Palmer & Krisel-Designed Midcentury Modern ‘Test Case’ Is Listed in L.A.

One of the earliest surviving midcentury modern homes designed by acclaimed duo Dan Palmer and William Krisel has hit the market in Los Angeles—offering a rare glimpse into the origins of the beloved architectural style.

While Palmer & Krisel, as the architects were known professionally, would later earn national renown for their midcentury modern designs in Palm Springs, it was in L.A. where they first began pioneering their take on the style.

Before teaming up with developer George Alexander and the Alexander Construction Company to help define Palm Springs’ architectural identity, they introduced their signature style in Los Angeles’ Corbin Palms development.

The neighborhood became the blueprint for the homes that would cement their legacy, showcasing vaulted wood ceilings, exposed post-and-beam construction, clerestory windows, and seamless indoor-outdoor living that would later become hallmarks of California modernism.

“The Palmer Krisels in Palm Springs are famous, but most people don’t know that the Alexanders started out in Los Angeles, and Corbin Palms was the test case to see if midcentury modern architecture would work,” says Brian Linder of The Value of Architecture at Compass, who is listing the four-bedroom home for $995,000.

“Palmer and Krisel claim to have built 40,000 units of all types—single-family, multifamily, and commercial. There are other Palmer Krisels in Los Angeles.”

This four-bedroom, two-bathroom post-and-beam residence was built in 1954 in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, within the Corbin Palms development.

In the listing it is dubbed “an opportunity to own an authentic piece of California’s architectural history.”

However, the property does not remain bogged down in the past, having undergone several very thoughtful upgrades in recent years. After the sellers snapped up the 1,980-square-foot, ranch-level property in 2020 for $750,000, they took on many projects to modernize and update its aesthetic.

These included installing central air conditioning and stripping down linoleum flooring in favor of polished concrete floors, while preserving the bedrooms’ parquet floors.

Custom white-oak cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and quartz countertops were added to the kitchen, and mature landscaping, a dining terrace, and an outdoor kitchen were installed as companions to a swimming pool.

“The new owner has really good taste and did renovation work that was very compatible with a modern-midcentury aesthetic, but brought into the new millennium with new appliances and countertops,” says Linder. “They kept a very clean modern aesthetic guiding the project.”

As the listing states, “contemporary materials and systems have been introduced without obscuring the architecture, allowing the original design to remain the focus rather than the renovation itself.”

“A careful renovation preserves those qualities while introducing contemporary materials and amenities that complement rather than compete with the original design,” it adds.

It also calls out various design features in the home that would later define California modernism in Palm Springs: “exposed structure, clerestory glazing, seamless indoor-outdoor living, and an emphasis on openness, light and economy of means.”

Whoever moves into the home next may not be looking to relocate to this community at all. It might be the house itself that entices an offer.

“We are really reaching out to someone who hasn’t thought about living in Woodland Hills necessarily but they want to live in modern architecture,” says Linder.

“A home like this would be $2 [million] or $3 million in Beverly Hills or in Studio City. You don’t get much architecture for under $2 million in Southern California. The price will probably go up with multiple offers, we’re thinking. It’s really the architectural buyer we’re going after.”

Color choices throughout, such as in this bath, were informed by a midcentury modern aesthetic.

As an ideal place to entertain, the dining room is connected to the open layout while still offering privacy.

That approach appears to be paying off. According to Linder, the home’s architectural pedigree attracted crowds during last weekend’s open houses.

“We had hundreds of people, literally,” he says. “Many, if not most, were attracted to the design. It was a steady stream of hundreds of people coming through.”

While the home’s midcentury appeal is the main selling point, Linder notes that Woodland Hills offers plenty beyond the architecture.

The neighborhood is known for its highly rated schools and easy access to both Topanga Canyon and the Pacific Coast.

Above all, though, the home’s biggest advantage may be that its painstaking restoration has already been completed—and done in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the home’s bones.

“There’s a lot of great architecture languishing on the market right now,” says Linder. “It’s overpriced. The remodels have not been sensitive. This is really move-in ready.”