By Marilyn M. Grube

Special to The Pilot

For the 18th year, the Moore County Extension and Community Association (ECA) will sponsor the "Kitchens . . . and Moore" home tour as a benefit for the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina Inc. and other area youth groups.

This year's tour will be held on Thursday, Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The benefit tour provides the opportunity to view six private homes and to sample tastings from local restaurants and food providers. Participating will be Lloyd Allen and Diane Anello, of Pinewild, paired with Sandhills Farm to Table and chef Maggie Gartman of Specialty Cafe and Market; Bob and Arlene Knapp, also of Pinewild, matched with Elliott's on Linden; Tom and Kathleen Oleson, of CCNC, joined by The Sly Fox; a home village of Pinehurst, complemented by The Fresh Market; Dale and Linda DeBrine, of Seven Lakes West, and Green Gate Gourmet, the expansion of Green Gate Olive Oil; and, Sonya and Tim Koehler, of Seven Lakes West, with tastings provided by the Bonefish Grill.

The newly constructed home of Lloyd Allen and Diane Anello sits gracefully upon a hill in Pinewild. Lloyd and Diane engaged Yates Hussey as their builder, Michelle Gowan as their interior decorator and Reaves Landscaping for the hardscape and plantings. Coming from Alexandria, Va., the couple assured that everything about their home speaks of Southern hospitality, warmth and good cheer.

Envision a plantation-style brick home painted yellow with almost black shutters and white trim. Add a generous veranda that stretches the length of the front of the house and brick stairs wide enough for a marching band and grace it with ferns. Then, embellish the exterior with a multitude of sconces and a path light in the form of bronze and glass pineapples. The pineapples, enduring icons of a glad welcome, say it all.

It is easy to see that the home is designed for entertaining. The foyer leads to a coffered great room, which has floor-to-ceiling sliding doors opening to a spacious screened porch overlooking a bluestone patio.

Lloyd is the family chef, going back to his days as a short-order cook in the Army, so the manly kitchen in the heart of the house is all his.

It is jammed with the finest models of appliances available, partly due to his long association with Ferguson Enterprises. Behind the eggshell cabinets are the Sub-Zero refrigerator, the Wolf range, double ovens and a warming drawer, two Miele dishwashers, two sinks, including one with a chrome industrial faucet. The granite and the limestone tiles are neutral, accented by heavy oil-rubbed bronze hardware.

On the granite bar, Maggie Gartman, the chef of the Specialty Cafe & Market on Broad Street, will serve a taste of chilled peach soup, using fresh local peaches provided by Sandhills Farm to Table.

Gartman is a graduate of the natural chef program at Central Carolina Community College and is known for her focus on proper nutrition and bringing farm-fresh ingredients to the kitchen. Sandhills Farm to Table will have a sample box of fall produce and flyers explaining how the co-op operates.

Diane's design objectives throughout the house were to maintain a casual feel and to affect mood through the cheerful use of color. A rainbow of harmonious hues travels throughout, generally of the same intensity, except for the dining room's vivid Chinese red.

Colors were frequently selected to complement an extraordinary )riental or modern carpet, but occasionally to complement a collectible piece of furniture, such as the forest green of the jade stones found in the lacquered Chinese chest located in the forest green powder room.

In this home, art commands attention. Diane explains her collection as largely related to her travels in her work as a meeting planner for the Aspen Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based international think-tank fostering leadership and dialogue through seminars and conferences. Many of her pieces were purchased from street vendors.

Visitors will see lotus blossoms from China, a dancer from Istanbul, street scenes from Krakow, Poland, Japanese etchings, the walled city of Dubrovnik, the birds of South Africa painted on silk, a fan hand-painted in Valencia, Spain, and a larger painted fan from Bali.

The bookcase in the great room is filled with hand-crafted and whimsical objects from Turkey, China, Cuba, South America, Tunisia, Malta and more, representing the most exotic, far-flung and mysterious venues in the world.

It is one thing to collect objets d'art from around the world. It is another thing to display them effectively. In room after room, Diane's collection begs a visitor to ask about the story behind this painting or that exhibit.

The art in the great room adopts a theme closer to Diane and Lloyd's hearts. Here, the room is dominated by portraits of canine friends, beloved hounds and mutts. These are painted by local artists, such as Joan Williams and Jane Casnellie, but a visitor will also find the Blue Dog series by George Rodriguez lighting up a hallway.

That Lloyd and Diane love their furry friends is demonstrated by their built-in, but concealed "doggie door" and cleverly fenced yard that keeps dogs in and deer out, but also allowing views of the perennials planted on the slope.

The landscapers took special account of the fact that so many of the living areas, from the screened porch to the veranda, incorporate views of the outdoors.

The bluestone patio is framed by the slope of the hill and planted with carefully selected low-maintenance foundation plants and colorful perennials.

Before leaving, a visitor should note the master bath, which provides the best of European styling in the cabinets and basin sinks, heated porcelain tile floor and a heated towel rack.

On the date of the tour, the hostess-in-charge will be Betty Hurst, who has volunteered for each of the tour's 18 years, joined by a team of experienced hostesses.

Tickets are available for $20 the day of the tour, but may be purchased in advance for $15 from the Faded Rose, Daphne's Hallmark, Seagrove Candle Company, Phoenix Fashions, and the Cooperative Extension Office at the Moore County Agriculture Building in Carthage.

For more information, call the Moore County Cooperative Extension Office at (910) 947-3188.