Sisk house

From 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, the Athens Ladies Civitan Club will host Bells of Christmas, its sixth annual holiday home tour.

This event, featuring five of Athens’ most elegant homes decorated for Christmas, will be open for self-guided tours. Hostesses will be available at the homes to answer questions. In addition, local caterers will provide samples of holiday fare at four of the houses and April Davis will provide finger foods at her home.

Caterers participating again this year are Chuck and Angie Clark of C&A Catering and Amanda Smith of Endless Catering, both of whom have provided complimentary services since the first year of the tour. Newly catering this year are Kelli Minyard of Sweet Thymes Bakery and Robbin Hines of Ms. B’s Catering.

Tickets are $15 in advance and available at Class Act Salon, Crawford’s Gifts, First National Bank (on U.S. 72), Pam’s Home Furnishings, Pimentos, and Willow Tree. Tickets will be on sale until 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at all outlets, except First National Bank where tickets will be available until 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.

Tickets may also be purchased on Sunday, Dec. 11, at any tour home for $20. Guests who have their tickets stamped at each house and turned in at the end of the tour will be entered into a drawing for door prizes.

The Athens Ladies Civitan Club sponsors this event each year to raise funds to support programs for Limestone County residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For additional information, call Carol Malone at 256-232-2865 or Carolyn Stair at 256-233-0258.

The homes

The Davis Home

16504 Timberlane Drive

Cantera Place

Home of Lance and April Davis

This new 3,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath brick home with basement is located in one of Athens’ newer subdivisions. Furnishings and decor are a mix of rustic and eclectic.

Re-purposed pieces throughout the house, such as salvaged doors, chandeliers and even a bed spring light element will surprise and delight you.

You will also enjoy seeing the beautiful wall colors which April says she selected with no color scheme in mind, but just chose colors that made her happy and also let the children pick out their own colors. Lance is an accountant and the Davises also own Limestone Funeral Home. They moved into the house in March with their son and daughter, Luke and Mackenzie, and two pets, Boo and Bell.

Decorations will be traditional holiday to include a 12-foot tree in the living room. The first floor of the house and the back porch will be open to guests.

Directions: Driving east on U.S. 72, turn north on Lindsay Lane and travel .8 miles, right on Saratoga, left on Timberlane. First house on the right.

The Hood Home

17436 Windermere Drive

Watercress Subdivision

Home of Rene’ & JoAnn Hood

This two-story traditional brick home is located in on the west side of Athens. Rene’, a builder, and JoAnn, a former teacher, built the house 10 years ago as their retirement home and included ideas they had collected over the years of building houses for others.

Throughout the house you will see many unusual features such as bead board on some of the ceilings, red oak cathedral beams in the kitchen and a built-in playhouse and bunk beds in the nursery. Re-purposed wood from JoAnn’s father’s barn is used in an upstairs bath and for triple built-in bunks in a grandchildren’s bedroom.

A bonus room on the second floor is a theatre/game room where the Hoods spend a lot of time with their eight grandchildren.

“I just let them play and have fun and then I clean up,” JoAnn said.

The home also has a back porch, kidney-shaped pool and pool house with a safe room/bath, kitchen, dining area and even a potting nook. The entire house and pool pavilion will be open to guests.

Directions: Driving west on U.S. 72, turn north on Lucas Ferry Road, drive 1.4 miles and turn left on Watercress Drive, right on Windermere. First house on the right.

The McMurry Home

303 N. Briarwood Road

Home of Colin and Caroline McMurry

This impressive Colonial style brick house, built in 1989, is home to newlyweds Colin and Caroline McMurry. Both grew up in Athens and have local jobs — Caroline is a dietitian at Allison Wellness Clinic in Huntsville and Colin is vice president at Cast Products Inc., a company his grandfather Basil Wheeler founded.

The home, with its four bedrooms, four-and-a-half-baths, kitchen and breakfast room, den, living room and dining room features a collection of furniture styles handed down from family and friends, which plays to Caroline’s “old soul” persona, according to mother Betsy Rich Gates. Included is a hand-made cherry four-poster bed and antique mirrors that belonged to Caroline’s grandparents, Carl and Lillian Gates, a guest room furnished with the Gates’ first bedroom suite and another bedroom with vintage twin beds.

The dining room is furnished in French country mahogany and features eight-foot French art panels and a family piano. In contrast, the bonus room, which serves as an office, features photographs and a real Zebra rug from a recent African Safari trip taken with Colin’s family. The entire house and back patio will be open for the tour.

Directions: Driving north on U.S. 31, turn right onto Forrest Street and keep straight past the roundabout onto Nick Davis Road, travel .7 miles and turn left on Briarwood, home is on the left.

The Newby Home

20405 North Mooresville Road

Home of Jerry and Dianne Newby

This two-story Colonial style red brick home with basement, completed in 1994, is a Southern Living house designed by William Poole of Wilmington, North Carolina, who specializes in Southern Living homes. Remodeling in 2008 added a keeping room, covered back porch and patio.

The house, with five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths features Corinthian columns, double front doors and Brazilian cherry wood floors. Transom stained glass windows feature cotton and magnolia designs by artisan Carolyn Lindsay of Athens. Southern magnolia paintings by Jack DeLoney are also distinctive features.

Jerry is a retired president of the Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance and also retired from the family farm, which is now run by his daughter and son, his brother Jimmy and his two sons. Jerry has an impressive display of art depicting cotton and farming scenes by artist Jack DeLoney and football paintings by artist Rick Rush. There is also a display of Shawnee pottery in the kitchen.

The theme for decorations will be “Christmas Memories” and includes a 19-piece nativity set from a trip to the Holy Land. The house and back patio will be open for the tour.

Directions: Driving north on U.S. 31, turn right on Alabama 251 (just past Athens High School), drive 5.1 miles and turn left on Mooresville Road (just past Sardis Springs Baptist), after .7 miles, the house is on a hill on the left.

The Sisk Home

12496 Elmhurst Drive

Carriage Park Subdivision

Home of Thomas and Jennie Sisk

This 5,200-square-foot two-story traditional style house, built by Melvin Workman, was featured in Kitchen Design Magazine.

The house features a French country-style kitchen with a custom designed farm table. There are five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a large back porch and garden with a three-tiered fountain and beautiful statues built into the brick fence.

Tom, superintendent of Limestone County Schools and Jennie, a retired teacher, arrived in Athens about five years ago and enjoy hosting guests in their beautiful home. On the tour you will be able to view Jennie’s Spode and Waterford ornament and figurine collections as well as Snow Babies and Christmas Village Collection with a running train in her upstairs office.

The entryway will welcome you with its 12-foot red and gold Victorian tree and serves as an introduction to the eight other trees on display. Among them will be a Star Trek tree in Tom’s office, a snowman tree, grandmother’s and mother’s trees with antique ornaments, a mother-in-law magnolia tree and cabin trees on the back porch. Some rooms on both floors and the backyard will be open for the tour.

Directions: Driving east on U.S. 72, turn south on Mooresville Road, in 1.7 miles turn right into Carriage Park, left on Elmhurst. House is on the left.