There is no doubt that we are a society that loves to ogle over homes and their decor. Our Pinterest pages more than prove that. But what’s better than scrolling through Pinterest for hours or flipping the pages of your favorite home magazines? Getting to go inside those homes and see the details up close, of course! And next Sunday, April 27th you can do just that at the Neighborhoods of Newport House Tour to benefit St. Michael’s Country Day School and the Martin Luther King Junior Center.

This year’s house tour includes seven homes in Newport and Middletown. They are the Commodore William Edgar House, Bellevue House, Ossory House, Hillside, the Isaac Bell House, Wind Shadows, and the newly renovated Paradise Farmhouse at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. The McKim, Mead & White designed Isaac Bell House (above) is architecturally significant and also features one of my favorite ceilings ever. Two words: gold leaf.

And the Peabody and Stearns designed Hillside (above) not only has a beautiful interior, but the grounds also feature more than 100,000 daffodils! However, I have to say that I am most excited to tour Wind Shadows (top). While I typically prefer historic homes, I know from the few pictures I’ve seen of it that this decade old custom home is going to have the balance of farmhouse meets nautical New England shingle style that is going to have me ready to move right in, and I can’t wait to see it in its entirety.

In addition to the homes on this year’s house tour, there will also be a special guest. Famed designer Barclay Butera will be on hand at Paradise Farmhouse from 2 to 5 p.m. for a cocktail reception (cash bar) and book signing of his new book, Getaways and Retreats. Hailing from the other Newport, Newport Beach, CA, Butera’s client list includes celebrities such as Renee Zellweger and Sharon Stone, and his designs are so sought after that he has built an extensive collection of products and partnered with manufactures such as Kravet and Nourison.

The Newport House Tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 27th. You can purchase tickets online, or if you prefer to pay cash or check, you can buy them here at Chateau & Bungalow in store. Tickets are $60 each through April 25 ($75 after) or get a group of four friends together to take advantage of the $50 group rate (it’s more fun to do these tours with friends anyway!). Butera’s new book along with his previous book, Living on the Coast, will be available for purchase as well.