PORT LUDLOW— The homes on the American Association of University Women’s 16th annual Kitchen Tour on Saturday display innovative ways to lay out a kitchen.
And bigger isn’t always better.
“The kitchen is tiny, but it’s all we need,” said Jeanne Joseph, owner of one of the eight Port Ludlow-area homes featured on the self-guided tour “A Day in the Woods by the Bay” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ve used boards for the walls, and the bar was built by a shipwright, so it has a nautical feel.”
Notable design elements in kitchens on the tour “are a remarkable variety of sinks — stainless steel, ceramic, stone and composite granite — and three homes with reclaimed wood flooring,” said Polly Lyle, one of the organizers with the Port Townsend branch of the AAUW.
“The homes on this year’s tour have amazing decks and patios with spectacular views of water and mountains,” she added.
Tickets for the tour are $15. They are available at several outlets in advance or starting at 9:30 a.m. the day of the tour at the Port Ludlow Yacht Club’s hospitality center, 55 Heron Road.
Tickets, also called passports, will include detailed descriptions of the kitchens.
Also offered at the yacht club will be raffle baskets, free light refreshments and kitchen design seminars.
The home at 6 Heron Road, where Jeanne and Peter Joseph live, reflects her Cape Cod upbringing and his Coast Guard career, Lyle said.
“The home is photogenic and includes interesting details such as reclaimed wood flooring, original nautical art and models, Jeanne’s personal design and craft skills,” Lyle said.
“She made the papier-mache figurehead, floor rugs and collaborated with local craftsmen.”
Her kitchen is a result of downsizing, Jeanne Joseph said, her family having moved into the 2,300-square-foot townhome from a larger 3,600-square-foot house six years ago.
“I love everything about this kitchen,” she said.
“It’s not even 6 feet wide, but it functions very well for the kind of cooking we do.”
Jeanne Joseph said she entertains visitors with barbecues, where much of the cooking is done outdoors.
She was wary about the idea of opening her home on the tour and is limiting the number of people who can come in at any one time.
“They had to twist my arm a bit,” she said.
“But I’m glad that I can do something for charity, and if people want to see my little kitchen, that’s OK.”
Through the University Women’s Foundation, AAUW Port Townsend’s nonprofit philanthropic arm, proceeds from this annual event will fund scholarships and education projects benefiting public schools in the Brinnon, Chimacum, Port Townsend and Quilcene school districts.
Proceeds from the Kitchen Tour go to sponsor scholarships and science, technology, engineering and math — or STEM — recognition for high school students, Career Days for eighth-graders, phonics and reading programs for kindergartners and a math program for third-graders.
Advance tickets are available at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand; Dana Pointe Interiors and The Resort at Port Ludlow in Port Ludlow; The Green Eyeshade, Kitchen & Bath Studio, Quimper Mercantile Co. and What’s Cookin’ in Port Townsend; and Over the Fence in Sequim.
For more information, phone 350-302-0571 or visit “Port Townsend Kitchen Tour” on Facebook.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.