A Charles Du Bois-designed house on the Woodland Hills street that bears his name went under contract August 31. The 1961 home at 5351 Dubois Avenue had relisted August 24 for $1.55 million—$200,000 below its first ask in June.
A Du Bois house on Dubois Avenue
The address gives this listing an irresistible bit of symmetry. Du Bois is best known nationally for the steeply gabled “Swiss Miss” houses of Palm Springs, but one of his largest bodies of work stands in the western San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles Conservancy identifies Woodland West as a development of roughly 1,300 Du Bois-designed homes built in multiple phases through 1964.
The neighborhood translated modern architecture into the practical language of postwar Valley living: broad single-story forms, low-pitched gable roofs, deep eaves, prominent entries, stone accents, vaulted interiors and generous backyards. At 5351 Dubois, those ideas remain easy to read from the street. The long roofline spans an attached garage and a recessed entrance framed by stone, while the interior turns toward the rear yard.
Vaulted rooms organized around the backyard
The single-story plan contains four bedrooms and three bathrooms in approximately 2,570 square feet. The main living room pairs a vaulted, exposed-beam ceiling with a gas fireplace and direct access to the yard. The primary suite repeats the vaulted ceiling and opens to a private patio, while a flexible fourth bedroom off the main living area has its own fireplace and exterior access.
The kitchen has been updated with granite counters, a full backsplash, stainless-steel appliances, a gas range and a center island. It opens to a dining area rather than operating as a closed service room. A 2008 permit summarized by Redfin records an addition for a breakfast nook, bathroom and laundry room, along with kitchen and primary-bath remodeling, a new roof over the garage and replacement exterior doors and windows.
Another permit, finalized in 2010, covers rooftop solar panels and a 200-amp electrical service. Those changes help explain why public-record bedroom and bathroom counts do not fully match the current four-bedroom, three-bath MLS configuration; buyers should independently verify permits, measurements and present use.
An entertainer's yard without a swimming pool
Instead of devoting the rear lot to a pool, the property uses its outdoor space as a sequence of gathering areas. The listing describes a covered patio, an outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill, sink and beverage refrigerator, a separate shaded lounge with bench seating, a flat lawn and drought-tolerant landscaping.
That arrangement keeps a substantial amount of usable ground open while extending the social spaces beyond the living room and kitchen. At dusk, strings of warm lights and mature hedges give the backyard a sheltered quality that contrasts with the broad, low profile of the street-facing elevation.
Three listings, a $200,000 reset and a contract
The property's latest offering was its third MLS appearance of the summer. It first came to market June 2 at $1.75 million under CRMLS V1-36697. After that listing was removed, it returned July 16 at $1.675 million under V1-37645. The home was relisted again August 24 as V1-38361 at $1.55 million and went under contract August 31.
The final asking price was $125,000 below the July ask and $200,000 below the June starting price, a reduction of about 11.4 percent from the original summer offering. The last recorded sale was $770,000 in August 2008. An accepted contract does not establish the eventual sale price; that will become known only if and when the transaction closes.
Part of a larger Woodland Hills story
Recent listings have made Du Bois's western Valley legacy more visible, but the architecture has been here for more than six decades. SFV Blog recently covered a reimagined 1962 Du Bois residence on Berdon Street and a 1966 Du Bois home on Pat Avenue. An earlier post explored a 1960 Woodland West house with a surviving fallout shelter.
5351 Dubois Avenue adds another version of that story: a recognizable midcentury framework altered over time, still centered on vaulted gathering spaces and indoor-outdoor living, and now under contract after an asking price that moved sharply over one summer.
Photo Gallery
Select any of the 37 listing photographs to enlarge it, then use the arrows or keyboard arrow keys to move through the gallery.
Explore more notable Valley homes, design history and development coverage on the SFV Blog Architecture and Real Estate page.
Sources and Credits
- Redfin — CRMLS listing V1-38361, listing history and permit summary
- Los Angeles Conservancy — Woodland West
- Charles Du Bois portrait: Du Bois Family via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Listing agents shown by CRMLS: Matthew Larsen and Davis Bartels, Pinnacle Estate Properties.
- Listing photographs: supplied as Blogger-hosted images associated with CRMLS V1-38361.
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