All the Details: 3615 Los Amigos St, Glendale 91214
What are the details you might miss at 3615 Los Amigos St?
This is where we get into the things you won’t find by reading a property sheet. Where did the Christmas tree go every year, and why was that spot actually considered when part of the house was designed? Which backyard has hosted weddings, anniversaries and more parties than the sellers can probably count? What’s behind the rooster wallpaper? Why might you actually look forward to sitting outside when it’s raining? And what’s hiding underneath the house that could make you start imagining possibilities for the future?
We’ve already talked about what a day could feel like living at 3615 Los Amigos St and what surrounds you once you leave the house. Now we’re getting into the details, the stories and the little surprises that give this home its personality. 3615 Los Amigos St, Glendale 91214 is offered at $1,645,000.
Why does 3615 Los Amigos St make such an impression from the street?
Before you even get inside, there’s something about the way this house sits. 3615 Los Amigos St is slightly elevated from the street, with an inclined driveway and an easy staircase leading to the front door. That elevation gives the house a prominent presence, but there’s another payoff once you reach the top.
Turn around from the little landing, where there’s just enough room for a morning coffee table and a couple of chairs. You’re looking toward the Verdugo Mountains. On the right evening, you may even catch the twinkling lights of downtown Los Angeles in the distance. The elevation isn’t simply about how the house looks from the street. The view becomes part of what you experience from the house as well.
What makes the inside feel so comfortable?
There’s a feeling I had almost immediately when I walked into this house: this is comfortable. Not manufactured comfortable, and not a house trying to follow every current design trend with black and white finishes and whatever flooring happens to be popular this year. 3615 Los Amigos St has warmth.
The floor plan has traditional bones, but the owners opened the space over time to allow people to be together without turning the entire house into one enormous room. Spaces are connected while still having some definition.
From the entry, you can see straight toward the large family room with its high open-beam ceiling, hardwood floors and substantial corner fireplace. Beyond the family room, French doors give you your first glimpse of the garden and covered patio. Look immediately to the left and you’ll find an entirely different room with a completely different feel.
Could the living room become something completely different?
The living room is more formal, but I wouldn’t automatically decide that’s how you have to use the space. One of the room’s best features is the enormous plate-glass window overlooking the neighborhood and the Verdugos.
Put a beautiful desk in front of that window and suddenly you have a workspace with a pretty incredible view. There’s still plenty of room for the rest of the space to function as a living room. Or forget the desk entirely and use the room in a completely different way. That’s one of the things I like about this floor plan. Every room doesn’t dictate exactly how you have to live in the space.
From here, your eye gets pulled back toward the center of the house, where a couple of steps lead down into the family room and one of my favorite details begins to make sense.
Why was the Christmas tree considered when this room was designed?
A beautiful curved railing wraps around the entrance to the family room. I was talking with the seller about the railing when she told me, almost casually, that this is where her Christmas tree goes every year.
Not simply because the tree happens to fit there. She thought about the Christmas tree when this area was designed. The tree nestles into the curve of the railing, and the raised landing gives her a natural place to stand while decorating the upper branches. After years of Christmases, she knows exactly where the tree belongs.
Someone else may never put a Christmas tree there. Maybe the curve becomes home to a table, sculpture or favorite piece of art. Once you know the story behind the railing, though, you look at the space differently. That’s the kind of detail a list of property features could never tell you.
Why does everyone seem to end up in the family room?
The family room feels like the anchor of the house. The slightly lower level helps define the space without disconnecting the room from everything happening around it. Hardwood floors are underfoot, open beams are overhead, and a large corner fireplace grounds the room. An entire wall of bookcases gives you some sense of just how substantial the space really is.
Look up toward the kitchen and dining area and you can see what’s happening there. Everyone upstairs can still be part of what’s happening below. The kitchen is wide enough for more than one cook, and the counter seating overlooks the family room. Someone can swivel around on a bar stool and join the conversation without everybody having to squeeze into the same space.
The adjoining dining area can go either direction. Bring in a big table and keep everything completely casual, or dress the room up when everyone is coming over. Based on the stories the sellers have shared, plenty of people have come over through the years.
How did 3615 Los Amigos St become the house for the parties?
