Home&Real Estate
Home Front PRETTY EDIBLES ... Rosalind Creasy, author of “The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping,” will talk about “Now You Can Have a Beautiful Garden and Eat It Too!” on Saturday, May 28, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Common Ground Education Center, 559 College Ave., Palo Alto. Topics include an A-to-Z list of edible plants, an overview of edible landscapes and principles of landscape design special for edibles. Cost is $31. Information: 650-4936072 or http://ediblelandscapingbeautifully.eventbrite.com/ WHERE’S THE LETTUCE? ... Yannette Fichou Edwards will teach a cooking class on “Salads ... Where Is the Lettuce?” on Tuesday, May 31, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Room 103 of Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. Menus include such lettuce-less recipes as Santa Fe black bean, corn and red bell pepper salad; Asian rice salad with peas and shrimp; and garbanzo-bean salad. Those with lettuce include the Panzanella Italian Salad with spinach, feta and torn rustic Italian bread. The class includes demonstration, participation and sampling. Cost is $50. Information: 650-329-3752 or www.paadultschool.org. DOCENT-LED TOURS ... Guided tours of the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, including buildings and gardens, are available Monday through Friday for groups of eight to 50. Cost is $10 per person, with a minimum charge of $80. Information: 650-329-1356 or admin@ gamblegarden.org, four weeks in advance to schedule a date, time and docent. CLEAN THE CREEK ... San Francisquito Creek workdays are planned on Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through May. Groups are limited to 15. Projects range from native-plant installation to trash pickup. Information: Arnie Thompson at arniet@acterra.org. RESTORE HABITAT ... On the second and fourth Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers work with Acterra to restore habitat at the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve (1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto) and local creeks. Gloves, tools, snacks and training are provided. Tasks include removing invasive plants, collecting seeds, spreading mulch and planting native grasses. Volunteers are asked to wear long sleeves and long pants and bring a hat and reusable water bottle. Information: www.acterra.org/ stewardship. N Send notices of news and events related to real estate, interior design, home improvement and gardening to Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or e-mail cblitzer@ paweekly.com. Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m.
OPEN HOME GUIDE 54
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When WORK is
Y PLA ARCHITECTS CREATE PLAYHOUSES THAT CAN BE CASTLES OR BIRGE CLARK KNOCKOFFS photographs by Veronica Weber story by Carol Blitzer
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he little kid lurking in local architects’ psyches became visible early this month, when 15 of their kid-sized playhouses went on display at Stanford Shopping Center. You can see them through June 11. The imaginative structures will be auctioned off June 4 at a gala “Dreams Happen” benefit for Rebuilding Together Peninsula, a nonprofit that rehabilitates homes and community facilities for low-income individuals. Since 1989, the group has worked on more than 1,000 homes in northern Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, as well as nearly 300 community facilities, with the help of close to 80,000 volunteers. This year’s playhouses include a science lab, a pirate ship, a firehouse, a colorful “Oblique House” and a variety of more traditional home designs, from Tudor to a Cotswold Cottage. Some incorporate slides, ladders, climbing walls or ropes, ramps or even a rooftop terrace. One playhouse located in front of Bloomingdale’s, called the (f)un.box, was envisioned by Ana Williamson, Libby Raab and Eric Asato of the firm Ana Williamson Architect in Menlo Park. Planning and design began six months ago. The playhouse was constructed by Mediterraneo Design Build of Menlo Park, with materials and skills donated — from lumber and roofing to engineering. Their thinking began with a basic question, Raab said: “What do kids love?” Many of the past playhouses were “miniature versions of a house. Some are gender specific. We wanted to appeal to girls and boys, young and old,” she added. And when the kids grow up, the playhouse can evolve into a “shoffice,” what Williamson defined (continued on page 43)
Among the 15 playhouses to be auctioned at the Dreams Happen fundraiser on June 4 (and on display through June 11) are (clockwise, from top) “Blue Marauder,” designed by Winges Architects, Inc.; Casita del Sol, designed by Gary J. Ahern, AIA; and “Creekside Cottage,” designed by Pacific Peninsula Architecture. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓÇ]ÊÓ䣣ÊU Page 41