406 61st Street, Rockridge

As promised, I have great photos of my new listing!  This fabulous fixer is located just a stone's throw from Colby Park in Rockridge and is close to many notable  restaurants, markets and shops as well as transportation to everywhere you want to go!  This 2 bedroom, 1 bath 1910 Craftsman with original details, hardwood floors, beveled and leaded glass windows, box beams and built-ins, and a large eat-in kitchen that opens out to the yard, is ready to be revitalized.

Situated on a large level lot filled with sunlight, fruit trees, and a tiled pond as well as a "get away from it all" bonus office or studio with 220v wiring, this home is a rare find for only $579,000.

Needed?  Tools and imagination!  Available to see beginning this Thursday, July 29, and open Sunday, August 1st and 8th from 2:00-4:30.  See you there.

Rockridge, Oakland, CA. AKA 94618 and 94609

I have a another favorite neighborhood which has the charm and chatter of  the New York City neighborhoods where I hung out until I left for The University of Wisconsin after graduating from high school.
I recently spent a couple of weeks, well almost, rummaging around the upper west side, Chelsea and Greenwich Village, all places that were my stomping grounds  while growing up.  When I returned to the East Bay the place that I felt most energetic was while shopping at Market Hall and then sitting in out in front with friends, drinking coffee, watching people with their packages, babies and dogs stroll by. It was like watching an unchoregraphed dance but it did have rhythm.

Rockridge didn't start out the way that it is today. It was named for the outcroppings of rock jutting out from shutter ridge that forms the Hayward Fault. Some of the rock can still be seen from the old quarry that now serves as the reservoir for Claremont Country Club. And it wasn't always flourishing, either.

It was divided by Highway 24 in the 70's. At first businesses languished. It wasn't until the addition of the Bart Station (considered a model for the integration of transportation, residential and commercial neighborhoods) that began its recovery and renaissance. In 1991, Upper Rockridge lost hundreds of homes to the Oakland fire, but many of the old homes from the from the early decades - the 10's, 20's and 30's close to College Ave. were spared and are some of the most coveted properties today.

One of those properties, a Craftsman bungalow is 445 62nd Street, a property I sold to a client of mine in 1996 for $230,000 and then listed in 2005 for $695,000. It sold after two weeks of marketing with 6 or more offers for $855,000. The sellers, who married after getting to know one another while remodeling the kitchen and adding value to the house (he was the architect and she was the owner) had also enhanced the lower level, and created a fabulous deck and garden.

I have listed and will soon be marketing a true Craftsman on 61st Street just west of Colby almost directly across from the  wonderful  Colby park. It's a fabulous  FIXER on a huge lot with a 10 X 14 office or studio in the back. It still has many of its original details so hone your tools, get out your imagination and stay tuned..

Photos and more later this week.....

62 Stratford Road, Kensington, CA. Romantic Mediterranean Home

Speaking of Kensington and Real Estate, I have a fabulous new listing at

62 Stratford Road between Coventry and Beverely Road. It's a Romantic Mediterranean home with Bay views,  and magical gardens built in 1931, just under 3000 Sq Ft --according to public records--on a very large lot sloping gently towards the bay.

Hidden behind a tall hedge the setting is unusual with brick paths and mature landscaping. Coming home to this house is coming home to privacy and tranquility.

62 Stratford Road has an exceptionally comfortable feel. While getting it ready for market I have become extremely fond of it. I like the way I can go from the living room and dining room out onto the deck. I am a sucker for French doors. Any house that has French doors from a public room or a breakfast room, like this one, gets my vote. At night the dramatic Tiffany style light fixture suspended over the dining room table is drop dead gorgeous.

I am also really happy about the way this updated and efficient kitchen leads right into a family room. If I lived there I would be able to watch the rest of my brood while I assembled meals-- I don't cook, I assemble what I collect from Trader Joe's at El Cerrito Plaza which, by the way, is down the hill from this house.

The "in-law" on the lower level is a great plus. My ex-husband says that every inch of a house should pay for itself. Well, the seller recently rented the "in-law" for $1600. It is a studio but it is a classy studio with its' own private deck and access to the yard. If you don't want to rent it out or don't have an "au pair" it might fold nicely into the main house as a master suite, space for visiting relatives, home office or artists' studio. The possibilities are almost endless.

Additionally, the house has 3 bedrooms upstairs, 3 baths( including a new one) a breakfast room, working fireplace in the living room, hardwood floors and an a magical front courtyard. There is a laundry in the one car garage.

And oh, yes, the price... well price at $995,000. And  IT IS OPEN THIS SUNDAY from 2 until 4 or  later. Come by and see it and say hello to me.

Musings From a Kensington Girl

Do you ever wonder about the history of your neighborhood, how it came to be? Most of the time, change is gradual, but this was not true of the unincorporated town of Kensington where I have lived for the past 12 years. Kensington, just a minute north of Berkeley, is filled with trees and feels like the country; most streets don't even have sidewalks. It has gorgeous Bay views from so many places including my house where on a clear day I can see past the Golden Gate.

The Earthquake of 1906 and the Berkeley fire of 1923 spurred growth, with displaced families fleeing their homes. Later on people built summer homes in the hills.

I bought my barely completed new spec home after it was rejected by my pregnant clients who thought it was too much of an adult house. Actually it has been a very friendly home for people of all ages, a place where I paint, friends and family visit and sit for hours over potluck dinners and conversations at my round dining table, yes round, I think that is the best kind of table for conversation. That is a little bit of my life in Kensington.