When remodeling a kitchen or fantasizing about a renovation, magazines and showrooms are good sources of inspiration. But to get a real sense of what a kitchen looks like, and how it feels and fits into the grander scheme of a home, nothing beats seeing it in person.
Since 2006, the Junior League of Chattanooga has been allowing people to do just that via its annual kitchen tour. Each year, the nonprofit recruits select homeowners who, for one day, open their doors to the public and give people an eyeful of the most stunning kitchens in the city. Featuring work by premiere local designers, the tour has never failed to impress.
Called the Tour du Jour, it’s not free. Rather, patrons are granted admission for a small fee. The League then spends the money it raises on the many programs it supports. Since 94 cents of each dollar goes to charitable endeavors, the event has the potential to do a lot of good throughout Chattanooga.
This year’s Tour du Jour is scheduled to take place April 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. While the League has lined up some striking and original kitchens for people to see, there will be some key differences compared to past outings.
For example, previous excursions have sent people driving great distances across the city to view kitchens. However, this year, the fundraiser will feature a more centralized metropolitan outing. Lesley Moore, who’s led the effort to organize the 2011 tour, says this will make it easier for patrons to see more sites.
“The tour will be more manageable because of the close proximity of the homes. In the past, we’d be in East Brainerd, Harrison, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain and so on. The locations were too spread out, so people wouldn’t drive to all of them,” she says.
As part of its effort to create a more user-friendly tour, the League is also working hard to make sure there will plenty of easily identifiable parking at each site.
The upcoming tour will include stops on Mission Ridge, Main Street, Highland Park, Cherry Street, Riverview Road, Battery Place, Lookout Mountain and more. Since the expedition is self-guided, patrons can start wherever they like and go from there.
“If you live on Lookout Mountain, you can start there,” Moore says. “To get the best experience, though, we recommend starting at our first house and then going through it as we’ve planned. We’ve put a lot of work into mapping out the tour so it’ll go smoothly.”
Moore says some of the locations are “outside the box,” including a condominium overlooking the Tennessee Aquarium and an art gallery on Main Street featuring two kitchens.
The 2011 Tour will feature kitchens by designers whose extraordinary skills have made them some of the most desired home stylists in Chattanooga.
Patrons will have a chance to meet the owners of Against the Grain, Ana Woodworks, Classic Cabinetry, DirectBuy of Chattanooga, Haskell Interiors Design and Scarlett’s Cabinetry, as well as the various vendors who provided the appliances, granite countertops and other components of the kitchens. Visitors will be able to talk with these experts about their handiwork and discuss possibilities for their own homes.
“You might see a home with black cabinets and marble countertops, and decide you’d like to have that combination in your kitchen,” Moore says.
Moore says the hallmark of this year’s tour will be the variety of designs people will be able to see.
“We have a gorgeous century-old French-style house with lots of blue. You’ll be able to contrast that with the commercial kitchen on Main Street, which has lots of chrome and bright red,” she says.
To help people make their way through the tour, on April 1 the League will release a guide containing the locations of the kitchens and driving directions to each one. A list of businesses and other places that will have the handbook in stock will be available on the League’s Web site at jlchatt.org.
The 2011 Tour du Jour will also feature special events at many of its homes, such as the launch of its new cookbook. To be available for $29.95, “Seasoned to Taste” features 200 recipes designed to please the palette throughout the year.
The money the Tour raises will go toward Baby Basics, a program through which the League educates young women who are at risk to have underweight babies. The funds will also support the League’s Mini-Grants, small sums of money the organization gives to teachers who need tools and money to teach a particular lesson. The League also sponsors the Ronald McDonald House, the MCR Foundation and other worthwhile causes.
To purchase tickets for the 2011 Tour du Jour, visit www.jlchatt.org.