ASID's Pasadena chapter presents the 20th annual Distinctive Homes Tour,
showcasing the creativity of its designers in real living spaces.
text Teena Apeles photo Evans Vestal Ward
If you are addicted to open houses, have a love for interiors or are in the midst of making over your home, the Pasadena chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) offers you the perfect weekend jaunt. Formerly the Kitchens & Interiors Tour, the Distinctive Homes Tour treats visitors to two days in and VIP access to six local residences of varying sizes, with distinct interiors by some of the area's top designers. According to ASID, the tour offers what catalogs, impersonal showrooms and showcase homes cannot: "real homes designed for real living." In addition, each home will also host design-related lectures or demonstrations and tabletop displays revealing designers' sources for everything from art and accessories to furnishings and drapery.
Event Chairman Ross Farrell, who has appeared on the Style Network and Home & Garden Television, has big plans for this year's tour, which marks the 20th anniversary of the event: "When you have a showcase house, each designer gets one room. Now with this, it really gives designers a chance to flex their muscles. [People] can see how they dealt with a whole house — the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the children's rooms — it's really giving a broader scope of what the designers can do."
The Pasadena-born Farrell not only spearheads this year's tour, but his 1920s Spanish home, which he shares with wife Barbara, is also a featured abode. While the others are homes of designers' clients, the self-taught Farrell was fortunate to have his most treasured creation selected by the committee. "I can show that I walk the walk," he says with a laugh.
Though the two-bedroom home is not large in terms of square footage, Farrell's design choices, from color palette to furniture placement, give the illusion of spacious rooms that still feel warm and welcoming. Antique treasures dating as far back as the 14th century, garage-sale finds, artist friends' whimsical artwork and his own abstract paintings decorate the home. It's definitely eclectic. Pairing styles you would never expect together is part of the beauty of what he calls his sometimes "seat of the pants" design philosophy. He goes with his first impulse and incorporates plenty of color. "It scares my clients sometimes," he says, "but in the end they're very happy with the results."
The other homes on the tour — located in Pasadena, San Marino and La Cañada Flintridge — reflect the rich architecture of the area, the lifestyles of their inhabitants and the talent of each designer. People can discover the Arts and Crafts treatment of a 1907 Victorian Normandy Revival, the elegant styling of a 2003 Georgian Colonial, the masterful renovation of a family's 1923 Colonial Revival, the serene setting of a 1960 midcentury traditional home and the old-world feel of a 1924 English cross-timber home. Designers will be on hand to answer questions at each dwelling, with local Girls Scouts helping to direct guests. It's a true community design event not to be missed.
Explore ASID designers' exceptional interiors during the Distinctive Homes Tour, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8. Proceeds from the self-guided tour support the Pasadena chapter of ASID. Advance tickets are $30; $35 day of tour. For more information, call (800) 237-2634, or visit www.asidpasadena.org.