Award-Winning Piedmont LEED Home, Julia Morgan Estate on Weekend Home Tour

From a Children's Suppport League press release:

Think big! There are at least 25 reasons to take the BIG 25th annual Heart of the Home Tour in Piedmont and Crocker Highlands this Friday and Saturday…and you will return home with far more than 25 inspiring redecorating and remodeling ideas.

Every year in an all-out effort to raise money for disadvantaged children in the East Bay, members of the Children’s Support League of the East Bay pour their hearts and souls into planning and delivering the popular spring event.

This Friday and Saturday’s Silver Anniversary fundraiser goes beyond popular expectations, offering ticketed tour goers a fantastic opportunity to tour the entire interiors of five luxurious homes from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm daily. One of the three-story mansions on the tour also features a Designer Showcase on more than two levels and in its inviting rear courtyard.

In addition, the fundraiser offers a pop-up boutique with home and fashion accessories, raffle and food trucks at the Piedmont Community Center (PCC). On Friday evening the Boutique hours will be extended until 6:00 pm.  There is no admission fee for the boutique; a percentage of all sales benefits CSL’s grant recipients: non-profit agencies serving families with at-risk children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. This year CSL hopes to raise over $225,000 and cross the $3 million threshold in total monies raised for East Bay kids over a quarter of a century.

If you act quickly, tour tickets are still available in advance on CSL’s website, www.ChildrensSupportLeague.org at $45. On Friday and Saturday you can purchase tour tickets throughout the day at the PCC for $55 each.

There are also just a few VIP Tour Packages remaining, which include an invitation to CSL’s “25th on the 25th” soiree on Thursday evening in a sixth hillside mansion with live jazz and hors d’oeuvres in addition to admission to all tour homes.

The VIP tour experience also includes a continental breakfast program and early entry to the Julia Morgan mansion on Friday morning, lunch, and a chance to win a prize in an exclusive raffle. A portion of the $125 VIP ticket is tax-deductible.

Here is a quick preview of the 2013 tour homes:

Exquisite Albert Farr’s brick Georgian Colonial. Built in 1930, the curb appeal of the red brick home with chimneys towering over the slate roof sends exciting shivers up your spine. Your excitement will escalate when you step into the majestic entry hall and gaze in awe at the ornate moldings, relief plaster ceilings, crystal chandeliers and handsome furnishings in the formal main rooms, designed for entertaining on a grand scale. There are even more surprises in store.

An inspiring Designer Showcase encompasses the top two stories of the mansion and spills into the newly remodeled kitchen and family room on the main level, as well as the rear courtyard. Eight prominent Bay Area designers have applied their magical talents and touches to this magnificent Piedmont estate, which matches the Farr estates in Pacific Heights.

Luxuriously Appointed Newsom & Newsom Manse. Working with a design team, the owners of this sensational palatial home restored it to its original 1924 grandeur and created a heavenly ambiance that invites you to sink into the sumptuous designer furnishings and never want to leave. The family’s passion for comfort, perfection and artistic sensibility is evident in every nook and corner. Dramatic sculptures and paintings acquired while living and traveling abroad provide intriguing focal points in the entry hall, living room, dining room, and billiards room.

Balanced work and play are popular among the active family. Not to be missed is a spacious new gym above the garage.

Award-Winning LEED Contemporary Home. On a high knoll in central Piedmont, just a few minutes drive from the Boutique at the Community Center, a completely renovated 1963 mid-century modern single level dwelling will compel you to modernize your home and live more green.

Centered around a serene courtyard, this chic contemporary family home has attained a Platinum LEED certification by meeting stringent criteria for smart, earth-friendly design and operating economies that drastically reduce energy and water consumption. Looking at the serene and inviting light-filled open interior spaces done in recycled materials and sustainable woods, who would know that the home’s hidden hardworking new “core” harvests the sun’s energy for electricity, rain water to flush toilets and wash clothes, and gray water to irrigate live indoor greenery as well as the surrounding garden landscape.

Julia Morgan Estate. If you’ve had the fortune or yearning to tour Hearst Castle in San Simeon, then don’t miss the opportunity to explore Harrow Manor, an estate occupying a block in Piedmont designed by the architect of Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan! The elegant family home, rich in history, retains its romantic and nostalgic charm.

The current owners of this 1915 Tudor recently completed a scrupulous ten-year restoration and seamlessly integrated a three-story, 3,000 square foot addition into the original 10,000 square foot historical structure. The spacious new master suite with a beautifully appointed bath and study is now located on the upper level of the new addition. On the main level, a lovely new kitchen with a unique octagonal center island opens to a family room and an outdoor brick deck featuring a wood-burning fireplace and porch swing.

A new gym has expanded the recreational options on the lower level of the estate, which also include a three-tiered theatre with 17 luxurious leather recliners, a music room, and game room. During World War II the USO entertained military personnel in a ballroom on this level.

Hollywood Aura Permeates French Normandy by William Schirmer. William Schirmer’s classic 1931 French Normandy oozes with curb appeal, but doesn’t begin to hint at the yummy eclectic interior. Glamorous Hollywood Regency décor is integrated into a striking framework with a minimalistic modern bent that is offset by Schirmer’s distinctive period architectural detailing.

The stunning result is an artistic haven with a dramatic flare. The Hollywood Regency decor design was inspired by autographed portraits of iconic Hollywood stars (including Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor and others) gifted to the owner’ grandmother that adorn the walls of the home’s lower level study.

Don’t miss the beautifully landscaped outdoor living area trimmed with striking native plants.  You can envision yourself playing croquet on the lawn with the fountain gurgling nearby, or sitting around firepits for cocktails and al fresco meals.

Additional Information

For more photos, complete details and tickets, visit CSL’s website at www.ChildrensSupportLeague.org. The site also links to an article about the 25th Anniversary tour appearing in the April issue of Diablo Magazine.