The annual Wellesley Kitchen & House Tour fundraiser, hosted by the Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club, featured seven stunning homes last Saturday, with guests visiting the ground floor and outdoor spaces. I was able to do that.
Architects, interior designers, contractors, landscape designers, and builders were on hand to offer compliments and answer questions specific to the home. It was easy to see that creative people are the ones who wear high-style shoes instead of the little blue boots we all wear at the entrance.
The mix of homes included some that were recently built. Historic homes, including a home selected for the prestigious Historic Preservation Award by the Wellesley Historical Commission. and the home of interior designer Erin Gates.
Funds raised from Kitchen and Home Tour ticket sales, along with the club's other events throughout the year, enabled the juniors to endow $170,000 in grants and scholarships in 2023.
Tour participants are strictly prohibited from taking photos, and in fact, I was reprimanded several times for misbehaving with juniors standing guard. However, everything was in turmoil…Swellsley Report I had obtained permission in advance to photograph this beauty.
Here's what I saw when I called some houses:
Wellesley Farms District – House in the Woods
The long driveway leading to this 2019 Wellesley Farms Colonial gives visitors ample time to enjoy the idyllic setting. Landscape architect Matthew Cunningham kept the design plan natural, focusing on native shrubs and trees and clumps of ferns that flourish in dappled sunlight. A small grass on the 1.25 acre property shares space with clover and crabgrass. When a bare patch of land appears, grass seeds are thrown to say, “Good luck!” No green grass carpet treatment here. Fertilizer runoff is undesirable in a small front garden pond.
Junior has taken a greener approach to touring this year. Gone are the hundreds of lawn signs that cluttered the city before the Tour. They weren't needed, as tickets sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert. The co-chairs also stopped placing balloons in front of their homes to announce their location. The ticket holder (and her GPS system) was trusted to figure it out.
Wellesley Hills perched on top of a hill
Built on a steep hill in 1876, the four-story building always looked like it had a story to tell. This house was owned by one family for over 50 years until it went on the market in 2022, and was used as an inn/boarding house where the owners lived for over 100 years. The 8k square foot building could easily have been another demolition in Wellesley. But the new owners instead brought a creative spirit and a generous attitude to the quirky single-family home, which sits on a two-thirds acre lot.
The first thing you need to know is that this home is pure fun. The owners of this home are art collectors, which means they keep a collection of matchboxes arranged in glass jars and the family's silver coins tarnished on the top shelf in the corner of the bar. Not. They are interested in high and low messaging. Original contemporary art shares visual space alongside a collection of old and well-worn books. A hand-painted mural on the dining room ceiling is complemented by a whimsical acrylic mannequin wearing only a fur coat and staring out the window at the cityscape. “She always jumps when she sees her,” a club member whispered.
What's next for Junior?
- 5K wonder run The event has been moved from its usual spring date to October 2024. A fun community tradition attracts runners and walkers of all ages.
- Wellesley MarketplaceNovember 23, 2024, at Wellesley High School.
The Juried Best Artisan Gift Show is considered Wellesley's official kickoff to the holiday season. He brings more than 200 shop owners and artists from locally and around the country to his WHS, and 2,500 shoppers browse and purchase. - Wellesley Kitchen and Home TourMay 3, 2025
Interested in joining WHJWC? Learn more about the club.
