BRASELTON — The annual "It’s a Wonderful House’" Tour of Homes this weekend at Chateau Elan takes visitors inside area homes with impressive features such as whale-shaped pools, theaters, wine cellars and dance studios.

But there’s still one house that’s even more special, said tour director Lynn Price, and it’s what the event is all about.

Each year, the tour serves as the single largest fundraiser for the "wonderful house" — that is the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, a nonprofit agency serving abused and abandoned children from the Northeast Georgia area. The shelter annually serves more than 300 young people and reaches out to more than 6,000 children through community outreach and education, and also serves approximately 60 families through parenting classes and counseling services.

Four families have opened up their homes for the tour this year: the Bartletts, Browns, Cotters and Pughs.

Patti Clark, who has been a tour volunteer for the past three years, said each home is as unique as it is striking.

"All the homes are gorgeous," Clark said, each with different decorating styles. One home has an indoor basketball court, another resembles a luxurious Aspen lodge and yet another has a separate floor for the couple’s daughters.

Clark said all four families have children, and each home is "very warm and inviting."

In addition to the homes, shuttles also make stops at the Silver Sleigh Café and a model home that includes a gift shop. Valet service is provided to shoppers so they don’t have to haul their purchases on the rest of the tour.

It’s possible for visitors to spend the whole day or just a couple of hours on the tour, Clark said.

Organizers expect around 2,500 to file through the homes.

"It’s a lot to ask of someone," Price said of those who volunteer their homes for the tour. "It is for such a good cause — that is the reason they do it," she said. Price is a board member for the organization.

In its first five years, "It’s a Wonderful House" raised more than $650,000 for the shelter.

"It’s tremendous for our agency," said Nancy Friauf, executive director of Gwinnett Children’s Shelter.

The money raised from the tour represents about half the money for the agency’s family, counseling and educational services, Friauf said.

Clark said a visit to the shelter, which is located on 40 acres in the Hamilton Mill area, brings home the importance of the tour.

"It’s just a special place."