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Family stockings hang from the fireplace mantle in the living room. The arched recess of the fireplace is repeated in the window shapes along the wall.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

November 27, 2005

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

The oak and wrought iron staircase and the Spanish folk dancer art in the background accent a hacienda Christmas. Sue West said the art was salvaged from the Spanish Kitchen, a restaurant they owned years ago on North Beach.

For the second year Sue and Jim West will open their home to friends, neighbors and strangers for a Christmas home tour in Portland. But this year’s event will benefit Hannah’s Hope, a school for autistic children located in Corpus Christi.

What: St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church 18th annual Christmas Homes Tour, Portland When: 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday for tour and reception at the church’s parish hall Cost: $7; tickets available at the church office or at the door. Info: 643-3514 Homes: 1337 Bayview Blvd., Charles and Mitty Hayek 1331 Bayview Blvd., Gary and Beverly Moore 109 Granby Place, Jimmy and Kay Atkins 127 Sabine Drive, John and Helen Rambo 206 Shore Drive, Jim and Sue West

St. Christopher’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church’s 18th annual Christmas Homes Tour will feature five Portland homes Saturday . Refreshments and a silent auction also will be held during the event at the church’s parish hall.

“I worked with Hannah (Coulter) when she was 3 years old. I volunteered with other people to help her learn sign language,” Sue said. “I have a soft spot for her.”

The Wests have lived in their Shore Drive home for about 15 years. Living by the water was always a dream for Jim, an engineer and owner of several Dairy Queen eateries in outlying towns.

“When we found it (the home), I told him ‘do it or quit talking about it,’ ” Sue said laughing.

Jim did more than buy the home, he and friend James Boggs, a former private practicing architect, collaborated on the home’s first floor expansion, which focused on a stunning view of Corpus Christi Bay, a backdrop that makes the Wests’ home a memorable visit especially during the holiday season.

Breathtaking views

Inside the white stucco home and tiled roof, Sue blends antique and estate sale finds in a hacienda-by-the-bay abode.

“For years, I’d open the front door and say ‘do I live here?’ ” Sue said.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

A Wide open deck juts from the Wests’ indoor swimming pool and living room. At dusk, pink clouds brush the pale blue sky meeting the water’s horizon.

Jim’s love for the water inspired optimal views of the bay from the living room, the kitchen, an indoor swimming pool, the master suite and an expansive open deck.

’Tis the season for this five-bedroom six-bath home to undergo a gradual Christmas transformation, a process Sue happily creates every year.

“Decorating makes it happy,” Sue said. “It makes it feel like the holidays. It makes the holidays fun.”

High vaulted ceilings and walls of windows overlooking the bay and the indoor swimming pool make the living area seem as vast as the water’s horizon.

Just past the foyer, an antiqued green wrought iron and oak wood staircase winds to the second floor to an open balcony that overlooks the living space. Sue plans to adorn the banister with garland, bows and holiday apples.

“Every horizontal surface will be decorated and it’ll be up until New Year’s,” Sue said.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

A stone waterfall empties into a pond and channel on the side of the house where goldfish swim.

The 6,000-square-foot home has played host to several weddings, including the Wests’ daughter. Sue said the staircase, designed by Boggs, was created with their daughter in mind, who dreamed of getting married at home.

“I wanted her to have a staircase so she could walk down it and she did,” Sue said.

The family cleared the living room space for their daughter’s ceremony.

Stepping down the white tiled floors into the living space, one notices the Wests’ dining table is set with holiday dishware. Gold chargers layered with a red dinner plate and topped with a Christmas patterned salad plate sit ready for a holiday family meal. Two wood swans collared with red velvet bows serve as centerpieces.

Family stockings hang from the fireplace mantle in the living room with a giant grapevine holiday wreath above it.

Spanning the length of the living room, the indoor swimming pool glistens through the glass windows. In the past, Sue said she placed miniature floating wreaths illuminated with candles and white lights.

“We might do that again this year,” she said.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

The indoor swimming pool is in perfect view of the living area. The West’s two grandchildren never miss an opportunity for pool fun when they visit.

Mix of old, new

Closer to the wall of windows in the living room, an elegant black piano displays a ceramic nativity scene. A few steps away, the family Christmas tree will take center stage near the windows overlooking the bay.

“The tree will have old and new decorations,” Sue said. “I don’t have a theme. I use homemade decorations from my children and grandchildren and things I’ve bought from trips.”

And what fast-food business owner’s Christmas tree would be complete without a few ice cream cone and hamburger ornaments.

“One year I used real ice cream cones and glued satin ball ornaments on top and hung them,” Sue said. “But you can’t keep those.”

Sue said she doesn’t plan to hang around her house for the Christmas tour.

“Oh, I’m going on the tour too,” she said.