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Guest Column: Home Tour Benefits Charities

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By VICKI BUTLER Special To The Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2008

BRANDON - Three local families are busy dusting the mantels, decking the halls and preparing to welcome a gaggle of holiday guests.

Each year, the Brandon Service League holds a Holiday Home Tour to benefit local charities and community service organizations such as Everyday Blessings, the Emergency Care Help Organization and the American Cancer Society.

The tour features three beautiful Brandon-area homes, each custom-decorated for the holidays and generously opened to the public.

Tour guests experience an old-fashioned holiday gathering and enjoy refreshments as they are guided through each home while service league members share stories about the homeowners' holiday traditions and treasured decorations. The league also offers gourmet, home-baked treats for sale and the opportunity to win spectacular holiday baskets brimming with gifts and seasonal items.

Here is a peek at the homes on this year's tour:

The Cox Residence

By participating in the tour this year, Monica Cox continues her Tennessee family's tradition of opening their home to the community during the holiday season. Cox and her husband, Dave - high school sweethearts originally from Lenoir City, Tenn. - have created a home in River Hills that radiates Southern charm and genuine coziness. The rooms, decorated in warm and colorful tones, each are adorned with a unique Christmas tree that reflects the room's theme. From the handcrafted furniture and needlework to the fanciful snowmen and Santas found throughout the home, each space abounds with holiday spirit and delight.

The Etherington Residence

Scott and Chris Etherington will open their River Hills golf course home to this year's tour-goers. Chris Etherington is an interior designer, and a designer's touch is evident throughout the home. There are European design features, beautiful hand-painted stenciling and unique, funky collectors' items. Soft, blue tones and crisp, white accents throughout the house give it a clean, country cottage appeal. A decorator's dream, this elegant and comfortable home provides visitors with many imaginative design ideas for the holiday season and beyond.

The Matheson Residence

Like a page out of "Architectural Digest," the third home on the tour, owned by John and Ellen Matheson, is striking. The couple's 5,950-square-foot family home in FishHawk Trails is decorated with elegant Christmas trees, hand-crafted quilts and Dickens' Village Christmas houses from Department 56. The Mathesons put their large double ovens to work each holiday season to bake 3,500 cookies for friends and family throughout the country. Lovely gardens surround the home and compliment its natural beauty and park-like setting.

TAKE THE TOUR

WHAT: 16th annual Brandon Service League Holiday Home Tour

WHEN: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Dec. 13

WHERE: Three Brandon area homes in River Hills and FishHawk Trails

COST: Tickets are $12 and sold in advance at The Green Boutique, 1014 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico; The Pamper Stop, 146 Robertson St., Brandon; Bella Garden, 5664 FishHawk Crossing Blvd., Lithia; the office of B. Lee Elam, 101 Lumsden Road, Brandon; and Divine Designs Salon & Spa, 1606 Oakfield Drive, Brandon.

INFO: Contact Sandy Wehrung at flwehrung@prodigy.net or (813) 657-9050.

Vicki Butler is an officer with the Brandon Service League.

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