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Featuring a country estate, a brick Colonial, a charming Victorian and a cozy cottage, Clifton's annual Spring Homes Tour will offer a wide range of houses to suit a variety of tastes.
Sponsored by the Clifton Community Woman's Club, the tour is Thursday, May 15, from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. An associated boutique will run that day until 5 p.m. and will also be offered, Wednesday, May 14, from 6-8 p.m.
The Clifton Primitive Baptist Church will host an exhibit of Needlework through the Ages, and there'll also be a silent auction, Clifton Closet and a selection of gently used books. Tour tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on tour day; all proceeds go to charity and scholarships. For more information, call 703-830-3418 or 703-830-4352.
"We're really excited about our lineup of homes this year, and we're hoping for a large turnout," said Meg Curry, co-chairman with Diane Smith. "And we encourage everyone to come out and shop at the boutique and place a bid at the silent auction."
The tour is the club's primary fund-raiser, and proceeds comprise three scholarships to George Mason University and one to Northern Virginia Community College. Organizations previously benefiting from the event have included: Christian Children's Fund, Hospice of Northern Virginia, Fairfax Women's Shelter, Camp Easter Seal and Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding.
Tickets are available in Clifton at Antiques of Clifton, Baskets and Boughs, Cottage Art and the Heart in Hand restaurant; in Burke Centre, Temptations Gifts and Special Touch Gifts; in the Colonnade Shopping Center, Temptations Gifts; In Old Town Manassas, Social Butterfly; in Occoquan, Clifton Gallery; and in the Twinbrook Shopping Center, Judy Ryan of Fairfax.
The Heart in Hand, the Hermitage Inn and the Clifton Store will be selling lunch. The Clifton Town Meeting Hall on Chapel Road will host the boutique, silent auction, Clifton Closet, books table and a Women in Business display. Silent auction items include stays at Bed and Breakfasts, restaurant meals and gift baskets.
Below are descriptions of some of the visual treats to be found at the homes on tour:
<ro>The Huntsmans
<bt>This country estate in the Balmoral community has been the home of Marcie and Kenneth Huntsman for nearly two years. The 12,000-square foot main house has a French Country Romanesque exterior with the interior of an elaborate hunting lodge.
<sh>The Andreottas
<bt>Custom built for Valerie and Mark Andreotta, this stately Colonial was completed in June 2001. It has three finished levels, seven bedrooms and seven full bathrooms. The furnishings are Colonial, and the rooms are painted in deep colors such as dark greens and golds.
<ro>The Watts Home
<bt>This Victorian home on Clifton's Main Street belongs to Jo and William Watts. Built in 1991, it's also known as the Clifton Creek House.
The home's furnishings are eclectic; featured are a crystal collection, P. Buckley Moss prints, Blue Willow china, antiques and even an original border pole that once stood between East and West Germany.
<ro>The Kuemmerles
<bt>Built in 1929 as the home of the Robeys, who ran a large dairy farm, this flagstone house on Chapel Road is now the guest cottage of Donna and Steven Kuemmerle. The stone came from the quarry across the road and was carried to the site by mules and wagons.
The King of England granted the land to the Ford family; it then went to the Robeys and was called Frosty Meadows. In 1981, the Kuemmerles bought 20 acres, adding the guest cottage — which was the original farmhouse — and seven more acres in 2001. Since 1985, they've lived in a house on the hill overlooking the guest cottage.