Crowds of chatting, laughing people pack the house, spilling onto the front porch, streaming up and down the stairs from the street, motioning greetings and calling out to one another. No directions needed since the gala sounds are so clear and sparkling anyone could hone in on The Jones Group Town and Country Real Estate open house.  

Simple Pleasures, musicians Ames and Marianne Anderson, play and sing beautifully while cups and plates runneth over and seem to float on high, raised daringly as people go with the flow, happy, barely squeezing past one another. More friends arrive. The Jones Group is throwing a party for the whole afternoon to introduce their many fans to their new office in one of P.G.’s original Victorian treasures, the plaque reading “Hannah Morden 1904.”

The house is pressed perfectly among a row of Victorians on 17th Street between Lighthouse and Laurel, mostly small business establishments, though a few private homes are there too. Jones’ is painted a soft gray with bright white trim; others are in dark greens, pale yellows and a variety of mixes.

Peggy Jones, the owner, Realtor-broker (no relation to yours truly) says, “The house had been rented for business a long time, but had been empty a long time too, and it’s ideal for a real estate office. I’m so glad I bought it.” Everything about the location has what Jones knew she wanted, a street popular with hometown people and easy to find for new arrivals. “We’re right between Takara Japanese Cuisine and Reincarnations, with Fandango’s and Joe Rombi’s restaurant at opposite ends of our street. There’s loads of parking too, and just great light. The house feels neighborly, really inviting, the way P.G. itself is,” Jones says.

Windows are numerous and large in every room throughout, all are the original lift-ups with many sporting the 102-year-old glass that waves before one’s eyes, a vision even before a party drink. The floors are wonderful old oak boards in all four rooms and one small one in the rear. “That’s our tech room,” laughs Jones, pointing out office machines presently used for resting happy elbows.

One enters the house from the L-shaped porch and steps into reception where Realtor Terri Ringlee’s desk stands at a graceful angle to the front door and the other door, to Jones’ office, that makes up the other half of the front. From reception, through a doorway, one discovers the office of Christine Monteith, associate broker, and Laurel Jaques and Colleen Smith, realtors. The conference room is accessed from both Jones’ office and the realtors’—it’s big and easy, a professional yet comfy place for clients to feel at home while talking house. The Jones Group represents both buyers and sellers.

Although the interior is blessed with the heavy door and window frames of true Victorians, the décor is delightfully current, with chrome fixtures and brightly colored rugs of modern patterns. The side chairs are done in fabrics that quietly support the whole with the rich oak floors balancing tall ceilings and open spaces. The house is all but bursting with a creative force.

The Jones Group Town and Country Real Estate 216 17th St., Pacific Grove • 655-5050.