courtesy of Palo Alto area mills college club This 1910 Craftsman home, restored and expanded, is one of the cottages open for touring this weekend in the benefit for the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club.

Five remodeled homes in Palo Alto will be open for viewing Friday and Saturday for the 15th Annual Charming Cottages of Palo Alto House Tour, a benefit for the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club’s scholarship fund and alumnae activities.

Tickets are $30 for the tour, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning at 117 Pope St., Menlo Park. The cost of tickets is tax deductible.

One of the tour highlights is a 1910 Craftsman, restored and expanded beyond its original two bedrooms and one bath. The attic became a sewing room, laundry, master bedroom and large bath with limestone counters and glass tile floors. A garage behind the home was designed to resemble the cottage.

The attention to detail is the star in this home, with all light fixtures and switches, diamond-patterned mullioned windows, wallpaper, friezes and stained glass from the period or made-to-order replicas. Upstairs, a diamond pattern in the carpet repeats the motif in the mullioned windows.

There are Douglas fir floors throughout and beamed ceilings in the living and dining rooms. Art deco border wallpaper in the entry is reapted on the walls of the staircase to the second floor. A 4-foot cabinet defines the entry to the living room, which has a stone fireplace that shares a flue with another fireplace in the den behind the wall.

An old pump organ in the living room, a family heirloom that survived a fire, is surrounded by built-in benches.

The large dining room has a table that matches the beamed pattern on the ceiling in size and dimension. The sage kitchen has a restored Wedgewood stove and salvaged stained glass windows from the period.

Susan Skaer was the designer; Steven Borlick, Young and Borlick, the architect; Farrell Co., contractor.

Other homes on the tour are:

• A remodeled ranch with a Spanish theme. The formal living room has 10-foot ceilings and French doors that open onto a patio and yard. Niches provide displays for Spanish-themed artworks in the entry way. A private guest suite has European painted wallpaper and a marble bathroom.

The master bedroom and bath are Hawaiian style, with a koa wood cabinet, tiling in a fish motif and a koa wood cabinet.

Candace Pelissero and Brian Larsen were the designers; John Butterfield, contractor.

• A 1936 home puts a California twist on East Coast tradition. Double-hung windows, coffered ceilings, wainscoting and custom cabinets add interest throughout. The den has gleaming wood paneling and Oriental rugs accent the formal living areas.

The galley kitchen has granite counters and backsplashes, cabinets with bubble glass and a limestone floor. The upstairs is pulled together with various shades of beige, and the master bath features a tub with a marble inlay.

Richard Harmon was the architect and cabinet designer; Ruth Soforenko Associates, interior designer; Mary Gordon, landscape architect; and Gary Morton, contractor.

• A 1940s home boasts a dramatic trilevel ceiling in the family room, which has views through the windows of an exterior wisteria arbor and garden. Large windows brighten the living room and dining room.

White cabinets and counters in the kitchen provide a stunning contrast with black appliances. The master bath is flooded with light from skylights, and the view outdoors from the upstairs loft brings California inside.

Heidi Hansen was the architect; Ruth Soforenko Associates, interior designer; Mary Gordon, landscape architect.

• A contemporary home features slate pavers extending from the exterior into a great room with a two-story ceiling and then outside through folding glass doors to a backyard patio.

Upstairs there is a view of trees from the gallery hallway and a master suite with a balcony and built-in cabinets. There is also a stunning view from the living room.

Robert Peterson Architects Inc. was the architect; Tarlton-Ross, contractor; Willie Lang, Omi Lang Associates, hardscape designer.

For more information, call 325-2990.