2025 Cottages, Gardens, and Cantatas
Cottages, Gardens & Cantatas, the Carmel Bach Festival’s home tour, invites you to experience the charm of five unique homes in Carmel. Each home offers something special, from a cozy “treehouse” overlooking Pescadero Canyon, filled with artifacts and artwork collected over six decades, to a beautifully remodeled childhood home. Discover the whimsical mosaic art of one homeowner, admire the architectural significance of a mid-century modern gem, and step inside a Christmas-themed chalet nestled in the pines. As you tour, talented young musicians from the community will perform in some of the homes.
Below you will find all of the day-of information you need to know about the event.
Questions or Concerns?
Please call the festival office at 831-624-1521.
How to Find the Homes
These homes are located on the North side of Ocean Avenue and into the Carmel Woods. Three of the homes are within walking distance of each other (#'s 3,4, and 5) along scenic trails and streets, while the other two require a short drive. You can either view the homes on the map to the right or add them to Google Maps on your phone by clicking the button below.
About Each Home
#1: Gulati/Cicoletti Home
24620 Upper Trail at the intersection of Lower Trail
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM - Petrocelli Sisters
Sophie Petrocelli (Violin) & Sora Petrocelli (Viola)
Coming from a family of artists and creative talent, this house is filled with unique treasures from mosaic birdhouses and other mosaics to many of the paintings as well as the varied craft applications seen in every room. It will take a while to absorb it all!
This home was built in 1951 and was one of the first three homes in this neighborhood—starting as a small home with an addition that pushed it out toward the back garden in the 1950s and an upstairs master suite addition in the 1990s. The current owners have lived here just over two years making it their own with wallpaper, paint and their vast, eclectic collections.
The home boasts three fireplaces, light-filled spaces looking out to the private gardens and a master suite that overlooks both the living room and the gardens below.
Take your time to enjoy each room and the many whimsical mosaics in the gardens. Docents have many things to point out!
#2: The Old-to-New Cottage
North side of 3rd between Monterey and Hatton
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM - String Quartet
Emily Kim (Violin), Kevin Li (Violin), Sora Petrocelli (Viola), & Fuyu Meyer (Cello)
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM - String & Flute Trio
JoAnna Lee (Flute), Elise Yi (Violin), Emily Kim (Violin)
This ranch-style home was built on its ¼ acre lot in 1947 and has been in the same family since 1954. The owner grew up in this home and attended Carmel schools. Returning to the home upon retirement the couple wanted to modernize and upgrade it while retaining its cottage character; they just moved in this past winter.
With careful, thoughtful planning less than 500 square feet was added—pushing out the primary bedroom wall and adding space beside the kitchen. The remodel accommodates their heritage antiques purchased early in their marriage while living in Ohio.
Note the knotty pine in the hallway harking to the original that was throughout much of the home. You may want to pay attention to the details of the primary bath that will help this couple age in place. And, the guest room can readily become a caretaker space in that the outside entrance has been retained—though not used now.
The addition was made to match the original home in several small, significant ways with new doors to match the original, same tongue and groove flooring and saving such things as the old built-in ironing board. However, the couple was not interested in making the heating system match for only the living room was heated prior to the remodel.
Twenty-five different paint colors were used throughout. This fact is not one you might notice, but you will notice the serene beauty of the home and the care and detail throughout all 1,926 square feet of this cottage.
#3: Pine Gates
5 North of 1st on the east side of San Carlos
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM - Violin & Cello Duo
David Elyoussoufi (Cello) & Aimee Hoensbroech (Violin)
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM - String Trio
Ella Mikus (Violin), Sienna Webster (Viola), Nelson Liu (Cello)
Pine Gates is the apt name of this small chalet-style cottage. Certainly, there are pines all around and the owner of the property where this home now stands was named Amelia Gates. She gave the land to her cousin Lore Wurzmann, who moved the house to this location in 1941.
But, this home has a longer history than that dating back to about 1929. Originally it was a building in the business district of Carmel and housed a restaurant, Ella’s Southern Kitchen. Just imagine this home being rolled up the hill to be placed on its new foundation! Not knowing better the foundation was made with beach sand which can accelerate erosion. So, the foundation was replaced just last year.
