Seven homes on River Lane, Alexandrine and Law streets will be featured during the 30th Dearborn Symphony Hour Tour May 21.
By Gretchen Ackermann
DEARBORN — Dan Davis, an award winning interior designer, will add his expertise to the 30th Dearborn Symphony Home Tour with a presentation, “Bridging the Gap,” at the Dearborn Country Club, 800 N. Military.
The hour-long session begins at 9:30 a.m. the day of the tour, May 21. (There is a $10 charge and limited seating. Phone reservations are being taken by the Dearborn Symphony Office at (313) 565-2424).
Keeping his clients in mind, Davis uses his talents to create an entire lifestyle for them based on many design aspects, ranging from interior gardens, table settings, floral design, food, wine and overall décor.
His design work has been featured in Detroit newspapers and several magazines. His skills also include custom furniture design. Home Tour attendees will have an opportunity to see his unique designs and tastes when they visit the home of Leslie and Kevin Cardwell on River Lane, one of seven homes featured on the Tour, in the historic Riverbend neighborhood, west of Military and south of Cherry Hill in west Dearborn.
“Dan Davis chooses fibers, fabrics and designs to please his clients’ tastes,” said Leslie Cardwell, who has some of Davis’ works of art in her home. Henry Ford’s sister, Katherine Ruddiman, once lived in the home.
Many of the other homes on the tour also have been updated and redecorated. Built 81 years ago, two of the homes were built for Henry Ford’s chief engineer and chief chemist, under Ford’s guidance to reflect some of his personal tastes seen in his Ford Fair Lane mansion, including rich imported wood, local wood, unique trims and moldings, as well as Pewabic tile accents.
Friends of the Dearborn Symphony are hosts of the Home Tour, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 21, which includes live music at the houses, and an optional lunch at the Dearborn Country Club between noon and 3 p.m. Featured again on the buffet is the J.L. Hudson Maurice Salad, other salads, soups and dessert, all for $15.
Vendors will be nearby displaying and selling paintings, antiques, jewelry, costumes and Symphony Store items, as well as birdbath feeders and concrete planters.
Early bird tickets for the tour are $13, and can be purchased at local retail outlets, by mail order, or online at www.dearbornsymphony.org/HomeTourTickets. For details, email [email protected] or call the Dearborn Symphony office at (313) 565-2424.
Tickets purchased the day of the tour are $15 at the Country Club, which is the Home Tour headquarters, where a courtesy shuttle bus and free parking also are available to transport people from home to home along River Lane, Alexandrine and Law streets.
“The historic influence and beauty of the unique homes makes this one of the more interesting Symphony Home Tours in 30 years,” said Carla O’Neill, co-chairwoman of the event with Margaret Schaefer.
All proceeds from the designer presentation, the tour and lunch benefit Dearborn Symphony concerts, scholarships and other youth music programs.
Dearborn Symphony Home Tour
When: Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Riverbend neighborhood, homes along River Lane, Alexandrine and Law streets.
Admission: Tickets are $13 in advance (at retail outlets, mail order or online at www.dearbornsymphony.org/hometourtickets) or $15 the day of the tour at the Dearborn Country Club, 800 N. Military.
Miscellaneous: Lunch at the Dearborn Country Club ($15). Designer Dan Davis’ “Bridging the Gap” presentation ($10), at DCC. For tickets, call the Dearborn Symphony office, (313) 565-2424.
For more information: Email [email protected] or call the Dearborn Symphony office, (313) 565-2424.