Greene & Greene home tour in Pasadena

Gamble House Director Edward Bosley led a sneak peek inside a couple of stops on the Arroyo’s Edge tour, including the Duncan-Irwin House. A Pasadena seamstress moved a cottage to this spot overlooking the Rose Bowl in 1901, and Greene & Greene subsequently expanded the house in ways that will feel familiar to fans of the landmark Gamble House, built later.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

A gnarled old wisteria vine still stands where Greene & Greene added a new entrance to the house.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The living room in the Duncan-Irwin house still has the original Greene & Greene fireplace, clad in rustic outdoor pavers, as well as the original window seat. Alex Carswell and Marie Gauthier, who owns the Pasadena store Revival Antiques, bought the house about five years ago and noted how the current furniture echoes pieces in historical photographs.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The dining room has reproduction lighting that carefully mirrors the house’s original fixture and a table and sideboard that also are nearly identical to the house’s original furnishings.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

A sure crowd-pleaser: The house’s original “annunciator,” a call box that allowed the owners to summon staff.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Leading to the second floor: The finely finished woodwork that is a hallmark of Charles and Henry Greene’s houses.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The blue tile fireplace in one of the upstairs rooms of the Duncan-Irwin House had been surrounded by woodwork painted baby blue. In one of several rounds of restoration over the years, the paint was stripped off but the original blue tile left intact.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Owner Marie Gauthier looks out toward the balcony ringing the house’s biggest surprise: a fully enclosed central courtyard, a rarity for Greene & Greene houses.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The courtyard is one reason why house interiors have more natural light than what visitors might be used to seeing in Craftsman homes. It also dramatically improves air circulation in the house and provides an easy shortcut from one wing to another.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Owner Alex Carswell standing at the second-floor balcony overlooking the courtyard.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Detail of furnishings in one of the bedrooms. The couple have decorated the house with a mix of antiques and American Indian art – a nod to Indian influences in the architecture, including in Greene & Greene’s choice of tile for the master bedroom fireplace.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

A chessboard in the living room.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Gauthier’s store actually specializes in Spanish Revival antiques, so the period furnishings in her own home represent something of a change of pace. Rooms mix authentic Craftsman furniture with the couple’s personal passions. A small bedroom on the ground floor has American Arts & Crafts lighting and antique Chinese artwork on the wall.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Clawfoot baths reign throughout the house.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Another house on the April 22 tour is the Van Rossem-Neil House, for which the Greenes started construction in 1903 and altered in 1906 for a new owner. The house begins to make its statement along the sidewalk with green glazed ceramic tile set in the charming wall constructed with stone and clinker brick.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The green tile appears again in the front of the house, where the dining area and living room are located.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The view from the dining area, looking toward the living room.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Owner Gwen Whitson pointed out the varied widths of the original ceiling beams. Whitson said a tour of the Gamble House in the mid-1980s sparked her and her husband’s interest in Craftsman homes. A year later, they bought the Van Rossem-Neil house.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Some homes on the tour are examples of historic preservation; others are case studies in how owners have tried to reconcile past additions or the desire for more functional kitchens and baths while trying to honor the architectural history. In the Van Rossem-Neil House, the current owners left stained glass added by previous residents and used a table and benches with long family history. The door leads to a terraced, elm-shaded garden with pool, koi pond and what is believed to be some the original Greene & Greene hardscaping.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

Back outside, more of the green ceramics in a gate. Homes on the Arroyo’s Edge tour will be open noon to 5 p.m. April 22, 2012 with last entry at 4 p.m. The event is self-guided, so participants can visit the houses in any order. All stops are in the Park Place neighborhood, within walking distance of the Gamble House. General admission is $85; children younger than 12 are $50. Proceeds benefit the Gamble House. Tickets can be purchased online until 9 a.m. Sunday; they also can be purchased at will call, the Avery Dennison parking lot on West Walnut Street, east of Orange Grove Boulevard. (626) 793-3334, Ext. 52.

More news and events: L.A. at Home

More home tours: Homes of the Times archive

Whitson said she and her husband wanted to make previous owners’ additions to the back of the the Van Rossem-Neil House more functional, so a remodel about 15 years ago led to an expanded kitchen and reoriented butler’s pantry, study and bathroom.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)