House Tour Raises Cash, Curiosity

PTA fundraisers usually bring to mind bake sales, gift wrap orders and silent auctions.

But last Sunday afternoon, the Falls Church City PTA ventured into less familiar waters by holding a home and garden tour that raised almost $10,000.

The tour spotlighted eight houses and three gardens, all within short driving distance of one another in the city of Falls Church, a 2.2 square mile area inside the Beltway that is independent from Fairfax County. The houses ranged in style from historic Victorian to contemporary ranch. Several showcased recent remodeling projects, including a restored 1889 Gothic farmhouse, a renovated 1920s weekend cottage and an updated 1952 Cape Cod.

Much of the event's success was due to the organizers' diligence and the community's generosity, but there's another explanation: Home tours are popular.

"It's fun to go to a model home and see how a designer does it, but people appreciate going to personal residences to see how others live in their space," said Mary Fitch, executive director of the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

In the Washington area, many organizations schedule tours for the spring, but autumn and the winter holiday season are popular times, too. "They are all over the calendar," said Steve Dickens, an architect in the District who co-chaired the annual Dupont Circle House tour from 1997 through 2000. Tours are more common in upscale and urban areas but are increasingly popping up in moderately priced neighborhoods and in the suburbs, said Martin Moeller, senior vice president for special projects at the National Building Museum.

What's the draw? "Everyone wants to see everyone else's nest," Dickens said, noting that the Dupont Circle House Tour, going on its 39th year in October, draws more than 1,000 people.

Moeller seconded that notion. "We have an insatiable curiosity of the domestic lives of other people," he said. On a home tour, you can "see key bits of who your neighbors are."

During the Falls Church tour, visitors strolled through the houses and gardens, admiring and analyzing details large and small, from the paint colors and backyard water features to the molding and bathroom tiles. Four or five volunteer docents wearing specially designed T-shirts watched over each property, ready to reveal facts about a home's history or renovations, to answer questions, and to ensure that visitors stayed in designated spaces.

"The architecture is unbelievable," said Sarah Borrud, a D.C. condo owner, as she strolled through the renovated Cape Cod on Little Falls Street. "I can tell this one is Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired." She was there with three friends, all of them first-time condo owners hunting for decorating ideas. They said they liked the concrete kitchen countertops they saw at one house. "It's cheaper than granite," said Borrud. But for the most part, the foursome said they were "dreaming" as they went from property to property.

Up the road, in a stunning garden surrounding a 1904 Victorian house, a group of visitors encircled homeowner Barbara Cram as she pointed to her different types of magnolia trees and gave gardening tips. "Plan your underplantings at the same time that you plant trees so that the plants can grow together and they all can root out together," she said. "That way, everyone gets their space in the garden."

And so it went for four hours on a picture-perfect spring afternoon. By the end, more than 300 people had visited some or all of the properties.