April 30, May 1st is a busy weekend, the official start of the Home Tours and Open Studios season.  This is a great opportunity to get inside some of those magnificent houses you may have been wondering about.

1) Sat: Bradbury & Bradbury historic art wallpaper studio
2) Sun: Stanford home tour, including a Frank Lloyd Wright home!
3) Sat & Sun: Willow Glen home tour.

1) Bradbury & Bradbury historic art wallpaper business Open Studio:
http://www.bradbury.com/emails/open_house_2011.html
The factory will be open Saturday April 30th 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 940 Tyler Street, Suite 12, Benicia, CA. They will have silk screen printing demonstrations and some glimpses of new papers and fabrics.  If you’re an old home or house museum enthusiast, you have definitely seen some installations of their wallpaper.  Now you have a chance to tour part of the factory and learn how the wallpaper is made.

2)  Stanford’s tour:
http://histsoc.stanford.edu/hhouses.shtml
The Stanford Historical Society’s tour is of 5 homes in the San Juan neighborhood of the Stanford campus. The houses are a 20′s and 30′s mix, with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hanna Honeycomb House included.  The tour is Sunday, May 1, from 1-4 p.m. and the advance price is $30.

3) Willow Glen tour:
http://www.sjdn.org/Default.aspx?pageId=314015
The Willow Glen tour is a benefit for the San Jose Day Nursery school, and includes 5 homes. The tour is both Saturday and Sunday, April 30, and May 1, from 10-4 p.m. Tickets are available at several businesses on Lincoln Avenue and online.  The price is $30 before the day of the tour. See also http://www.mercurynews.com/campbell/ci_17668597 for a great virtual tour and article about one of the homes.

– Cici, the house stalker

Image of 1926 Tudor Period Style Home