Photograph by Kirk McClelland
WVC student Susan Tharinger Cahill's 1930s Spanish-style bungalow is one of five homes on tour May 7, at the annual Willow Glen Lifestyles home tour.
Commercial design student's home on the Lifestyles tour
Willow Glen houses featured
West Valley College student Susan Tharinger Cahill will do her Saratoga college proud this weekend during the 18th annual Willow Glen Lifestyles event, which takes place on May 7, and features tours through five homes in the quaint San Jose neighborhood--one of them Cahill's.
A student in WVC's commercial design department, Cahill lives in a 1930s Spanish-style bungalow she decorated for modern living, with hints of the Southwest through art she collected when she lived in New Mexico.
Although she is retired from the high-tech field, Cahill has started a second career of adapting old buildings for today's uses. She is doing that with her own home and plans to do it for others in the future.
Willow Glen Lifestyles is in its 18th year. It is a tour of homes that have been imaginatively decorated or enlarged in a neighborhood with many home styles built in a gradually urbanized area.
This year's homes include a Tudor home that was gutted and reconfigured; a bungalow that was greatly expanded into the backyard; a 1950s French country home that was adapted for people with disabilities; and a 6,000 square-foot home built in 1996.
Proceeds from the home tour benefit the San Jose Day Nursery, a nonprofit agency that cares for children and assesses fees on a sliding scale. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 on the day of the event. For more information, call 408.288.9667.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
