Thank You to all who helped to make the
2007 Holiday House Tour and Festa Elegante
such a success!

 

21st Annual Holiday House Tour
A Self-guided Odyssey of Architecture, Art and Antiques in Five Fabulous Homes

Sunday, December 2, 2007, 11 AM - 4 PM


Photo by Suzanne Sheridan

Tickets: $45 in advance, $35 WHS Members
$50 day of tour, available at 25 Avery Place

Print out and Mail in the Ticket Order Form

Tickets may be picked up at the Westport Historical Society between
Monday, November 26 to December 2, 10 AM to 4 PM.

No tickets will be mailed.

“Festa Elegante”
A Post-Tour Hors D’oeuvres Celebration
Sunday December 2, 4:30 – 7:30 PM
$75 per person, tickets must be ordered by November 30


Photo by Larry Untermeyer

Celebrate the day’s pleasures at a sumptuous hors d’oeuvres party at this gracious and elegant Westport home where Bonda of Abbondanza and Chef Giona Stanco of Giona’s Global Cuisine will prepare delectable appetizers that will be followed by indulgent desserts from Chef Bryan Malcarney of Westport’s own Blue Lemon, the perfect way to cap off the day’s festivities. Enjoy delicious old and new world wines, live music and a silent auction filled with tantalizing treasures.

Sponsored by
 


Chef Bryan Malcarney of Blue Lemon will be making homemade biscotti, lemon tarts and profiteroles
with chocolate caramel mousse for the Festa Elegante after the Holiday House tour.

21st Annual Holiday House Tour
You will be asked to remove your shoes upon entering each home.
No photography inside the homes.

Livable Formality
This Adirondack shingle-style home is magnificent in every aspect. The sumptuous interiors highlight an extensive art and antique collection. The entry hall incorporates stunning hand-painted floors, an ornate wrought iron railing against a backdrop of Venetian plaster walls. The hilltop location is a perfect setting for the family’s active lifestyle, including a recreation level offering access to the home theater, basketball court, golf links and much more.


 Photos by Suzanne Sheridan

Frazier Peters Jewel in a Garden
Precious Christmas decorations abound. In 1925, Frazier Peters designed and built the core of this picturesque, fieldstone, Tudor Revival house, positioning this gem on a three acre estate on hilltop land with rugged rock outcroppings using stone from the property. The perfectly matched additions offer vistas to exquisite gardens and display artifacts gathered through many years of travel.


Photos by Suzanne Sheridan

Lakeside Charm
This spectacular Nantucket shingle-style house beckons as you approach the pebble stone courtyard with its dark wooden doors. The home was built new to look old with enticing wraparound porches, a romantic balcony off the master bedroom, and six unique fireplaces, highlighting the warmth and charm of this family home.

 
Photos by Suzanne Sheridan
The warm, rich library overlooks a lake, and a holiday Santa surrounded by pine boughs greets visitors in the hall.

Preserving the Richness of History
One of Westport’s oldest homes exhibits seventeenth and eighteenth century construction, as well as twenty-first century design and décor. The airy brightness of the spacious new sunroom complements the “two over two rooms” of the original structure, while accommodating a modern family life style. There are hand-hewn timbers, and gun-stock posts on the second floor as well as a chamfered summer beam in the dining room.

   
Photos by Pam Barkentin Blackburn
This dining room was part of the original "two over two" room house built in 1695 and it is still used for elegant dinner parties. A Game Room sits atop an antique combining comfortable living with historic preservation.
A bright and welcoming Sun Room in the Oldest House in Westport.

Enchanting New England Beach Cottage
The diamonds sparkling in the windows and the comfortable wicker on the porch entice you into this cozy, classic cottage with lots of nooks and crannies that hold memorabilia and art. The owner envisioned this as a beach house before she crossed the threshold and has carried a blue and white nautical theme throughout. The holiday magic begins the moment you set foot on the property and is carried into the master with a surprise upside-down Christmas tree for whimsy. The home’s three floors offer inviting rooms for everyone. The enchantment extends further outside to the charming playhouse in the back yard. Exceptional flowers and decorations are all done by the owner herself.


The doll house in the playroom and the playhouse in the back yard are proof that this is a home
where children are pampered and enjoyed. Imagine their delight at the upside down Christmas tree.

BONUS TOUR ADD-ON

99 Myrtle Avenue
Located just across the street from the WHS, the Emily McLaury House (c. 1921) has just undergone a complete historic restoration. Owned by the Town of Westport and restored by a volunteer committee using town funds, this beautifully proportioned Colonial Revival home was designed by well-known Westport architect, Charles E. Cutler.  Cutler’s masterful use of space and light is apparent as you tour the cozy interior, romantic porch and restored grounds. As you warm-up by the fireplace, see a slide show of the restoration process and speak to members of the restoration committee.


