OUR LAGUNA: Charmed with sustainable houses

Visitors to five North Laguna homes were charmed Sunday.

About 550 folks attended the annual Charm House Tour, and they came from all over the county.

“This was my Mother’s Day present from my son,” said Diane Child of San Clemente.

Patricia Pawelski may be from Lake Forest, but she knows Laguna.

“I took a bus here because it is less expensive than driving and looking for a parking space,” said Pawelski.

Village Laguna has presented the tour for 36 years to raise funds for political and community activities, including donations to candidates and to local groups, and scholarships for Laguna Beach High School graduates.

The crowd was transported to the homes on buses — not the trolleys used in the past, Village Laguna officials said, due to the increased cost. Charter fees are increased every fiscal year and went up to $102 per vehicle per hour last June, regardless of the use, along with a $200 returnable deposit per vehicle, according to Deborah Gulickson, senior office specialist in the city Streets Division.

Tour buses were loaded at the entrance to the Festival of Arts Grounds, each bus with a guide: City Councilwoman Toni Iseman, Design Review Board member John Keith, Coastline Pilot “Garden Fanatic” Steve Kawaratani, South Laguna resident Tom Osborne, landscape architect Bob Borthwick, Cindalee Penny-Hall and senior city bus driver Jan Hawkes. Historic society member Jane Janz provided some historical data for the guides.

The first stop on the tour was the 1924 cottage owned by Terry and Beth Fitzgerald. The craftsman cottage was remodeled from a duplex and decorated in the Ralph Lauren style, with furniture from owners’ families. French doors and bay windows bring the outdoors inside. The garden and the ocean can be viewed from the second story bedrooms.

Friend and neighbor Craig Herbert created the leaded glass accents.

Laguna Canyon Foundation’s Guinevare Breeding greeted tourgoers at “Jasmine Cottage.”

Ed and Cathy Frys’ “Topsy Charmer” was the second stop on the tour. The Frys’ grandchildren gave the home its name, inspired by the way the rooms meander down the hillside.

The house originally consisted of two homes and two sleeping rooms, since revamped into a full solar-electric residence with an office, where Ed’s published material is displayed, a studio and a fantastic view.

He remembers being a paper boy on the street where the home is located. The land was covered with fig trees and was a part of the Pyne Castle property, later developed by the McKnights.

The home was decorated with American primitives, quilts, Catalina pottery and other Americana memorabilia by Cathy Fry.

Roy Ropp, “Doc” Blacketer and Doug Miller are among the local artists whose works have been collected by the Frys.

Diane and “Kep” Kepplinger served as tour hosts.

Don and Jean Vivrette’s “House 1r” sits steps from the entrance to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. The home was designed by architect Robert Quigley in 1970 for Don’s parents. He also designed the remodel for it, hence the name. It includes an art studio where Jean paints watercolors.

Local builder Mark Stoddard, who built the home, lives a few houses away.

The house is designed to accommodate elder-living, but is sharply focused on sustainable resources and energy conservation. The waterfall at the entrance was created from granite scraps.

Solar panels on the south slope eliminate the use of electricity. Ceilings are constructed of Glulam beams and recycled materials.

South Laguna activist Ginger Osborne welcomed guests.

Barbara Roppolo plans to live in the fourth home on the tour as long as she can — naming it Casa IRA. The house was built in the Richard Neutra style in 1970 by Southern California builder Glenn Brockman for his own home.

Roppolo remodeled it, but kept it at the original 2,200 square feet, which has to endear her to the many Village Laguna members who would like to see limits set on the size of homes approved.

Biedermeier furniture doesn’t detract from the views, which include Catalina, Crescent and Emerald bays, and Shaw’s and Divers coves — multiplied by mirrors, a mid-20th century hallmark.

Art by Kate Delos, Aldo Luongo and Eric Zener is displayed.

Judy Teverbaugh and Cristina Calderone were the hosts.

The 7,000-square foot Chow Bella concluded the tour.

Owner and architect Lori Naritoku designed the home, the built-in cabinetry, the interior decor and the landscaping on a parcel once part of the 10 acres owned by the Smith Family, which gives the tract its name: Smithcliffs.

Hollywood stunt flyer Pancho Barnes, the Smiths’ granddaughter, hosted parties there for 1920s movie stars, ferrying them in her plane that she landed on a small strip atop the bluffs.

Naritoku’s eclectic taste is reflected throughout the four-bedroom, nine-bathroom, ocean-view home. Of special note: the doors from an old Chinese temple that hide the television set, the beds and the curved-iron stair railing she designed. Her paintings and drawing accent the walls.

Tourgoers were served refreshments on the rooftop deck.

Mary La Russo was the host.

Volunteers and spouses and the homeowners celebrated the conclusion of another successful Laguna Charm House Tour at a dinner Sunday evening at the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club.

Village Laguna President Anne Caenn chaired the tour, assisted by board members John Monahan, Darrylin Girvin, Doug Reilly, Barbara Dresel, Armando Baez, Barbara Metzger, former City Clerk Verna Rollinger, Jinger Wallace, Jackie Gallagher, Helen Klugman and Charlotte Masarik.

City Clerk Martha Anderson was the banner chairwoman, Johanna Felder arranged for the buses. Ryen Caenn kept track of the mailing list. Ed Merriless was the poster chairman.

Robin Brown wrote the program, Cindy Love did the artwork. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rose Hancock answered the voice mail.

Bette and Ken Anderson handed out will-call tickets at the bus stop in front of the Festival Arts Grounds. Event day tickets were sold at the first stop by Arnold and Bonnie Hano, also a board member.

Information on the homes was provided by Village Laguna. For more information about the group, visit www.VillageLaguna.org.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.