Talk of the Town - Sugar plums at Sugarloaf November 21 2001

For more than six weeks

Jennie Clayton-Nedza has opened her home to a local decorator and a staff of designers to have her furniture removed, rearranged and her walls painted. This is all preparation to allow hundreds of strangers to traipse through her bedroom, kitchen and living room. No, she’s not trying to sell the place, it’s all part of the Holiday Tour of Homes at Sugarloaf Country Club, during which her life will be turned upside down for over three months.

The sacrifice of time and energy was easy for her to make. The tour is a fund raiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and two of Nedza’s four sons are diabetic.

“I am really doing very little — with four little boys around the house, how much crazier can it get?” says Nedza.

Local decorator Tami Anderson also felt personally moved to work for the Tour of Homes.

“I believe that if you’ve ever been given a gift, you should use it. I like to give back to the community, in thanks for all it’s given me,” says Anderson.

Anderson and her staff of five designers have volunteered their time and talent to trans-form Nedza’s, along with five other homes, into a vintage Christmas palace. By bringing in their own furniture, Christmas decorations and a variety of handmade quilts and gifts, Anderson and her staff are creating a Christmas wonderland inside Nedza’s home.

The Holiday Tour of Homes at Sugarloaf is expected to raise at least $20,000 with proceeds divided between the Diabetes Fund and the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter.

“One of our hardest tasks was choosing which homeowners would be on the tour — everyone wanted to be involved,” says co-chair Barbara Engel. Other residents pitched in by printing the tour programs and donating walkie-talkies to allow the tour coordinators a way to stay in contact.

Despite the fact that the home being used for the event cost between $500,000 and $2 million, the operation is working “on a shoe-string budget,” according to Engel.

Aside from a strong sense of community, Sugarloaf Country Club caters to the young families’ interests with a children’s swim team made up of more than 200 kids and social events like the black-tie Autumn Ball or the monthly cocktail “Thank Goodness it’s Friday” party are favorite among the residents.

Wanting to add to the character of the architecture, each resident has the option to purchase an empty lot and build the home of their dreams, selecting their own architect and using one of Sugarloaf’s 15 builders. The home styles range from traditional country-French, colonial, to arts and crafts with a strong nouveau blend.

The 5-year-old community continues to gain momentum with residents and their interests.

“After moving from a small town, Atlanta seemed overwhelming. We were looking for a new subdivision we could grow old and change with,” says Engel.??