KAREN WIGHT -- No place like home

Corona del Mar High School has six stylish jewels in its crown for

this year’s Home Tour. The assortment is tremendous, everything from a

European farmhouse with a carriage house to a secluded Asian retreat with

an infinity-edged pool.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at three of this year’s

selections. My guides were the chairwomen themselves, Lynn McAlister and

Laura Lee Smith. Talk about the royal treatment, I definitely felt like a

queen for the morning.

We began in the port streets with a recently completed estate. This

large lot accommodates a lovely home, carriage house, four-car garage,

ample yard, pool, outdoor fireplace and an outdoor kitchen. One of my

favorite items of architectural interest was the distressed walnut

flooring. I love walnut. The floors are not too dark but not too light,

and the wood has a fine, tight grain that has a bit of a formal feeling.

Lovely.

The backyard was a dream come true. First of all, the lot is huge, so

there is plenty of room for a long wish list. The carriage house really

caught my eye. Lots of emotional appeal and a practical design.

Entertaining a crowd in this home would be a pleasure.

Next on our tour list was a house in Irvine Terrace. The outside just

hinted at the unbelievable magic behind the front wall. A big clue to

what lay ahead was the front door that pivots, not just swings open. Add

to that a frosted glass floor that is lit from the courtyard below and a

two-story water fall complete with water garden surrounded by bamboo. The

“Wow!” factor begins to take over your senses. The home has a large

two-story atrium. The view of the harbor is magnificent. The rooms are

well thought out, and the materials used are unusual and breathtaking.

The use of glass throughout this home is amazing: reeded or frosted

glass is used to obscure the view when necessary for privacy, and custom

glass enclosures hide storage and closet areas. The home’s colors are

subtle: greens, golds, taupes, blacks and an occasional red lacquer piece

thrown in to shake things up. This house has integrity.

The third home I had the privilege of touring was an art

deco-influenced multileveled house built on the cliff on Ocean Boulevard.

This house has incorporated many treasures the owners have found on their

extensive travels.

One of the charming collections includes more than 100 small bottles

of sand collected from 100 different beaches from all over the world.

Every piece of artwork in the home has personal significance and the

home amenities include an eight-seat theater complete with ticket window,

a refreshment bar with popcorn machine and framed movie posters (one is

from the couple’s first date). There is a sun room that feels like a

tropical hideaway. The master bath includes the most comfortable-looking

sauna I’ve ever seen. All of this comes with a 180-degree view of the

ocean. In addition, the owner of the home shared a few stories with me:

her humble beginnings in Brooklyn; the significance of their collections;

the fascination with optical illusionary artwork. Talk about the personal

touch.

There are three more homes to enjoy in addition to the three homes I

was able to visit. I can’t wait to see the house with the bamboo

wainscoting.

In addition to the Home Tour, the ticket price ($45) includes lunch

provided by Pascal’s at the Sherman Library and Gardens. Tickets can be

bought through Corona del Mar High School, Butera Collection, Ann Dennis

Designs, Balboa Porch and the school’s PTA members.

The hours of the tour are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24. Additional

information is available at (949) 552-2337.

So on behalf of my rival high school, a sincere thank-you to the

homeowners for generously sharing their lives with the community to

improve our public schools. Without this generosity and philanthropic

spirit, we might not have such events to look forward to.

Good luck to Lynn, Laura Lee, Cathy and the hundreds of volunteers

that make this event special. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Somehow those Friday Realtor previews are not quite the same thing. See

you on the 24th.

PO Photo Caption: One of the homes on this year’s Corona del Mar High

School Home Tour has a two-story waterfall in the front courtyard. This

home also has a breathtaking view of the harbor, a water garden and an

extensive art collection.