CHRISTMAS TO THE MAX
Christmas to the Max
A forever home for the holidays
By Jenna Biter • Photographs by John Gessner
A pair of life-size nutcrackers stand guard at the top of a grand outdoor staircase. If you dare approach the unflinching sentries, look past them and you can see golden holiday lights through the glass double doors that lead into the Bailey house. Not those Baileys. Our Baileys. It’s not Bedford Falls, it’s Pinehurst, but it’s still a wonderful life.
“We really love Christmas,” Michelle Bailey says. “A house where you can see the Christmas tree through the door — we always wanted that.”
In their previous home, Michelle and Justin Bailey had to rearrange the living room so their fresh-cut tree could take its rightful place in the window. Not anymore. They designed their forever home, a 6,500-square-foot modern manse in the Country Club of North Carolina, with that ghost of Christmas past in mind.
Just inside the entryway, a grand double staircase flanks a plump fir topped with a bow. Garlands strung with red balls and more golden lights festoon the banisters that nearly encircle the tree, like a room-size wreath. And that’s only steps to the foyer.
Michelle smiles wide. “Justin’s just as much of a cheeser for overdoing the holidays as I am,” she says.
Holiday decorator Hollyfield Design Inc. helped the Baileys breathe the spirit of Christmas into their new home, popping a swag over each mantel and a Christmas tree into what seems like every room. From the candy-colored ornaments to the hot-pink plaid ribbons, the Whos down in Whoville would absolutely adore the playful palette and trimmings. Certainly the Grinch would love to shove the entire jolly scene into a sack and steal it.
The Baileys purchased their 1-acre lot in 2020, began construction the following year, and moved into their sprawling build on the Dogwood golf course just in time for the 2022 holiday season. But the family of four had few decorations, let alone furniture, by the time Santa made his annual rounds.
“We put a tree there, and we had lawn chairs and folding tables,” Michelle says, pointing.
Since the move-in, the house has been filled to the brim, like St. Nick’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. From the outside, the home is a minimalist’s dream. Clean lines meet traditional architecture in a transitional style that’s finished in off-white painted brick and crisp black trim. Inside, it’s maximalism to the max.
“I didn’t want a khaki house with a few accents,” says Michelle with a shrug.
Halfway through construction, she found a like mind in South Carolina decorator Aston Moody.
“I told her I like Persian rugs and animal prints and Buddhas, and that is exactly what she brought me,” Michelle says.
Like kids on Christmas morning, cheetah-print rugs race down the stairs to white oak herringbone floors. A pair of wingback chairs converse with a funky floor lamp that resembles a Truffula tree.
Past the chairs, in the heart of the house, a dining table basks beneath a tiered crystal chandelier hanging from a coffered ceiling. The open floor plan flows from living room to dining room to kitchen, where a black and brass La Cornue range demands all the attention. Its massive hood curves to the ceiling like a billow of smoke.
“This stove was in my dreams forever,” says Michelle, still pinching herself.
It’s choose-your-own-adventure to explore the rest of the Bailey house. From the kitchen, you have two options: 1). Turn through a pocket door into a pantry wallpapered in a very Southern, very busy cornflower-blue print; or 2). Blow past the look-at-me stove into an entertaining wing complete with a restaurant-size bar, champagne vending machine and golf simulator. Michelle’s good friend and Pinehurst artist Kristen Groner hand-painted the walls with a Rorschach design.
From the entertaining wing, exit sliding glass doors onto a patio looking out at the 10th hole. There’s a second dining table, plus a sitting area with a TV. Fans, heaters, a fireplace, retractable screen doors and a roof keep the space pleasant year-round.
“One of the big things about loving to entertain is I love my private space, too,” Michelle says. “Upstairs is us only.”
The second floor is where you’ll find bedrooms for the Baileys’ teenage children, Peyton and Preston, plus the master en suite. Standout features include a stately brass tub by Catchpole & Rye and a Persian rug, more than a century old, that was a wedding gift for Michelle’s grandparents.
Once the furniture install was completed in June 2023, Michelle threw herself a birthday bash/housewarming party for 60 people on the patio. The Baileys’ first full season of entertaining had begun.
“It’s how I grew up,” Michelle says. Surrounded by family, friends and fun.
Both Michelle and Justin are from California. The couple met in high school. She attended college, earned her nursing degree and now works in medical device sales. He’s retired from the Army Special Forces. Like many families, Justin’s military service is what moved the Baileys to the area, first to Raeford, then Fayetteville, Southern Pines, and now to their home in Pinehurst.
The Baileys thought they’d pack up and return to the West Coast after Justin retired, but that didn’t happen.
“We fell in love with it here,” Michelle says, “so we built the forever home. This will always be home base.”
And always home for the holidays.
