The 24th annual Children’s Support League Heart of the Home Tour will offer more fun than ever for an expected 1,500 or more ticketed tour goers in Piedmont and the Oakland hills this April 27 and 28. In addition to featuring five stunning tour homes open for viewing from 10 am to 4 pm daily, the popular spring fundraiser will include a Designer Showcase in one of the tour homes, a first-time CSL tour offering. The two-day fundraiser will also offer a new twist on lunch. Replacing traditional boxed lunches, appetizing Off the Grid food truck specialty fare will be offered at the CSL Shopping Boutique located in the Piedmont Community Center.
All ticket proceeds and 20% of shopping purchases benefit non-profit agencies serving East Bay kids. To date CSL has raised over $2.7 million in grants supporting disadvantaged children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
Internationally and Artistically Flavored Tour Homes
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2012 ticket holders will be treated to intriguing trend-setting homes that push conventional boundaries of architectural design.
“There are many surprises,” said Home Tour Co-Chair Karlotta Des Jarlais. “In addition to head-turning and innovative renovations, the tour homes offer international flair, special designer touches, and uncommon artistic expressions.” Ranging from contemporary to heritage, the homes span over a century of architectural diversity. Each home sports an inviting, distinctive appeal.
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Tour goers will thrill to: a modern Kiwi Coastal home splashed in bright colors,’50s and ’60s furnishings and dashing artwork; a Swiss Chalet with a waterfall cascading down the front of its historical façade; a luxurious home designed and owned by an architect with five-star hotel and spa-like amenities; a fabled Piedmont estate with exquisite Japanesque décor; and a jewel-toned Arts & Crafts Asian-influenced home with few walls and a soaring atrium.
Trend-Setting Designer Show Rooms
In addition to drawing ideas and inspirations from the fabulous parade of tour homes, all general admission ticket holders will relish visiting four designer showrooms in a tour home setting. The Showcase is a first for CSL!
Acclaimed Bay Area Interior Designers William Anderson, Robineve Cole, Michael Friedes, and Deborah Lewis Gadbois have completely revitalized dormer rooms that were once servants’ quarters in a Piedmont estate. Tour goers will be amazed to see how each designer has transformed similar sized and shaped rooms into unique havens. With the designers on hand to share the seeds and secrets of their polished executions, tour goers will acquire visions and paths to achieve their own room makeovers. The designers will be on hand to share their insights and inspirations.
The Showcase will also include an exhibit of contemporary mixed medium paintings by Piedmont artist Robyn Hodess. Her works, influenced by nature, are abstract depictions of the world, created by blending natural elements such as papers, fibers and sands with acrylic paint.
Jazz band Shades of Gray will perform on the terrace of the Showcase home on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday afternoon, Antonia Huang, an origami artist, will be at the Showcase home hand-crafting cranes for tour goers. Cranes are symbolic of honor and loyalty. Donations for CSL are requested, with 100% of proceeds benefiting disadvantaged East Bay children.
April 27th Early Start VIP Breakfast Program
The 2012 Heart of the Home Tour will kick off with an entertaining VIP Breakfast Program on Friday, April 27 at 8:30 am on the terrace of the tour home with the Showcase. A delicious breakfast will be provided by The Vegetarian Gourmet. A limit of 100 VIP ticket patrons will gain early access to this estate following an entertaining 20-minute presentation at 9:00 am., given by Stafford Buckley, chair of the history docent program at Mountain View Cemetery. A gardener specializing in restoration, Buckley also serves on the board of the Piedmont Historical Society. Buckley will amuse VIP patrons with colorful anecdotes about the celebrities and powerful business moguls and their “Piedmont Acre” mansions, built by famous architects during the early 1900s. The VIP presentation takes place at an intriguing 1912 estate that was once situated on several acres of land. Rumored to have been a motor coach roadhouse and a Stanford hunting lodge, Stafford will sort through the legends and facts uncovered about this fabled home by historian Gail Lombardi.
Additional benefits for VIP Patrons include a special raffle, lunch ticket, and tote including a complimentary cookbook provided by Wide World Publishing.
Boutique, Luncheon and Raffle
Other exciting tour festivities take place at the Piedmont Community Center at 711 Highland Avenue. The CSL Boutique, open to everyone—tour tickets are not required for admission—is always a popular shopping mecca for gifts, jewelry, pantry foods, fashion items, and home accessories. Visitors to the boutique will find irresistible items that fit their style, budget and tastes. With 20% of purchases benefiting East Bay Kids, CSL shoppers have a good excuse to succumb to temptation and fill their shopping bags with treats for themselves, their families and friends.
Lunchtime is an ideal time to visit the boutique. This year in lieu of the typical boxed luncheon salad or sandwich, a CSL pre-purchased Ticket with Lunch will guarantee appetizing choices from Off The Grid Food Trucks Liba Falafel and Mayo & Mustard, together with a beverage and a desert cookie baked by Master Pastry Chef John Samples. A limited number of lunch tickets will also be sold at the PCC on a first come – first served basis.
Boutique visitors can also purchase tickets to win over a hundred raffle items donated by area merchants, including an M. B. Jessee Painting and Decorating Package (valued at $2,500).
The Heart of the Home Boutique will be open on Friday, April 27 from 10 am to 6 pm and Saturday, April 28 from 10 am to 4 pm. Wine and refreshments will be offered to shoppers from 4 – 6 pm on Friday. Wine will be provided Tudal Winery Group & Cerruti Cellars.
Tour goers will also have an opportunity to make a sealed bid on a $3,000 painting donated by renowned Portland artist Douglas Davidovich. The painting will be on display in one of the tour homes.
Tickets Available at the PCC
On April 27 and 28 tickets can be purchased at the Piedmont Community Center for $50 for the tour or $62 for the tour with lunch. Visit www.WeHelpKids.org to learn more about this exciting comm