Emily McLaury House

You will be asked to remove your shoes upon entering each home.
No photography inside the homes.

Learn more at 203-222-1424 x201 or email housetour@westporthistory.org.

                  

Take a Virtual Holiday House Tour or the Real One
by Denise McLaughlin

Join me on a virtual tour of the homes on the upcoming holiday house tour, December 2nd. Let’s start with a little New England beach bungalow. It is on a little street close to town and you would really only notice it if you were walking, when you would smile at the screened in porch that might remind you of your grandparent’s summer house. The home is primarily white with a collection of blue china and treasures throughout. The Christmas theme is particularly prominent with a big tree near the door and the fireplace draped with ornamented greenery and flanked by amaryllis in bloom. As you glance around you will see sprigs of holly and pine in many locations giving the whole house a reason to celebrate. The master bedroom is fanciful and delicate and there is the famous upside down tree. It really does set off the decorations with a new perspective. Can you see their little granddaughter dressed in a pink tulle ballet skirt playing with a friend in her own playroom?

Going to the other side of town we find a family with college age children settled into a soft leather couch around a fireplace in their own game room with their own wide screen TV and refrigerator. The sun room is just as modern and flooded with light. The contemporary setting merges with the original 1695 home. The ancient dining room has a large hearth which would have helped heat the large room which is now set for a holiday dinner and flickers with candles. The wooden beams and six over six windows remind us of the past, while encouraging us to be comfortable. The antiques which decorate the home are each unique treasures from the past. The art on the walls includes landscapes that draw you toward pastoral scenes which reflect the history of the eras since the house was built. Old and new are integrated into a livable house that preserves history.

On a lakeside northwest of town we see another bright, open airy home that blends the outside into the home. The stone walls frame the house against the lake. The owners brought the same stone into the house and used it on the fireplaces so that there is a unity of materials and the open design is reinforced. This is another home with details to enjoy everywhere you look. Check out the beautiful flowers and the holiday decorations in the hall and the table settings which use simple seasonal items like holly and pine as well as a velvet angel to set the mood. The Ichebana arrangements remind us of this families travels to Japan. The soothing comfort of the living spaces is complemented by the bright red in the dining room, like its own jewel box.

Now we go to a home that is familiar because we saw the outside on the spring Hidden Garden Tour a few years ago and wondered how the house set in the impeccable gardens would look. We enter this stone house through its framed portico. The cathedral ceiling immediately draws your eye toward the fireplace and book cases and their fascinating collection of treasures. The Christmas tree dominates the space reaching up to the balcony door and its decorations are familiar yet new, from Georg Jenson. The great art on these wall stops us as well, particularly the portrait of a sailor looking out to sea. We peek outside remembering the circular gardens and smile at the laughing frog wrapped in a scarf for winter. We learn that the home was built from rock quarried in the back of the house 82 years ago and everything seems to fit even better. But these owners updated their home to accommodate their love of cooking and gardening and we see their personal touches everywhere. Smell the hot chocolate from the sideboard decorated with a hand embroidered Swiss cloth. Look at the amazing flowers and plants in their own indoor garden.

Finally, we walk up to the last home, and while we think we have already used every luxurious word, we find ourselves awed again, by the hand painted floors, the railing, the Versace inspired bath and the uniquely treated walls in this amazing home and we haven’t left the hall yet! The recognizable art slows us down at every turn, as we smile at the good fortune that has brought us to these homes.

To see more of these unique interiors, make reservations to join the real tour on December 2nd from 11 until 4. Tickets $45 for the tour and $35 for members. Don’t miss the party afterwards at one more fabulous home for only $75.

 

Holiday House Tour Committee

Totney B. Benson, Co-Chair, Holiday House Tour
Mary Ann Laurita, Co-Chair, Holiday House Tour

Anne Carbone, Chair, House Captains
Tammy Pincavage, House Captain
David Kinyon, Toni Mickiewicz, House Captains
Julia Broder, Wendy Tremaglio, Steven Thomson, House Captains
Carole Hendrickson, House Captain
Deborah Kulback, House Captain
Denise McLaughlin, Chair, Publicity and Public Relations
Marion Palcsik & Marion Mazzella, Chairs, Festa Elegante
Jill Epstein & Melissa Hackett, Chairs, Silent Auction
Lucy Ambrosino
Joni Andrews
Alison Angus
Marjorie Brous
Margo Calano
Annette Coplit
Jacqueline Gordon
Cynthia Lee
Marge Manoff
Vicki Slack
Maryann Stell