willo historic home tour

Phoenix, like most of the southwest region, underwent a major urban sprawl boom in the early 90’s – resulting in hundreds of new developments of planned communities stretching to every corner of the Valley. Few neighborhoods exist today in this city that have been around for longer than 50 years, and our hood Willo is one of them. In fact, some of the homes have been around close to 100 years!

Each year, a handful of homeowners open their doors for the annual Willo Historic Home Tour. Last weekend marked the event’s 25th anniversary and my husband and I put our home up to be on the tour. With the amount of blood, sweat, tears and cold hard cash that went into this bad boy, we thought what better venue to show off our humble abode.

The tour includes a Twilight Tour the day before the event opens to the public. This gives neighbors, friends and family a chance to tour the fifteen or so homes prior to the general public the following day. The Twilight Tour brought in about 500 people, a small group compared to the 4,000 that toured the following day!

The event isn’t just about the homes though, with a dozen food trucks and a large variety of local arts and crafts dealers – all with a live band to boot! Lucky for us the rain clouds stayed at bay and we had a beautiful brisk day.

Not since my wedding day have my cheeks hurt so much from all the smiling – thanks to all the compliments and kind words from touring Phoenicians. My cheeks weren’t the only thing hurting, as was my voice from answering so many great questions about the home! I thought I would post a list of the most asked questions with links and resources for those inquiring minds.

1.  Wow! We love your art, especially the piece over the couch and in the dining area. Where did you get them?

• Both pieces were painted by my very talented father-in-law and mother-in-law. We’ve “commissioned” them for a few things in different homes over the years and each piece they continue to impress. For more information on how to contact them for a print or painting, contact my husband at btoliver@gmail.com.

2.  Cool paint colors! Do you remember what they are called?

• Indeed I do! Living room: Colonnade Gray from Sherwin Williams, Master Bedroom: March Wind from Sherwin Williams, Exterior of home: Utterly Beige from Sherwin Williams, Nursery: Cloudless from Dunn Edwards

3.  What kind of tile is in the kitchen and sunroom?

• It’s a ceramic/porcelain tile called linen. I don’t recall what retail outlet we purchased it through, but Daltile makes it. Here’s a link where you can find it – but shop around for the best price!

4.  Who did all the trim work in the house? Baseboards, door casings, window casings and that cool built-in bookcase?

• That would be my dad, the main contractor on our renovation! I’m a little bias, but think that he is pretty talented. To reach Chuck directly, shoot him an email at cdd2727@gmail.com and tell him Summer sent you!

5.  Are those new windows? Where did you purchase them?

• They are new, and we purchased them at Freelight – talk to Chip.

6.  Sweet mailbox, where did you get it?

• Sorry on that one, no clue! It was a gift from my father.

7. Is this real marble (on the kitchen counter tops)?

• Yes it is, but buyer beware on this delicate material for the kitchen. Read more about our thoughts on the marble in our kitchen post.

8.  Are the wood floors original? They are in such good shape!

• They are! Check our our post on refinishing wood floors here where we link to Vinny at Master of Wood Floors. He’s the best!

9. Where did you get those cute superhero prints in the nursery?

• Aren’t they adorable! Check out our post on the nursery for links to all the artwork. 

10. Finally, where did you get your front door and interior doors?

• We got them from AZ Door and Trim, also called the Door and Trim Store. Link can be found on our home page.

A huge thanks to the home tour committee members, all our rad neighbors and of course the people that paid good money to come check out our homes. It was such an amazing day and really made us so proud of all the hard work we’ve done on the house. Since Willo has no HOA fees, all money raised goes into our general fund for neighborhood upkeep and special projects. While we’re so glad we volunteered to be on the tour this year, next year you can find us sitting on our front porch sipping an adult beverage, reading a book, with our front door closed….at least for a little while.

For more information about Willo and the Home Tour – http://www.willohistoricdistrict.com