When I saw this charming 1938 Hollywood Santa Monica Tudor, I didn’t even recognize it as the same adorable cottage, at 6804 Vivian Avenue, that I’d written about three years ago. I couldn’t put my finger on why I failed to remember it, as the prominent leaded window with stained glass accents is such a standout it’s hard to forget. Then there’s the unique domed living room ceiling with a diamond center — equally memorable — and it was on the Hollywood Heights Home Tour in 2007.
What was the subtle, yet major change that had been made to make this home completely different?
Paint. Yes, paint. I had one of those face-palm moments, then I just fell in love with it all over again. This is a great lesson in what a simple coat of paint can do for a house. Every stager will tell you it’s the single-best, least-expensive update, and provides the best return on investment of anything you can do to prepare your home for sale.
Lightening up this three-bedroom, two-bathroom home really accents the curvature of the arches and highlights the fireplace, allowing the light from that gorgeous window to reflect off the pale paint color and flood through the 1,817 square foot home. If you check out the story from 2013, you’ll note the present owners actually took square footage away. That’s not a bad thing when you realize they removed the glass from the front sun-room and turned it into a screened-in porch, a perfect spot to sip your iced tea and enjoy a spring evening.
The most exceptional example of how paint made a huge impact is in the kitchen. Just take a look at the before and after. It was a nice kitchen prior to painting the cabinets, but now the granite counter-tops and stainless steel appliances are deeply enhanced and it looks like a brand spanking new kitchen. The rich green breakfast nook is a great foil to all of the pale color and imparts an air of sophistication that enhances the built-in stained glass corner cabinets.
The master bedroom was painted a pale pink, completely on trend, as one of Pantone’s colors of the year is Rose Quartz. Previous owners converted a side porch into an enormous master walk-in closet, an asset seldom found in homes of this era.
The expectation of anyone that buys into this East Dallas neighborhood is that there will be at least one original tile bathroom and this house delivers with period-perfect, eclectic pink-and-green wall tile, and the must-have hexagon tile floor. Not to worry, there is a charismatic updated master bath that still adheres to the 1930’s look.
This beauty is listed by Kristi Newsome of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International for $539,000. It sold back in March of 2013 for $363,500. That’s a sizable return on investment for a few gallons of paint, don’t you think? Hollywood is hot as a pistol right now, close to White Rock Lake, minutes from the Arts District and around the corner from award-winning Lakewood public schools, and this baby has been on the market only a few days, so my advice is hurry!
