Home Tour de force

Danette Goulet

The smell of mulled spices welcomed visitors as they stepped onto the

white stone floor of the Tuscan-style home in Corona Del Mar.

If viewers were reluctant to leave the front patio with its expansive

barbecue area, built-in fireplace for cool evenings and spectacular ocean

view, they were in for a treat. Done all in a warm gold with the

occasional scene painted directly on the wall, variations of that ocean

view were visible from most rooms, not to mention the rooftop deck.

And it was just one stop on the 26th annual Corona Del Mar Home Tour.

With 1,890 ticket booklets printed, the event was sold out, said Carol

Warsaw, who co-chaired the event with Michu Welch for the Corona Del Mar

High School PTA.

As its only fund-raiser of the year, the PTA pulls out all the stops with

the help of 300 volunteers. Last year, the event raised nearly $80,000,

Warsaw said. She hopes to top that number this year.

The money raised comes from ticket sales, sponsorships in the booklets

and a small percentage from raffle sales. All proceeds from the event

will benefit Corona Del Mar High School.

One of the major underwriters of the fund-raiser, South Coast Plaza,

provided the grand raffle prizes -- a $500 shopping spree and a year of

free valet parking at the shopping center.

Another financial boost comes from artist Carole Atkins, who was

displaying her modern impressionist work at the luncheon held at Sherman

Library Gardens. Atkins donates 20% of the profits from sales of any of

the artwork displayed during the home tour to the PTA -- even if it sells

later, she said.

Atkins was commissioned by the PTA for the third straight year to paint a

special piece for the event. That painting, which graced the front cover

of the ticket books and many posters, was titled “Something to get

excited about.”

It depicted “all the chicks going on the home tour,” she said.

The painting was merely a reflection of reality, as carload after carload

of women, and the occasional man, pulled up in front of each of the seven

homes on display.

“The support of the community has been tremendous,” Warsaw said. “We

couldn’t have done it without the graciousness of the homeowners.”