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It will cost you only $5 to soak up some French ambience, learn a few holiday decorating techniques from a pro, and help kids take part in programs at the Greensboro Children’s Museum.

Builder David Schenck and Allen Tate Realtor Diane Thompson are behind the initiative to promote the giving spirit over the next three weekends with the Wolfe Homes 2008 Holiday House: Chateau de Noel. The fundraiser showcases a 5,000-square-foot home in Lake Jeanette that Wolfe Homes, which Schenck co-owns, completed for a client this month.

Holiday decorations — including Christmas trees in both formal and casual living rooms, stylish stockings that hang from the fireplace with great care and stunning table arrangements — were coordinated by interior designer June DeLugas of June DeLugas Interiors.

Schenck and Thompson say the goal is to raise $25,000 through the admission fees and special events held at the home.

The funds contributed to the Greensboro Children’s Museum will go to operations and programs including scholarships, according to Betsy Grant, the museum’s chief executive officer.

The museum, at 220 North Church St., offers hands-on learning opportunities for children. Programs include summer and winter camps and educational workshops. Contributions from the Holiday House will come in handy. “So much of what we do is to make the museum accessible to every child in this community,” Grant says.

Schenck, who serves on the museum’s board, has sponsored four other Holiday House events. Not only are they for a good cause, but “there’s no better way for us to show the public what we do.”

Holiday House visitors will get a chance to experience the company’s building expertise. The custom-built brick home on Northern Shores Point combines what DeLugas calls casual French elegance with Wolfe Homes’ modern design and environmentally friendly building practices.

“It is livable,” DeLugas says of the user-friendly layout and design where the rooms blend into one another.

“The colors just hug you. It’s so inviting,” she adds, describing the creamy palette of pale greens, robin’s egg blues, and shades of light salmon and gold. Faux painting also was incorporated, along with genuine and replica antique furnishings.

The owners, who are moving into their new home after the fundraiser, wanted open spaces that would be welcoming to family and friends. Natural light permeates the home, which has open archways, limestone and hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers, and French-inspired built-in bookcases that line the living room and hearth room fireplaces on each side. A custom island and table form the centerpiece for the spacious kitchen, which leads to the hearth room’s stone fireplace. The kitchen and hearth room combination is the owner’s favorite part of the house — “it’s where family lives and thrives.”

Other features that add to the home’s practical opulence are a walk-in kitchen pantry, four fireplaces, his and hers closets with hydraulic lifts in the master suite, an upstairs entertainment room, a craft room, walk-in attic space, and a specially designed nook near the laundry room where an elevator can be installed in case the owners eventually need to add one.

Outside, copper and wrought-iron window boxes hang below the second-floor windows, and gas lanterns flank the mahogany double doors. Copper finials, garage doors that resemble a stable entrance and a courtyard-style driveway contribute to the European effect.

The design isn’t focused only on aesthetics, however. The Holiday House, which meets Energy Star requirements and has a closed crawlspace, was built to Masco Contractor Services’ Environments for Living standards. The program requires third-party verification for certification and is designed to maximize indoor air quality, reduce moisture, and control energy costs with special framing techniques, improved insulation and efficient ductwork.

The results are a Wolfe Homes trademark.

“No matter how elaborate the house is,” Schenck says, “every house is built to the same standards.”

Heather L. Modlin can be reached at 373-7144 or hmodlin@news-record.com.