Weddings, anniversaries, parties and gatherings have all happened here, and the house naturally gives people places to go. Someone can be talking in the kitchen while another group gathers around the fireplace. Open the French doors and people can wander onto the covered patio and into the garden. Another guest can come through the back door near the laundry room.
There’s movement without everyone feeling as though they’re on top of each other, which helps explain how 3615 Los Amigos St became the gathering house for so many celebrations over the years.
Before you head outside, there’s one little detail you shouldn’t miss in the powder room: the rooster wallpaper. Some future owner may have completely different ideas, but personally, I vote to keep the roosters. They have personality.
Would you actually sit on the covered patio when it’s raining?
I asked the seller this question when I first saw the house because the patio is completely covered and surrounded by lush greenery. There’s an outdoor fireplace, room for a table and chairs, and the garden stretches beyond the covered area.
“Do you ever sit out here when it’s raining?” I asked, because that’s exactly where I’d want to be. You’re protected from the weather while looking out at all that greenery, perhaps with the fireplace going. On a sunny day, the patio becomes part of the entertaining space. When the rain comes down, the same patio takes on an entirely different personality.
There’s another reason I like this outdoor space. You don’t have to wander through the entire house to reach the patio because the floor plan provides several connections between indoors and out, including one directly from the primary suite.
What if you wanted to sneak outside without waking anyone?
Continue down the main hallway and you’ll find two good-sized bedrooms and a large hall bathroom before reaching the primary suite. The primary bedroom gives you plenty of space for a sitting or desk area. The direct connection to the covered garden patio changes how I imagine using the room.
Can’t sleep? Slip outside for a little night air without wandering through the rest of the house. Wake up before everyone else on Sunday? Grab your coffee and head straight outside to the covered patio. Those are small details on paper, but they’re the kinds of details you notice once you start imagining everyday life here.
The primary bathroom is oversized as well, with a sunken tub and large separate shower. Together, the bedroom, bathroom and patio connection give this end of the house a feeling of separation without removing the primary suite from everything else.
What’s hiding underneath 3615 Los Amigos St?
One of the biggest surprises is underneath the house. Basements aren’t exactly something we expect to find in Southern California, yet underneath a substantial portion of 3615 Los Amigos St is accessible space where, in many areas, you can stand upright. The seller is approximately 6’1″, and he can stand beneath much of the house.
Right now, the area provides an incredible amount of storage. You have somewhere to put the things you need occasionally without taking over the garage and closets upstairs. Walk through that much accessible space, though, and you’re naturally going to wonder what someone might eventually want to explore doing down there.
Any conversion or future use would depend upon feasibility, permits and City of Glendale requirements, so we’re not calling the area additional living square footage. Even as the space exists today, however, having that amount of accessible storage underneath a Southern California home is something you don’t see every day.
What else comes with living at 3615 Los Amigos St in La Crescenta?
Once you’ve explored all the details inside, remember what’s waiting outside the front door. Although the official address is Glendale, 3615 Los Amigos St sits in the 91214 Glendale annex area that locals commonly associate with La Crescenta.
For households with young children, Dunsmore Elementary is approximately half a block away, and Dunsmore Community Park sits right across the street from the school. The surrounding neighborhood streets are relatively flat and have sidewalks. That’s another everyday convenience in a location already surrounded by the foothills.
By now, Listing Agent Robbyn Battles has taken you through the details of the house, imagined what an ordinary day here might feel like and explored the neighborhood surrounding 3615 Los Amigos St. A beautiful neighborhood leads you home to a property filled with charm, a floor plan built around gathering, a garden that has already seen its share of celebrations, a Christmas tree with a specially considered spot, a covered patio made for sunny afternoons and rainy mornings, and one last surprise waiting underneath the house.
3615 Los Amigos St, Glendale 91214 is offered at $1,645,000. To see beyond the property itself, explore Community Life Around 3615 Los Amigos St and discover the schools, parks and places that become part of living here. Then take a look at Life Inside 3615 Los Amigos St and discover what a day living here could actually feel like, from that first cup of coffee to the way everyone seems to gather together at the end of the day.
Robbyn Battles |The House Agent