Kitchen Remodeler in Ladera Heights, CA

Kitchen remodel choices for Ladera Heights mid-century homes

LA County permits on the La Tijera hilltop

Ladera Heights is unincorporated, so it is not part of Los Angeles, Inglewood or Culver City for permit purposes. LA County Building & Safety handles regulated work. Like-for-like cabinets, counters and flooring usually count as cosmetic. Knocking through to the living room, relocating the cooktop or sink, or wiring new circuits means a county permit and licensed trades, each worth a quick CSLB search first. The showroom covers the finishes and their installation.

This page has no Ladera Heights photos to offer. One Google review, though, recounts hexagon marble and arabesque tile used in a multi-unit job, which gives a sense of the tile range available for a mid-century bath.

La Tijera Boulevard to the 405: running the project

1. 1

   Decide what stays

   Photograph the terrazzo or oak floors, built-ins and any original tile you want to keep, and measure the kitchen walls and window heights.

2. 2

   Drive north

   La Tijera Boulevard meets the 405; take it north through the Sepulveda Pass and get off at Sherman Way.

3. 3

   Match to the house

   Compare slab and flat-panel doors, quartz and stone samples, tile and floors against your photos.

4. 4

   Order and schedule

   Once the sizes check out, everything is ordered for delivery to Ladera Heights, and installers can follow if you want them.

Neighbors in View Park-Windsor Hills and Culver City shop the same showroom.

Upper Ladera, Lower Ladera and the Ladera Center

Residents usually describe the community in two parts: Upper Ladera on the slopes below Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, and Lower Ladera on the flatter ground toward La Tijera Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, where the Ladera Center shopping plaza sits. Westfield Culver City and the Fox Hills neighborhood lie just to the northwest, Loyola Marymount University sits on the Westchester bluffs to the west, and LAX and SoFi Stadium are both a few miles south.

Unlike the neighboring city blocks served by LADWP, Ladera homes get power from SCE, with SoCalGas for natural gas. Ladera Heights is in LA County’s 2nd Supervisorial District, and the county’s Building & Safety office is where permitted work is filed and inspected, even though the City of Los Angeles surrounds much of the community.

Terrazzo, oak and 1950s-60s layouts beside Kenneth Hahn park

Streets climb from La Tijera Boulevard and Slauson Avenue toward the park, lined with single-story and split-level mid-century houses, many with wide windows facing the basin. Kitchens from that era were usually closed or semi-open, with flat-front cabinets, laminate or tile counters and built-in wall ovens. Floors in the living areas are often terrazzo or oak, both of which owners frequently want to preserve.

That shapes the kitchen. If terrazzo continues into the kitchen, protecting it during cabinet removal matters, and new cabinets may simply be set on top of it. Where it stops at the kitchen doorway, the new floor has to sit at a similar height so the threshold stays flush. Slab cabinet doors, wood-grain finishes and solid-tone counters tend to suit these houses better than ornate traditional styles.

On the higher slopes, split-level plans are common, with the kitchen a few steps above or below the living room, which limits how far one floor can run. Built-in wall ovens set in tall cabinet towers are typical originals, so a replacement oven has to fit the existing cutout or the tower has to be rebuilt; measure both before choosing cabinets. Big west-facing windows also bring strong late-day sun, which fades walnut-tone finishes and oak over time.