Wow factor of luxury home in Waynesville captures title of most unique home in the state

Jan. 10—A Haywood contractor who designed and built his own dream home won a top award from the N.C. Home Builders Association.

The 5,100-square-foot home in Laurel Ridge Country Club — sporting a six-car garage, four kitchens and 10-foot-tall sliding glass doors — was crowned with the title of best "one-of-a-kind" home in the state in 2023. The masterpiece is the creation of Tom Hines of Distinctive Building & Design in Waynesville, who put his expertise to work in the project of a life time: his own abode.

Hines suspects the Laurel Ridge home caught the judges' eyes due to its excellent placement on a lot to maximize views. The lot sits on a saddle ridge with long-range mountain vistas overlooking Waynesville and reaching all the way to Mount Pisgah.

How to orient the home to capture those views presented a challenge, however. Street access to the lot faces south, but the best views are to the east.

"This created a design challenge to have an interesting curb appeal which could transition the interior spaces almost 90 degrees to face the best views," Hines said. "Our architect was outstanding. He was super-impressed with the view and spent a few days sketching on the lot."

The 5,100-square-foot home has surprising twists and turns as a result. An octagonal entry foyer with a two-story vaulted ceiling flows into an eight-sided living room.

"As one enters the living room, the long-range views are captured through expansive glass, including ten-foot-high sliding glass doors," Hines described.

Bringing views into the home at every possible vantage point were paramount to the design concept.

"This home accommodates the owners' desire for a light, open space capturing views from every room," Hines said. For example, "There is a step-down bar allowing seating in club chairs around a large window to enjoy the view."

The home is also designed with a mind toward entertaining — from the dining area anchoring the floor plan to the kitchen island design.

"The centrally located dining room ties the living room, main kitchen and the sitting room together to create a large, open yet well-defined space," Hines said.

Meanwhile, the massive kitchen island has no plumbing or appliances "to allow plenty of room for gathering, food preparation, serving and conversation."

In yet another nod to entertaining, the home has an astonishing four kitchens.

An outdoor kitchen sporting a built-in grill has a pass-through window with access to the main kitchen counter. Adjacent to the main kitchen is separate full prep kitchen. And the fourth kitchen resides in separate guest quarters above the six-car garage.

In addition to the separate guest quarters, the home has two guest suites on the second floor.

Interior design features were incorporated into the home's design at the outset.

"Black porcelain tile covers most of the main level including the front entry porch and rear lanai for a seamless transition between the spaces," Hines said.

The eight-sided living room features a 21-foot-high ceiling lit by LED strip lighting behind large crown molding. Further enhancing the sense of space, a stairway behind the massive quartz-finished fireplace in the living room has a loft leading to the guest suites that overlooks the living room.

The "one-of-a-kind" award category was a natural fit for Hines' firm, which specializes in building unique homes, with turn-key services from architectural plans to construction to interior design. Hines entered the home in the N.C. Home Builders Association contest on a last minute whim, however.

"I'm not the best at PR, but we stay pretty busy despite that," said Hines.

The annual contest sponsored by the N.C. Home Builders Association features 75 different categories. The "one-of-kind" category encompasses homes of all sizes across the state.

Hines said he was too busy working to attend the annual awards gathering in the fall, but was excited to learn the company had won.

"It felt like quite an accomplishment for doing what we do on a regular basis," Hines said, who has been building homes in the Haywood/Asheville area for 25 years, turning out between six and eight custom homes a year.