).  Maps & details are at EBRPD's site here, but this is the scoop:

Saturday, April 16, 2011   10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Organized by the Volunteers of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden is located at…

Congratulations to our Greenridge neighbors Mark Yin & Sharon Young, who are being honored by the Hayward Area Historical Society for the beautiful, period-appropriate renovations they completed on their Eichler!

They'll be feted at Stonebrae Country Club in Hayward on Friday, April 29 at the 12th Annual History Awards Gala, which is open to the public. To buy tickets or…