The current owner has lived here since 1972 and purchased it from Lore Wurzmann’s brother, Fritz, adding to the bedroom soon after moving in; now this small home has space for an office area, space to practice the cello and space for a bed. When considering it’s purchase friends cautioned him; others encouraged him and thus came the phrase describing this little treasure: It’s horrible; it’s adorable! The home sits on two lots of record with the garage on one lot and the house beside it. There is a rental studio upstairs with its own entrance overlooking the extensive back yard.
As you enter you can imagine the great room being the restaurant. The kitchen is quite large for its time—appropriate for preparing many meals each day. Enjoy the eclectic collection of art throughout the home. You may notice many nods to Santa Claus; the owner owns two Santa suits and has been a jolly addition to many holiday events over the years. He has even written a book about his Santa experiences.
#4: Hill House
Hill House is three homes north of 4th Avenue on Lopez
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM - The Chang Sisters
Emma Chang (Cello) & Abby Chang (Violin)
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM - Dueling Cellos
Fuyu Meyer (Cello) & Yuki Meyer (Cello)
Henry Hill studied architecture at UC Berkeley in the 1930’s and then attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he studied under Walter Gropius, the founder of the famous Bauhaus School of Design and known to be the father of modern architecture. Hill was invited to be part of a five-person architecture exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan in 1943. He built this home as a weekend cottage in Carmel in 1960, becoming a full time resident by the late 1960s. He expanded the home in 1968 and again in 1971. This home is one of “The Three Sisters” homes on Lopez. Next door is the Kruze home which is still lived in by descendants of Hill’s builder, Walter Kruze. Hill House has been featured in Dwell, Architectural Digest and other architecture magazines throughout the years. Note the book in the living room showcasing the original home.
The current owners remodeled in 2020 to open the kitchen to the small dining area and give the kitchen access to the great room, making it a small but workable area for two. They moved the blue Dalle do verre glass from the kitchen corner so that it would be a more prominent feature, reflecting light no matter how cloudy the day.
Note the various Dalle de verre glass installations as you look above you in the dining area and as you look up the stairs to the primary suite from the office. See it also between the bricks, reflecting fire light around the hearth.
The office is now filled with light due to opening it to the glass wall that looks over the guest bedroom below. Making your way to the downstairs area, much of which was dirt in 2020, there is a guest bedroom as well as plenty of room for working out and for creative woodworking.
Henry Hill loved this home. Evidence of that is everywhere but nowhere more so than as you exit from the back yard and view the mural he painted here in 1971 with the sun (a spotlight) shining directly down upon Hill House.
#5: LIBERTÉ
Liberté is at the west corner of 2nd Avenue and North Casanova Streets
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM - Flute Solo
Meya Lin (Flute)
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM - Solo Guitar
Daniel Matchain (Guitar)
This diminutive one-bedroom tree house is filled with treasures from a lifetime of travel. At the same time it reminds the owners of their earlier life in the Northwest with vistas from every room of trees, birds and wildlife.
Originally just 600 square feet an addition was made that added a dining room, stairway and upstairs primary suite—more than doubling the space. The addition included adding insulation!
The walls of the living room are devoted to remembrances of their trips: The north wall boasts a pen and ink drawing from Tiananmen Square, gifted to them by the artist. The fireplace wall features an art piece on papyrus from Egypt. To protect it, it is encased in plexiglass and floats. Mayan pottery collected by a great uncle in Mexico in the 1920s is on shelving next to the fireplace. The south wall has a diminutive carving of giraffes from Africa. Not to be left bare the west wall houses a collection of beautiful treasures including the owner’s mother’s champagne flutes used at her wedding. There is also an ivory tusk carved with elephants—many of the artifacts in this home would not be legal today but were collected many, many years ago.
The kitchen tiles were hand painted by a Carmel Valley artist. Note Carmel Valley in the tiles over the sink and the ocean above the stove; both paintings feature the wildflowers of the Monterey Peninsula. The dining room is part of the addition that doubled the size of the home.
The upstairs suite houses a master bath with a sunny, private deck. Above the mirrors is baleen from a bowhead whale. The sitting area within the master suite has a wall of art from Alaska and another featuring artifacts from Africa. With a walk-in closet and serene outlooks, this space is indeed an oasis.