Palo Alto: Hobbit-Town Tudor

730_University is a whimsical Tudor Revival home, which appears to have been designed by Pedro de Lemos (1882-1945), a craftsman, graphic artist and curator of the Stanford Museum. De Lemos is best known for the charming Spanish Revival buildings found on the 500 block of Ramona St. One of his design signatures is the “crazy-quilt” use of concrete and broken tile on staircases and floors.

There are some unique design details throughout, including vintage wrought iron fixtures, unique ceiling beams, and a cool metal-disc peep-hole in the front door.

A couple of surface issues that, in my opinion, need to be addressed are the mixed-metaphor Arizona cactus garden landscaping in the front. (WHAT were they thinking?) The other is the choice of almost-radioactive, seizure-inducing paint colors.

Another drawback to this property is that it’s on University Avenue, the main via to Stanford University and downtown. Though the house is set back a respectable distance from the street, it would benefit from English rose-garden-style landscaping that provides some privacy from the busy street.

Location: 1730_University
Price: $2,589,000
BR: 5, BA 4
Sq. Ft: 2,773
Lot Size: 10,454 Sq Ft

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My Rating: 84 out of 100

Location: 8, nice neighborhood, traffic
Schools: 9
Noise: 8, on busy Univ. Ave.
Layout: 8, cozy, a little choppy
Construction quality: 8 solid era, updated
Curb appeal: 9, needs new landscaping
Maintenance: 8, fairly new
Style: 10, best of Tudor revival, needs better colors
Privacy: 8, busy street, landscaping could help
Function: 8, meets large family needs

[Scale: 1=negative, 10=positive]
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