The 31st annual Episcopal Day School Candlelight Tour of Homes will be held Sunday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 6 p.m. This year's tour features five homes in Pinehurst, each uniquely decorated for the holiday season. Talented local musicians will be entertaining in the residences.

New to the tour this year is the Episcopal Day School's "Gingerbread Land," which will be open that day from 1 to 2:30 only, in the Emmanuel Episcopal Church parish hall. Ticket holders will be treated to music and art by the EDS students, and 16 handmade gingerbread houses made by the students will be displayed. Light refreshments will be provided.

Julie Sanford's Longleaf Cottage, located in Old Town Pinehurst, is one of the homes in this year's tour. Built around 1920, the cottage was originally named Craven Cottage, after the Craven family, the original owners. Sanford, an established interior designer, has done architecturally-sensitive remodeling, to preserve the flair and integrity of the original design.

"It's old, imperfect, charming, and will remain true to its age," says Sanford.

Entering through the picket fence gate, the walkway leads to the gothic-arched, leaded glass, front doors. In the foyer, the sun dapples through the original glass panes, lighting up the cheerful, aqua walls and unexpected checkerboard flooring.

The main living areas gracefully house antiques and one-of-a-kind pieces that Sanford has acquired from her extensive world travels and her time spent living in Woodstock, Vt., Boston, Nantucket, and St. Barths in the French West Indies. Her love of design and art is evidenced in her collections of American folk art, contemporary paintings, antique furnishings, and quilts, artfully, displayed around the cottage.

In the parlor, camphor wood sea captains' chests, a barley-twist console from the late 1800s and an elm English "drunkard's chair" from the late 1700s, anchor the room. On display are Staffordshire miniature castles, circa 1850, and Etruscan Majolica from the late 1800s. Also displayed are an interesting collection of wooden boxes including an American prison art box, a puzzle box, a matchstick box, American and English marquetry boxes, and a Black Forest box from Germany, circa 1870.

Flanking the custom-designed mantle is a collection of turquoise and green candlesticks, representing the time Sanford spent in the Caribbean. A painting of Nantucket's Pulpit Harbor by Elizabeth Congdon and another painting by Canadian-based artist and metal worker Laszlo Buday dress the walls.

The dining room is home to an antique trestle table, an American braided rug, and an ornate Indonesian buffet. A boxed mariner's compass quilt in greens and yellows hangs on the wall. More treasures are found in Sanford's office. Kasia Baker original paintings, a paper quilt by renowned Nantucket artist Mellie Cooper, Indonesian Garuda bird art, Carlton Ware, electrified kerosene fond lamps, and a number of American folk art pieces elegantly mix together in the lively office space.

Rounding the corner into the sun-filled reading room, Edith Lunt Small art and a Steiff stuffed toy collection are nestled together unassumingly. Black and white dcor and gingham make an impressive statement. Plans for the adjoining kitchen, which Sanford designed, call for creamy tones splashed with vibrant reds and orange, offset with stainless and black.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is soft and feminine, washed in light pink and white. The bedroom suite, from the late 1800s, gives the room substance. Next door, in the guest room, the dcor is more energized, with greens and yellow. An art deco- inspired bedspread provides a punch of color.

For the holidays, the home will be decorated with a white-lit, natural Christmas tree, heirloom pieces, natural greens, and traditional elements, it promises to be an invitation to the senses. Sanford says that the design will be "an eclectic mlange of things that represent the spirit of Christmas."

Other homes on the tour are in Pinewild Country Club, National Golf Club, Fairwoods on Seven and Forest Creek Golf Club. Tickets for the 31st Annual Candlelight Tour are available for $20 at the door or in advance from any Episcopal Day School student, the school office, At Home, The Country Bookshop, Gulley's Garden Center, Nature's Own/195 Restaurant, Cool Sweats, and Lady Bedford's Tea Parlour.

Group sales are available online at www.episcopalday.org.

For more information, call Episcopal Day School at 692-3492.