5274 Marlborough Drive San Diego, CA 92116

Classic Kensington Spanish! In the very desirable north end this timeless two story home is what Kensington is all about! A VERY STRONG CANDIDATE FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION per a recent report by an historian! Entering through the grand front door you are immersed in the very spacious living room with vaulted wood ceiling and a centerpiece fireplace. The formal dining room comes next with an adjacent well laid out kitchen. Across the hall is a comfortable family room with built ins and sliding Pella doors to the rear patio. The large informal eating area next to the kitchen and overlooking the patio could also function as a second family area or possibly become part of a new kitchen! Two bedrooms and a bath complete the ground floor plan. Up the tile trimmed staircase three more bedrooms await. Two guest rooms plus a full bath and...a grand main suite with full bath, fireplace, a lovely view balcony and an office space. All in all five bedrooms or four plus a spacious office. The well manicured front yard invites you to this impressive home. The rear garden area area offers yard space, patios and a work shed all contained in a charming private area. There is even room for a small pool! The north end of Kensington is highly coveted and this home should check a lot of boxes for the discerning buyer. For some historical references to this home we offer this. The “Color House” at 5274 Marlborough Drive featured prominently in newspaper ads of the day, with builder Forbes using it as a model home. See supplement...
Built in 1928 by Forbes, and designed by John Byer, the model home was furnished by the H.L. Benbough Furniture Company, and incorporated colorful Mexican tiles on the stairs and in the bathrooms, a novelty for the day in which bathrooms were usually a “sanitary” white. At the same time, appliance stores began selling refrigerators and stoves in non-white colors, and it is presumed that the original fixtures of this house were other than white. About 1926 a national “Red Seal Plan of Electric Wiring” was being touted across the country. Electric home wiring was fairly new and unregulated, leading to many house fires. San Diego Consolidated Gas & Electric (forerunner of SDG&E) took out many newspaper ads about the “comfort and convenience” of Red Seal wiring, which was essentially wiring done to a rudimentary code and inspected by an authorized electrician. Forbes ensured that the Color House had the Red Seal of approval, which he emphasized in its marketing.