Kitchen remodeling in Granada Hills mostly means working on houses from the 1950s, when the community grew from about 5,000 residents to roughly 50,000 in a decade. A few homes date to the 1910s and 1920s and hillside building has continued since the 1980s, but the single-story Ranch is the local standard.
Best Top Kitchen has spent more than 20 years on kitchens alone, working from its base in Santa Clarita. Each project is a complete remodel, with design, cabinetry, counters, appliances and installation under one contract and LADBS permits filed for you.
Kitchen Remodeling in Granada Hills: Ranch Roots and Valley Heat
Before the tracts, this was Sunshine Ranch, with citrus, apricots, walnuts and a dairy; it was subdivided after 1925 and became Granada Hills in 1942. Postwar growth peaked here in the mid to late 1950s and 1960s, later than in much of the country, because the area sat so far from downtown Los Angeles.
The result is a neighborhood of single-story Ranch houses set behind large front yards. Summers are hot, with an August mean high of 93°F, so we size ventilation and the range hood for the hottest months.
Both the 1971 San Fernando and 1994 Northridge earthquakes damaged structures here. In 1994, ground failure on Balboa Boulevard broke gas and water mains side by side, and the escaping gas ignited and destroyed several homes, one reason we inspect every gas connection a remodel touches.
North and South of Rinaldi Street
Rinaldi Street divides two different Granada Hills. North of it, hillside streets curve with the land on lots from 11,000 square feet to over 100 acres; south of it, a grid of 5,000 to 9,000 square foot lots gives way to lots up to 20,000 square feet around Old Granada Hills.
- Balboa Highlands. Joseph Eichler built 108 homes here from 1962 to 1964, the only Eichler tract in Los Angeles County. Clerestory windows, atriums and exposed beams set the terms for any kitchen inside.
- Marlborough Palms. This 1957 to 1958 tract of 149 one-story Ranch homes, some by Palmer and Krisel, offered models with an all-electric kitchen. SurveyLA found it eligible as a historic district.
- Knollwood and Granada Orange Estates. Knollwood Estates has 250 homes planned around Knollwood Country Club, opened in 1956. Granada Orange Estates has about 404 parcels, mostly built from 1954 to 1963.
Kitchen Services Planned for Granada Hills Houses
Every service here is part of one complete kitchen remodel, never sold on its own. That way cabinets, counters, appliances and lighting fit each other and the house.
Eichler Kitchen Updates in Balboa Highlands
The Balboa Highlands Preservation Plan exempts interior alterations that leave exterior features unchanged, so a kitchen rebuilt inside the existing walls needs no HPOZ review. The design should still respect the exposed beams, clerestory windows and atrium. Our historic kitchen remodeling approach updates wiring, plumbing and appliances within a full remodel without losing the Eichler's character.
All-Electric and Induction Designs in Marlborough Palms
Marlborough Palms was promoted in the "Live Better Electrically" Medallion Homes campaign, and its models offered an all-electric kitchen. A remodel can carry that idea forward with induction and an electric wall oven, but a 1950s electrical service was sized for 1950s appliances. Our kitchen design phase checks panel capacity first, so the full remodel includes any upgrade needed.
Open Layouts for 1950s Single-Story Ranch Homes
A 1950s single-story Ranch here often keeps the kitchen in its own room. Opening it can bring in light and make room for an island, once we confirm whether the wall carries the roof and plan the beam and rerouted utilities. That open-concept kitchen remodel is permitted through LADBS as one part of the full remodel.
Custom Cabinetry for Hillside and Grid-Street Homes
A hillside house north of Rinaldi and a grid-street Ranch to the south rarely share a floor plan, so cabinet runs come from our own measurements. We design custom kitchen cabinets with deep drawers, tall pantry units and doors from shaker for a Ranch to slab for an Eichler, all built within the full remodel alongside counters, appliances and lighting.
Outdoor Kitchens and Cooking Areas Planned With the Indoor Remodel
Many yards here still hold citrus trees from the Sunshine Ranch years, and lots north of Rinaldi start at 11,000 square feet, which can leave room to cook outside. We build outdoor kitchens only alongside an indoor kitchen remodel, running gas, water and power from the same plan, with counter and cabinet materials chosen to tolerate full sun.
LADBS, the Balboa Highlands HPOZ and Hillside Fire Rules
Granada Hills joined the City of Los Angeles in 1915, so permits for kitchen remodeling in Granada Hills come from the LADBS Valley office at 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard. The Balboa Highlands HPOZ board meets in the same building, at the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center.
The Preservation Plan confines additions to the rear yard, calls second-story additions generally inappropriate and treats fully enclosing an atrium as inappropriate. We therefore design Balboa Highlands kitchens within the existing footprint and take any exterior change through HPOZ review.
The Community Plan says a significant amount of hillside area here is susceptible to fire, and the 2019 Saddleridge Fire put the entire community under evacuation orders. For a parcel mapped Very High or High, we check the Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7), which replaced CBC Chapter 7A on January 1, 2026, before adding any exterior opening.
