I love that the kitchen is open to the large family room—perfect for keeping an eye on little ones when cooking dinner and a way to be in the center of the action with the teenagers.

I know staging doesn’t come with the home—but the stagers did a great job. The colors were fresh and fun! I’m betting this home won’t be on the market long. You can find the whole virtual tour here.

Bedrooms: 4

Baths: 4

Asking: $1,099,999

The first time the Los Gatos house got a makeover, Betsy and Dan “Whizzer” White just needed a bigger house for their growing family. The house they bought in 1977 was 900 square feet and with one child and another on the way, they added a second story in 1984. In 1991, they did a major kitchen/family room remodel. Then on New Year’s Eve 2003 while Whizzer and Betsy were at a party, they got a call from a neighbor: “Your house is burning.”

A lit candle left  on her daughter’s bedroom desk had destroyed nearly the entire house. With the help of architect Phoebe Bressack of Bressack and Wasserman Architects in Los Altos, ) Chateau Construction (theirr builder for 30 years), interior designers Ann Sonnenberg of Palo Alto and Susan Hoffman from Los Gatos, the house was redesigned, rebuilt and redecorated. With all the loss, chaos and rebuilding, Betsy said, “The day I cried was when I found I could have the same tile in the kitchen,” that she had loved when she remodeled it in 1991.

As much as she loved her house before the fire, the third incarnation has it’s benefits. Along with increasing from a three bedroom, two bath, the house –built in a Bernard Maybeck craftsman style and shingled — now has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths. They reconfigured the downstairs space to add an office and laundry room. All the bonuses came inside an extra 400 square feet.

The stair railing also saw an upgrade, from what Betsy affectionately called “barnyard chic” to an elegant iron railing with a leaf motif modeled after the magnolia tree outside the window. The couple enjoyed weekends at garage sales and antique shops to replace their furnishings and collected Mexican pottery and other crafts from one of their favorite destinations: San Miguel de Allende.

The house sits on nearly a third of an acre and the grounds are gorgeous, from a shady patio  in front to a lush vegetable garden in the back.

While Whizzer’s wife considers her husband a “farmer,” because of his 60 tomato plants, chili peppers and other fruits and vegetables, Whizzer simply considers himself a “foodie.”

With his heirloom tomatoes, “I  freeze 50 pounds a year for cooking and give away about 200 pounds,” he said.  He’s also proud of his “pimientos de padron,” a chili pepper made famous by writer Calvin Trillin that is popular in Spanish tapas.

 Whizzer is well known in Los Gatos for supplying the enormous squash for the annual march of the “Cucuzza Squash Drill Team” in the town’s Christmas parade. “We’re the successors to the Pigmy Goat Herders that were kicked out a few years ago,” he said. “They got too outrageous.”

And while Betsy still finds herself “going for light switches in places that were there for 20 years,” she loves the third makeover of her home. The couple have no plans to do it again. Knock on wood.

Here’s the complete slideshow:

It wasn’t until Suzanne Comaroto’s sister came down from Washington that she got serious about improving her backyard. The old oak tree had died. The roses weren’t doing well. The dirt was so hard, the plants were choking.

“My sister made a honey-do list for my gardner,” said Suzanne, owner of Move It Elsewhere, a warehouse filled with estate sale furnishings in San Jose. (It’s only open one weekend a month, and it’s open this weekend, June 11-13.) She rented her 1920s craftsman bungalow for 14 years before convincing the landlord to sell it to her three years ago.

Top on the list was replacing the brick on the curving path that was caked with old mortar, probably from a demolished fireplace. They handed the list to Suzanne’s longtime gardner, Carlos Arrioja, who owns the  Los Gatos landscape business, “A Touch of Quality.”

He prepared the soil, lifted and replaced the brick, widened the path and mounded soil into berms to give the plantings some visual interest. He built a trellis at the back of the property to mirror the trellis attached to the back of the house.

“When I moved here, they touted, “Oh, you have an English garden,” Suzanne said. “Everyone said it was pretty. But it wasn’t interesting. There were no gates, no benches, no hand.”

The hand is a sculpture Carlos came across. He had to re-attach the broken thumb. And it has become the signature piece in the garden, adding a bit of whimsy.

“I really like that hand,” she said. “I had to have it.”

As owner of Move It Elsewhere, Suzanne  has access to an endless parade of home and garden furnishings. And true to form, she bought her patio set from a client and painted it black. She also bought a broken two-tiered fountain that was cracked and didn’t hold water, and turned it into a planter.

The work was completed last September. This is the first spring to enjoy the blooms on her new flowers, including roses and bearded iris.

The only problem, she said, is that she’s so busy, she doesn’t get to spend much time relaxing in it.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, “ from my bedroom window.”

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Prairie style. Tudor Revival. American Four-square. Mediterranean Revival. You name it, the Hanchett Park Historic Home Tour in one of San Jose’s most charming and eclectic neighborhoods has it. They’ll be open for your indulgent pleasure this Saturday, May 22.

Lookiloos has just given away two tickets to two of our fans. I drew names from a bowl! Barb B. and Nancy M. were the lucky winners who each get to take a friend to five fabulous homes, plus a backyard boutique.

 And I’m telling you, as a voyeur from the next neighborhood over, these homes are Lookiloos-worthy! Two in particular resonate with me: one is the one-story Mediterranean revival (pictured above) with an interior courtyard that has always been the style for my fantasy home.

