At first glance, the 8,200-square-foot convertible house built in an exclusive subdivision at a golf and country club looks like the best party space you’ve ever seen.
At second glance, the house with the retractable glass walls – which instantly transform certain rooms from indoor to outdoor space – looks like a resort hotel complete with several bars, a swimming pool with a swim-up hot tub and flickering glass-enclosed gas fireplaces with programmable lights.
But as you explore the house, you’ll see it’s designed as a multigenerational residence that can function as easily for a young family as for an empty-nester or someone who wants to age in place in their own piece of paradise.
“I was inspired by the ranch-style houses I saw in Palm Springs, California, and liked the idea of designing a contemporary style take on those homes,” said Phil Kean, architect and principal of the Phil Kean Design Group in Winter Park, Fla. “The one-level house makes it easier to age in place while at the same time this is a very cool house that’s great for parties. You can just picture a ‘Rat Pack’-style evening with that Palm Springs vibe. Internally, we nicknamed this house Palm Court.”
Called the latest New American Home, the Orlando model was constructed for the National Association of Home Builders’ recent builders show.
The New American Home provides a glimpse into the future of home design and products with a nod to the mid-century modern past and an acknowledgment of the casual lifestyle enjoyed by today’s families.
NAHB’s 34-year-old program gives architects and builders an opportunity to showcase the latest design trends, building techniques and green-building practices. Partners in this year’s house include landscape architect Mills Design Group of Oviedo, Fla., green building consulting Two Trails of Sarasota, Fla., healthy home environment consultant Wellness Within Your Walls of Atlanta and technology consultant Habitech Systems of Ormond Beach, Fla.
The gated and planned community of Lake Nona, where the house is located, attracts numerous professional athletes who build custom homes there. Residents include professional golfers Annika Sörenstam, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. In a nod to the vocation, Kean converted a planned home theater into a bar with a golf simulator and put in a putting green in a central courtyard.
“I tried to think of who might buy this house and how they would live in it,” said Kean. “A lot of homeowners in this community are from out of the country and this is their second or third home. They want lots of light and to be outdoors as much as possible. But we also put in plenty of overhangs to control the direct light.”
Kean designed a wing at the front of the house with a living area, a kitchenette, a full bathroom and its own laundry room, and a private outdoor patio.
“The separate wing can work for a golfer with a nanny or for a family who has a lot of guests who stay for months at a time,” said Kean. “It would also work for an older child returning to live at home or even a caregiver if someone wants to age in place and needs help with daily living.”
The house has more than 8,200 square feet, with an additional 4,200 square feet of outdoor living space, and is priced at $5,929,000. The five-bedroom, eight-bathroom house has a four-car garage with a dog-washing station.
Kean describes his design as having a “figure-8” configuration, with the lake at the bottom, the front door at the opposite end and two courtyards in the middle connected by a knuckle of glass walls. Every space in the house has glass pocket doors that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor rooms. Kean says one of the coolest features of the house is that with a push of a button you can slide all the glass walls open and with another push you can activate screens that slide into place from above the glass walls.