Charming Houses on display

The Village Laguna Charm House Tour is set for Sunday, May 18.

Each year, the tour has been attended by more than 700 people, who

spend the afternoon visiting Laguna’s most beautiful and interesting

homes.

This year’s Charm House Tour, the 31st, will feature five homes

ranging from Laguna charmers to modern masterpieces.

Chartered city trams will leave continuously from the ACT V

parking lot on Laguna Canyon Road starting at noon. The last tram

will leave at 3:30 p.m. Homes are closed for viewing at 5:30 p.m.

Trams take participants to each home, but walking and stair

climbing are required and comfortable shoes are suggested. Civic

leaders will be among home and tram guides. The tour can be completed

at one’s own pace. It normally takes two to three hours.

A highlight is Casa del Jardin, a 1941 Monterey-style where

visitors enter through an iron gate, along a meandering brick garden

pathway and beneath a bougainvillea-covered arbor. In 1916, the area

was known as the McKnight’s Addition of “Laguna Cliffs.” It was not

built upon until much later, by Fred and Lillie Van Loenen. The home

was extensively renovated in 1991.

Laguna Charm was originally a modest blue 1950s stucco home with a

juniper-covered sloping front yard, but it has been rebuilt into a

contemporary home. It’s intimate and elegant, with a multitude of

decorating inspirations. Much of the artwork is from Peter Blake

Gallery. Mark Beck’s large oil, “The Apartments,” and “Tuscan

Cypress” are the most recent acquisitions.

Village Laguna is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting

community values and supporting leaders that preserve and protect the

unique village character of Laguna Beach.