Home tours – a fundraising staple of spring and fall – used to be relatively easy: Open the doors of beautifully decorated homes and curious people will come.
But with money tight, everybody wants added value, no matter the product or occasion. Pretty isn't enough.
Three local home tours illustrate that trend. Visitors can tap into local resources, hook up with renovators and learn about going "green" in style. More really is more, even on a budget.
"Home values have dropped least in older, established neighborhoods," notes Cecily Hastings, co-chairwoman of the Friends of East Sacramento upcoming tour. "That makes remodeling and renovating viable. People can't afford to make mistakes. For $20, you can see what other people have done. You can learn what works."
Sunday, the Sacramento Old City Association invites the world to its annual tour, focusing on eight homes in historic Boulevard Park in midtown Sacramento. Some dating back a century or more, the featured homes have been lovingly restored while incorporating modern technology.
The "added value" comes in a neighborhood street fair that will take over the 21st Street median between E and H streets. Visitors can meet artisans and home- improvement specialists (including some who worked on the tour's homes) as well as get help researching their own houses' past lives.
On Sept. 27, east Sacramento gets its turn with a tour devoted to five remodeled homes and one outdoor "room," created by renowned garden designer Michael Glassman.
After a one-year hiatus from their annual open houses, Friends of East Sacramento put together a home tour with the emphasis on making old new again.
About 800 people are expected to turn out for this fundraiser to support local parks projects while taking a peek inside these renovated Fabulous 40s homes.
"With the break, we had a waiting list of homes for the tour," says Hastings. "This is all how people live, not just designer makeovers. And each home is very, very different."
Some of the renovations are truly inspiring. Cheryl and Dan Hansford use their two-bedroom, one-bath brick-front east Sacramento Tudor as a second home.
He owns a Sacramento metal-fabrication business and frequently spends weeknights here. Although their primary home is in Pleasanton, the Hansfords have family in Sacramento, too, and wanted a place where they could entertain. They wanted smart, no-fuss style while maintaining the 80-year-old home's original character.
Interior designer Joan Stone Thomas of Stonewood Design worked many months on the project, which won awards from the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Into the design, she incorporated many of Cheryl Hansford's finds, mostly from local antique stores, into a white-and-black palette accented with shiny metals and mirrors.
"You can have small and wonderful detail, and quality," says Thomas. "It doesn't have to be big to be great."
Each tour house still fits with its neighbors.
"So many people have trouble visualizing remodeling," Hastings says. "The whole idea seems overwhelming."
Adds co-chairwoman Lisa Schmidt, "You walk in and see how it was done. You get ideas and there are people who can answer your questions. It makes it a lot less daunting."
What about homes of the future? On Oct. 10, the Placerville branch of the American Association of University Women will have a "green" home tour with seven stops in El Dorado County.
These homes feature solar, geothermal and energy- efficient systems, straw-bale construction and use of reclaimed building materials, plus native plant and drought-tolerant gardens filled with art made from recycled materials.
On these tours, learning goes hand in hand with curiosity as looks behind the doors reveal much more than pretty rooms.
More Information
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 Sunday (available at street fair booth, 21st and G streets). Advance tickets available at Joann's Elegant Gifts (1019 L St.), Collected Works Books & Other Fine Gifts (4524 Freeport Blvd.), 57th Street Antique Mall (875 57th St.) and the Avid Reader at the Tower (16th Street and Broadway).
More information: (916) 455-2935
Friends of East Sacramento home remodeling tour
When: 10 to 4 p.m. Sept. 27
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 day of tour. Advance tickets available at Pulp Papery (Alhambra and H streets), Haus (2512 J St.), Sisters Boutique (Town & Country Village at Fulton and Marconi avenues) and Collected Works (4524 Freeport Blvd.).
More information: (916) 452-8011 or e-mail eastsaclife@aol.com.
Placerville AAUW green home tour
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 10
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 day of tour at ANOVA, 778 Pacific St. (Highway 49), Placerville. Tickets may be purchased by mail until Oct. 1. Send check or money order payable to Placerville AAUW and self-addressed-stamped envelope to: AAUW Green Home, Garden and Art Tour, 3096 Camino Ct., Camino, CA 95709.
Source Sac Bee
No comments:
Post a Comment