For the 21st year, the Reston Museum’s annual Reston Home Tour invites guests to tour seven homes with some of the area’s most stunning architecture and interior design. The tour is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. October 21.
According to the three co-chairs of the Reston Home Tour committee — Debban Dodrill, Mary Miceli, and Stephanie Randall — this tour is designed to do three things:
- Showcase Reston’s beauty and sense of community,
- Give tourgoers inspiration for how they can design their own homes,
- Pay homage to the vision of Robert E. Simon Jr., Reston’s founder.
This event is one of the largest fundraisers for the Reston Museum, and often attracts between 400 and 650 visitors, Dodrill says. The Reston Museum is a community museum focused on the city’s history, future, and culture that also funds the nonprofit Reston Historic Trust.
This year’s theme is “A Style All Their Own,” which highlights homes where the homeowner’s personal design tastes shine through rather than adhering to a run-of-the-mill style.
“They were not afraid to take style chances, and they’re all elegant and interesting and reflect the personalities of the homeowners, but they’re very different,” Dodrill says.
For example, one home, located on Regatta Lane, was designed with the homeowner’s Iranian mother-in-law’s artwork as the primary inspiration, resulting in a highly personalized interior that honors their family history.
The homes on the tour change every year, and the committee says it strives to find homes that represent a diverse range of architectural styles, as well as homes that show off Reston’s lakes and green spaces.
As visitors tour the homes, volunteer docents will be on-site to discuss the architecture and design elements, from the paint colors and flooring to the landscaping. Homeowners or business representatives may be present to share insight.
At one home on Solaridge Court, tourgoers can learn about how the neighborhood uses passive solar energy.
The tour serves to get people thinking creatively about design and inspire them to take some of those ideas home, even if it’s on a smaller scale.
Even if you can’t afford to undergo a full renovation or replicate exactly what you saw on the tour, “it sparks you to go home and just do something,” Miceli says.
Tours are all self-guided and self-paced. Randall estimates that homes take roughly 20 minutes to tour. In addition to seeing these houses, ticketholders have access to a bites and bubbles event at the Lake Anne Coffee House.
Some guidelines are in place to ensure visitors remain respectful of the homes. Children under 10 years old are not permitted, and visitors may be asked to remove their shoes before entering.
Tickets are on sale at the Reston Museum’s website for $35 per person or $30 per person for groups of at least 10. Guests will receive a map and a full list of addresses after purchasing tickets.
Feature image of home on Putter Lane by Bob Haukness
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