Bone China, Lace and Brew Velvet

On Sunday afternoons, would-be Victorians follow the social conventions of the past with low voices and appreciative sighs while sipping Darjeeling tea at the McCharles House in Old Town Tustin.

Enjoying heart-shaped scones and briar-rose preserves with their tea, they forget about 20th-Century tussles with computers and VCRs and slip back in time. The weekly affair evokes a period when houses had crackling fireplaces, whistling kettles and bone china cups ready to be filled.

D.L. McCharles built this two-story home for his family in 1885, decorating it with velvet lounges, tasseled lamps, garland swags and cabbage-rose wall coverings.

The current owners, restaurateurs Audrey and Vivian Heredia, restored the Victorian a decade ago, returning it to its original elegance with mint green paint, white trim and scalloped shingles.

In the garden, vines hang over an arbor, creating a colorful archway into the garden, enclosed by a white picket fence. The grounds are lush with foxglove, honeysuckle and hollyhock so familiar in English gardens.