Catching a glimpse

Marisa O’Neil

Barking sea lions and blue booties greeted visitors at one bluff-top

home during the 30th Corona del Mar High School and Middle School PTA

Home Tour Tuesday.

The sea lions made their presence known in the waters of the

Pacific across from the Ocean Drive home in Corona del Mar as

tour-goers slipped soft, blue booties over their shoes before

entering the beautiful dwelling. The slippers help protect custom

stone tile and Berber carpet from the nearly 2,000 people touring

homes as part of the PTA’s annual fund-raiser, which brought in

$90,000 last year.

“Some homeowners are intimidated by the number of people that show

up,” PTA member Janice Newfield said. “But people love to see what

other people do [with their homes], especially in more exclusive

areas. They like to see what goes on behind those gates.”

This year’s tour hit six homes in swanky neighborhoods -- three

south of Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach and Corona del Mar

and three in the “Port” streets and near Spyglass Hill off MacArthur

Boulevard and San Joaquin Hills Road. The styles ranged from

contemporary to country French to Mediterranean.

At the three-bedroom Ocean Drive home, a grand piano sat in the

living room and two slipcovered chairs sat facing the picture window

with expansive -- and expensive -- coastal vistas. The living room

flowed into the dining room, which opened to the kitchen, which

abutted a family room with a cushy corner sofa and huge television,

then gave way to the rear patio.

Outside, a large, stone tile wet bar and gas grill sat near a

table set for four. Inside, an ornate wrought-iron liquor cabinet sat

at the far end of the kitchen and a wine cellar cozied up beneath the

stairs.

At Beacon Bay in Newport Beach, guests toured a

Mediterranean-styled house with a central patio that held an

ornately-set dinner table and large fireplace. The rear of the house

looked out over Newport Harbor and a small beach and held another

patio with a smaller dinner table.

A middle island in the country kitchen supported a low bar, set

with four place settings, but the house had no indoor dining room.

Instead, the patio with its stone tile and Tuscan landscaping served

as the formal dining room.

Upstairs, French doors in the hallway opened out over the central

patio.

“I loved how it had French doors throughout the home,” Newport

Coast resident Sherri Snelling enthused about the house, her favorite

on the tour. “It was really open and airy and the decor had a really

comfortable feeling.”

Some of the other homes, Snelling said, didn’t seem quite as

lived-in.

“They felt more like museums,” she said.

Every house appeared model-perfect with ornate flower arrangements

donated by local florists and linens and accessories from South Coast

Plaza and Fashion Island shops. Just like showing a home for sale,

Newfield said, the owners do everything to make things as perfect and

presentable as possible for their guests.

Other homes, she added, had just completed construction or

redecoration, leaving them in a still-pristine state.

The tour, now in its 30th year, draws parents of Corona del Mar

students as well as people from out of the area. Some guests came

from as far as Texas and Colorado for the tour, she said, and some,

but not all, of the homeowners are Corona del Mar High School

parents.

Funds raised from the $50-apiece ticket sales and raffle of

donated goods will go to school equipment and programs, via a PTA

fund.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].