The other is this Prairie style look that feeds my clean-lined-architect’s-daughter sensibility. And wouldn’t you know an architectural designer, Steve Hinderberger of Hindesign, owns it and has filled it with modern furnishings? Here are just a few of the famous pieces you’ll see: a 1928  le Corbusier lounge chair; 1925 Marcel Breuer Wassily chairs, a 1929 Eileen Gray breakfast tabl, a 1944 Noguchi coffee table  and two mid-century classics, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman and a Beroia diamond chair. The art collection is also a must-see, including an Alexander Calder.

 This is another gem — a 1920 American Four-square completely remodeled down to the studs in 2008, with new landscaping last year. The home is decorated with luxurious, contemporary furnishings. 

 This is another special home, built in 1924 for the owner of the old Pomeroy’s clothing store in downtown San Jose. Gilt wall sconces, crystal doorknobs, windows and floors are all original. Enjoy the batchelder tile fireplace and a gorgeous sun room

And if you love a storybook cottage, here’s a charming Tudor Revival owned by artist Margaret Washington and her husband, Austin. It’s loaded with original details, including exposed beams and hardware — and even the original stove!

Hanchett Park Historic Homes Tour is one day only, Saturday, May 22, from 10 to 4.  You can purchase tickets for $20 in advance at Green Design, 1341 The Alameda, and at Willow Glen Home & Garden, 1123 Lincoln Ave. On May 22 tickets are $25 and will be sold on the corner of Hanchett and Sequoia avenues.

Depression-Era Charm, with Sparkle

depression era charm-breakfast nook

Tin Ceiling Kitchen in Eclectic Shingle Style House

Tin Ceiling in Kitchen of Eclectic Shingle Style

(keep scrolling for more kitchens..)

Neoclassic bungalow kitchen

Eclectic neoclassic kitchen remodel

Which kitchen do you like best? Anyone dreaming of a kitchen remodel?

Charming cottage on Willow Glen Home Tour

The annual Willow Glen Home Tour on May 1st and 2nd promises six  beautiful homes this year — and UPDATE — we just gave away two pairs of tickets — one to Jackee and one to Beth. Still, it is a not-to-be-missed tour and proceeds go to a good cause.  Grab a few girlfriends and enjoy a day meandering through a remodeled craftsman with a fabulous outside living area, a storybook cottage of stone and wood, a chic bungalow and a traditional Willow Glen home filled with antiques and collectibles. 

Thanks fof leaving comments explaining why you should win a pair (are you a lookiloo extraordinaire?).

The tour supports the San Jose Day Nursery that provides subsidized early care and education to low-income families.

Tickets, at the pre-tour price of $30, are available at the following San Jose businesses: 

• Domus, 1395 Lincoln Avenue, on the corner with Minnesota Avenue;
• Eclectic Touch, 1171 Lincoln Avenue;
• Willow Glen Home and Garden, 1123 Lincoln Avenue; and
• Able Printing, 1595 Meridian Avenue at Hamilton Avenue. 

 Tickets, the dates of the tour, may be purchased for $35 on the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota Avenues, in front of Chase Bank.

2 Bedrooms + Loft

2.5 Bathrooms

Asking  $1,895,000

All proceeds from the tour are dedicated towards renovating the original electrical elements of the clubhouse and expanding its capacity to meet the needs of the 21st century. The group’s goal is to make the San Jose Woman’s Club a performing arts venue for the city by upgrading the stage lighting and heating system, and adding air conditioning and wiring for modern technology. You can buy tickets here or  Lookiloos is happy to offer two pairs of tickets to see these spectacular homes.  So, if you’d love to see these wonderful homes all you need to do is leave a comment.  Tell us why you are a “Lookiloo”.  The tour is Saturday, April 24th from 10 am to 4:30 pm. We will announce the winner Friday April 23rd at 5:00pm.

Queen Anne Cottage

A charming Queen Anne Cottage, built in 1893, and fully restored by the current owners. Once the home of a Los Gatos grocer, the home features an unusual five-sided wrap-around front porch. Inside, you’ll see original windows, wainscoting, transoms and chandeliers.

Victorian Hunting Lodge

Victorian Hunting Lodge

This home was built in 1884 as a Victorian hunting lodge and summer home. The current owners restored the home, and with antique treasures from their travels in Botswana, embraced the hunting theme.

A Hawaiian Plantation Home

Hawaiian Plantation Home

This house was designed in 1912 after a Hawaiian plantation home to reflect the original owners’ fascination with Hawaii. The new owners kept the facade, but updated the rest of the home inside.

To win two tickets to the tour — worth $35 a piece — please leave a comment here or at the Lookiloos Facebook page and we will draw a name randomly on Thursday, Nov. 5.  Please leave a valid email address so we can contact you with details on where to pick up tickets.

If you don’t win, but still want to support the Museums of Los Gatos and see these homes, tickets may be purchased at the Art Museum, 4 Tait Avenue in Los Gatos. You may also purchase tickets on line at www.museumsoflosgatos.org or call 408 375-7386.

UPDATE:  The winner of the tickets is Michelle Bogdan!  Congratulations.  We know you will have a great time and hope to see you there.

(Photographs by Mert Carpenter)

The kitchens range in style from Craftsman to modern, with the latest in storage solutions, trendy tile and innovative materials and lighting.

As a special bonus, the entire “Margarido house” will be on tour, a newly-constructed, LEED certified house that is eco-friendly in just about every way. Check out the recycled building materials and the rooftop garden.

Tickets for the tour that starts at 12:30 p.m. can be purchased in advance for $30. AFter Sept. 18, the price goes up to $40. For more information, click here.

The tour is a fundraiser for the Rockridge Community Planning Council that supports local parks and libraries and public art projects.
(photos courtesy of Kenneth Rice Photography.)