Tour charm houses

The 35th annual Village Laguna Charm House Tour will be held in South Laguna this year and includes six homes: three “charmers,” a very contemporary home, an oceanfront home and the Rust House, where owners Paul and Jan Muñoz collaborated with architect Ted Wells, past president of the Society of Architectural Historians.

The tour will be staged beginning at noon from the Rust House, which is next door to South Coast Medical Center at 31872 Coast Highway.

Buses will start from the Rust House, circulate among the homes and return. The last bus departs at 3:30 p.m., and homes are closed for viewing at 6 p.m.

The tour cannot accommodate children or those requiring handicapped-accessibility. Buses transport participants to each home, but walking and stair-climbing are required.

High-heeled shoes and the use of cameras or cellphones inside the homes are not permitted. The tour normally takes two to three hours to complete.

The Rust House got its name from the fact that a number of walls are made from huge sheets of rusted steel. This environmentally friendly home uses recycled or recyclable materials.

The oceanfront Old Ivy Cottage is a step back in time, with “outdoor” rooms in specially designed white tents overlooking the ocean.

The House of Light is the home of local architect Horst Noppenberger and his interior designer wife, Arianna. The contemporary home integrates into the natural site.

The three Laguna “charmers” are small, quaint, historic homes. One is the Hidden Garden House, where two professors live in Robinson Crusoe-style.

Next door, Our Homey Home is a trip back to the 1960s, when the neighborhood was full of hippies.

The home sports a gingerbread front door, eclectic-designed fireplace and artists’ niches.

Seaside Dream is a tiny home nestled under a 100-year-old, 100-foot-tall pine tree, filled with recycled and found objects.

Charm House Tour tickets are $38 each pre-sale and $45 on the day of the event, if tickets are available.

Tickets can be purchased at Coast Pet Supplies and the UPS Store in North Laguna; at the Copy & Print Center, Fawn Memories, Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Hotel Laguna, Rock Martin Custom Jewelry, and Silver Images in downtown Laguna, and at other locations.

Tickets may also be purchased by mailing a check to Village Laguna, P.O. Box 1309, Laguna Beach, CA 92652 or online at www.VillageLaguna.org. Parking suggestions and additional information may be obtained by calling (949) 472-7503.

Village Laguna is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to promoting community values and supporting leaders that preserve and protect the unique village character of Laguna Beach.”