Aficionados of fine home and garden design can tour some of the Lakes Region’s loveliest homes tomorrow during the 25th annual Hospice Home and Garden Tour.
The event is the largest fundraiser for the Central New Hampshire VNA and Hospice, formerly known as VNA/Hospice of Southern Carroll County and Community Health and Hospice of Laconia. The two agencies merged in 2010.
This year’s tour includes a variety of homes in the Wolfeboro area. The first is a hilltop home in Tuftonboro with mountain views; two are historic homes located in Wolfeboro village, and the last two are both Lake Winnipesaukee lakefront homes with water views. The event will be held rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lunch at the Inn on Main Street in Wolfeboro from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for $15.
Tickets for the tour are $40, available at Black’s Gift Shop and Paper store on South Main Street in Wolfeboro.
VNA Hospice Development Director Brian Winslow said the home and garden tour typically raises up to $25,000 a year for the nonprofit agency.
Pulling off the event takes many volunteers who begin planning usually a year in advance by vetting out potential homes for the tour. Winslow said the tour is a result of “great labor and work.”
“The hard part is making sure the logistics are right,” he said.
Hospice Advisory Chairperson Shirley Richardson said the tour relies on hundreds of volunteers, committee members, community members and businesses that support the effort in different ways. Richardson also credited the participating homeowners for their commitment to the agency’s cause.
“We are very grateful to the folks who have kindly offered their homes for the tour. It is indeed a huge commitment on their part and a tribute to their willingness to support Hospice,” she said. “Some have been touched by Hospice in their own lives while others realize the value of this program that promotes and nurtures our commitment to each other.”
Among the houses on this year’s tour is the Forest Road home of John and Claudia Foster. This lake view home on Edmund’s Cove overlooks the Broads and Rattlesnake Island. Built in 2004, the home showcases the family’s collections and antiques, from old books to 1900 Javanese woodcarvings to Americana to original artwork.
The great room features hickory floors and pine beams. The master suite features lots of built-ins including a window seat and bookshelves. Throughout the home antiques and memorabilia are blended with modern amenities.
A second home, owned by Gary McGloin and designed by Cheryl Scott, is a renovated 1970s ranch style. Renovations included removal of three layers of wallpaper and covering the popcorn ceiling with a pine v-match paneling.
Reclaimed hardwood flooring replaced linoleum in the kitchen and oak floors in the rest of the house were refinished. Kitchen cabinets were revitalized with cream paint, honey glaze and crown molding. Granite countertops completed the updated look. The home is filled with personal touches and an updated feel.
Patty and Peter Cooke’s Wolfeboro home was originally built in 1860, but has been renovated to include modern conveniences that blend seamlessly with the old. The home includes built-ins and storage spaces that maximize every inch and provide display space for various collections. Many of the original light fixtures were recycled from the original home, which was gutted along with the adjoining barn when the home was renovated.
Teresa Shatzer’s downtown Wolfeboro home combines here love of travel and collecting. The home offers southwest view of Lake Winnipesaukee that can be enjoyed through large windows. The home is furnished with a variety of French, English and American antiques, Russell Wright American stoneware, Taiwanese embroidered scrolls and contemporary artwork and sculpture. The home includes a second floor apartment with three-bedrooms and two baths.
Tour ticketholders will receive information on each location and highlights of the homes.
Speak Your Mind