Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 22, 2011

18

HOMES AND PROPERTY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 22, 2011 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people who create them. Story and Photos by Chris Bertrand


UNEXPECTED IN SIERRA MADRE CANYON

A hairsbreadth into 
Sierra Madre’s Canyon, 
you’ll find a very 
unexpected single family 
home. One driveway 
before Woodland Drive 
and Mary’s Market, 
the only business 
establishment in the 
neighborhood known 
simply as “The Canyon”, you’ll find a property 
different than almost all the residences in the 
neighborhood. “The Canyon” is an enclave of 
summer cottages, mostly built nearly a century 
ago for city folk taking the Red Car from LA for 
a vacation in the foothills.

If you’re having a coffee in front of Mary’s, you 
can just make out the three story, aquamarine 
façade up the stone steps through the green, 
leafy canopy, for which “The Canyon” is famous.

Built in 1993 by the former owner of Mary’s 
Market, on the site of an “old shack” according 
to listing agent Judy Webb-Martin, the home has 
1100 square feet of living space. Just its “young” 
age of just twenty years makes it atypical. 

Inside the three level home, you’ll find a light 
and airy, open great room with vaulted ceilings 
and sliding glass doors opening to the generous 
deck, a modern kitchen with serving bar open 
to the great room, an inside laundry area and a 
bath on each living level. 

With all the blinds open, the feeling is of an 
aerie, a treehouse with benefits… like indoor 
plumbing, gas stove and dishwasher, modern 
windows, etc. Again, quite unexpected for “The 
Canyon.”

Upstairs, the top floor is dedicated to the 
bedroom suite, with space generous enough to 
divide into two bedrooms, if the buyer desires. 

The price is unexpected, too, at $399,000, 
basically the entry level price for single family 
homes in Sierra Madre. Certainly, it takes the 
right kind of buyer to want a one bedroom 
home, two bath home, but I can think of quite 
a few people who would love 1100 square feet 
of condo style living, with no lawn to mow, and 
without the homeowner’s fees that come with a 
condominium.

On the ground level, the most unexpected for 
Sierra Madre and especially the Canyon is the 
three plus… car… garage!

Imagine a Saturday morning with a cup of 
Mary’s Market coffee (or Starbucks or Bean 
Town from nearby downtown Sierra Madre) at 
your rocking chair outside on the deck. Take in 
the gentle rustle of the leaves in the trees and the 
sound of the creek below, just a few hundred feet 
away. Now that’s living!

529 Brookside Lane, Sierra Madre, is listed at 
$399,000 by Judy Webb-Martin and Katie Orth 
of Podley Properties. Contact them at 626-507-
3034 or KatieO@Podley.com 

Know of an interesting home, garden or person 
who helps create them? Maybe our readers would 
like to read about it! Send the contact details to 
C.Bertrand@MtnViewsNews.com 


Get Rid Of Household Hazards

DON’T CHASE THE MARKET

(NAPSI)--Make safety a priority in your home 
when you clean. Here are tips to help:

Living Room/Dining Room

• Secure all bookcases, shelving and heavy 
furniture. Place heavier items on lower shelves 
and in bottom drawers.

• Many houseplants are poisonous and pots 
are heavy, so keep them out of reach of little 
hands.

• Use plug protectors for all unused wall 
outlets.

Bathroom

• To prevent bathwater scalds, set the 
thermostat of your hot water heater no higher 
than 120 degrees F. It takes just three seconds 
for a child to sustain a third degree burn at 140 
degrees F.

• Always request child-resistant packaging for 
medicine, but go a step further by making sure 
medicine cabinets are locked at all times. Even 
items that may seem harmless can be dangerous 
to a child.

Kitchen

• Keep sharp knives and other utensils well 
out of reach and make sure that knife blades are 
pointing down when placed in a dishwasher’s 
cutlery basket.

• When cooking, always use the back burners, 
turn pot handles toward the back of the stove 
and keep hot foods and liquids away from young 
children.

• And make sure microwaves are out of reach of 
children as well; the vast majority of microwave 
burns among children are serious scald burns.

Bedroom

• Make sure cribs are properly assembled and 
meet current safety standards, and that crib 
mattresses fit snugly.

• According to the U.S. Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, infants and young children 
can die from accidentally strangling in window 
cords. The Window Covering Safety Council 
reminds parents and caregivers of potential 
window-cord dangers and urges them to make 
the right choice and use only cordless window 
products in homes with young children. Owners 
and renters should replace all corded window 
coverings made before 2001 with today’s safer 
products. Visit www.windowcoverings.org for a 
free retrofit kit or call (800) 506-4636.

Buyer’s market or seller’s market - the simple 
fact is that your home is worth only what a buyer 
will pay for it. The simple law of supply and 
demand usually determines the final sale price. 
If there are fewer homes for sale in your area, 
then buyers must compete for those listings, 
making it a seller’s market.

 However, when there is a glut of homes for 
sale, buyers have more choice and more power 
toa dictate price and terms, creating a buyer’s 
market. Many communities are seeing large 
inventories of homes for sale, due to economic 
conditions and defaults.

 So if your home is to get attention in those 
conditions, you’ve got to price aggressively 
against your competition. Do not overprice 
your home, because you may end up making 
even less money than if you had priced properly 
from the start. Why? Because sellers who 
overprice have to keep chasing the market down 
by reducing their price.

 While setting a price is ultimately your 
decision and your decision alone, do some 
research and educate yourself first. Order 
an appraisal and consult with a real estate 
professional to get a realistic figure for your 
home’s value. If you choose not to comply with 
current market value, then you won’t be a seller, 
you’ll just be an owner with a For Sale sign in 
the yard.

Second Annual California Friendly Garden Contest 
Under-Way

Foothill Municipal Water District (FMWD) 
is sponsoring its second annual California 
Friendly Garden Contest (Sowing and Growing). 
Three prizes will be awarded to the winning 
customers in Foothill’s service area. First place 
is $500, second place is $250 and third place is 
$100. Judges will consider overall attractiveness, 
appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate 
maintenance and efficient methods of irrigation 
when evaluating the gardens. 

“The aim of this contest is to encourage 
residents to change out water thirsty turf to less 
thirsty California friendly plants. Hand-in-hand 
with this contest is Foothill’s ongoing rebate to 
customers for removing their turf and planting 
California Friendly plants and/or installing 
pervious materials,” said General Manager Nina 
Jazmadarian. 

Customers of Foothill Municipal Water 
District’s retail agencies can participate. 
Although applications are due no later than April 
13, 2012, now is the time to plant most California 
native and friendly vegetation. Judging will 
take place May 5, 2012 or soon thereafter in 
case of inclement weather. Rules and an entry 
application can be found on the District’s website 
at www.fmwd.com.

Foothill Municipal Water District provides 
imported water to Crescenta Valley Water 
District, La Cañada Irrigation District, Mesa 
Crest Water Company, Valley Water Company, 
Lincoln Avenue Water Company, Las Flores 
Water Company and Rubio Cañon Land & 
Water Association. Kinneloa Irrigation District, 
another retail agency, takes no water from 
Foothill. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com