Proximity is everything when it comes to nurturing a person’s passions. By that measure, choosing to live alongside a prominent North Carolina golf course was an easy decision for an avid golfer and his wife to make. Known for its picturesque landscape of lush fairways surrounded by tall Southern pines, the popular golf club felt like the perfect community to call home.

So committed was the couple to living in this desirable enclave that they were willing to make a few concessions on real estate. Considering few buildable lots remained, finding property with accessible views of the course proved challenging. But the pair saw promise in a set of adjacent course-side lots that unfortunately sloped down into a hole.

To surmount the property’s limitations and achieve a residence with winning panoramas, the couple turned with confidence to an architect duo they’d worked with before: Ken Pursley and Craig Dixon. Recognizing how a conventional house plan would obscure the prized vistas, the architects trusted a timeless device: the piano nobile (or “noble floor” in Italian).

In this tradition, the building is accessed via the street level, with key spaces situated one story above. For this abode, the living room, kitchen and primary suite all sit at that central floor, perched high enough to capture the golf course scenery.

Stylistically, the house evolved to be just as distinctive as the layout. Pursley likens the aesthetic to “medieval modern,” emphasized by the atypical, meandering floor plan. Guests approaching the home are greeted by an austere façade, constructed of buff-colored limestone salvaged from an old bourbon distillery, intended to downplay the impressive experience that awaits within. A stately, oak-paneled oval foyer receives visitors, who have the option of ascending one of two staircases on opposite sides. Both lead to the big reveal: a great room bordered by floor-to-ceiling steel-and-glass windows that look directly onto the green. “We thought about that route like a good hike through the woods,” Pursley explains. “You enter, you wind down a path, but you end up with this incredible view.”

To compose interiors as rich as the surroundings, the homeowners brought on a longtime collaborator, designer David Smith. “I want people to walk into a room and be surprised by the setup and the different pieces,” shares Smith, who created public spaces suitable for both lively gatherings and quiet evenings alone. Distinct seating groups mix understated furnishings with conversation starters (a chair cushioned with upholstered rolls; a set of stools supported by hoof-like legs). Steps away, he transformed an adjacent sunken area into a window-clad dining space, affording the family meals with enchanting vistas before the verdant landscape.

Luxury details continue into the primary bedroom, another area where Smith and the architects harmonized. Collaboratively, they produced its dramatically curved, soaring ceiling surfaced in velvety blue-gray plaster. The room is the ultimate refuge when the owners want to tuck away from the world. But for moments when they prefer to be spectators, there is the home’s pièce de résistance: an elevated glass viewing pavilion precisely positioned to overlook the tee box. Making this architectural triumph possible was builder Cliff Newbury, whose team elegantly combined the abode’s intricate masonry with structural steel.

While an ideal vantage point for taking in games on the green, this roost is also perfect for keeping an eye on activity around the pool beneath, where Newbury’s efforts extended to the hardscaping elements. And although maximizing views was a priority for the upper levels, maintaining privacy was a driving force of the spaces below.

Here, the family’s leisure and entertainment areas spill outward into gardens meticulously designed by landscape architect John Howard. To shield the pool and outdoor spaces from passersby, he fashioned a protective barrier using clipped holly hedges and a low limestone retaining wall echoing the structure’s exterior. Flagstone patios provide spots for dining and lounging, while the manicured surroundings boast an array of native plants: among them oakleaf hydrangea, Solomon’s Seal and Virginia sweetspire.

Gracefully positioned alongside the lush fairways of the course, the home stands as a testament to visionary design, natural splendor and seamless collaboration. “In many ways, this is a house we had been working toward our entire careers,” Dixon says. “What you see is a culmination of our experience and the desire to do something different—achieving the remarkable in the process.”

Jennifer Boles

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