As far as dream homes go, the 18-room designer showcase on display at South Coast Collection could turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for those interested in design. "I think it's really amazing," said Rick Campos, owner of Christopher Tracy Interiors in Newport Beach. "This may be the only time we're able to do this if we're not able to find a similar space another year."

A $25-million Venetian Palazzo-inspired Newport Beach estate hits the market this week with at least one potential buyer interested in the property, according to the listing agent Monday. The 8,000-square-foot, five-bedroom mansion at 43 Linda Isle is a rarity when it comes to Newport Harbor, said Jim Kline of Surterre Properties, which is managing the sale on behalf of the title holder, Orange County Investments.

Lama and Ralph Grippo, Irvine Co. president of resort properties, claim the resort's success comes from the standard formula in the luxury hospitality industry of focusing on customer service and building relationships. Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, GolfWorld, Golf Magazine, Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report and others have rated the resort as among the top in the nation.

Newport Beach entrepreneur and philanthropist Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs knows that for 35,000 Orange County residents, "There's no place like home." Helping provide temporarily homeless families and individuals access to shelters and vocational programs is Project Playhouse, the annual charitable event of HomeAid Orange County, of which Brinkerhoff-Jacobs is a founding member.

The $1.5 million home is one of six in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach that make up the 11th Annual Art & Architecture Tour and post-party organized by the Orange County Museum of Art from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The 1900s- to 1960s-era homes feature an array of architecture, including Gaudi-inspired, Craftsman, mid-century modern and contemporary.

Costa Mesa businesswoman Lindsay Espinoza designed five rooms in a Newport Beach home, which will be featured on a reality-TV series. Interior designer Lindsay Espinoza aims to make beautiful homes available to the masses, but she never envisioned that her audience would be comprised of thousands of viewers tuning into reality TV.

Hotelier Donald Sodaro ran a successful Holiday Inn in the South Coast Metro area for 10 years before deciding that the market deserved more than just another chain hotel. So he took a risk just as the economy started to decline. In 2008, he discontinued his contract with the franchise hotel chain and launched plans to reopen the facility as an upscale "boutique" hotel.

The now two-story, four-bedroom home features an elevated office space for Bless' growing woodworking business, WoodyBoard, which specializes in high-end ocean décor and custom wooden gates. With "62" emblazoned in stainless steel on the outside wall and the office's ocean-facing windows, Bless created a post where he could watch the surf between the line of beachfront homes.

Newport Beach home tour visitors on May 15 will help determine the outcome of the TV series "Showhouse Showdown" where two local interior designers head to head to create the perfect dream home. The new program by HGTV and Stone & Co. Entertainment will air 12 episodes beginning late summer, each featuring two local designers.