HISTORY IN THE BACKYARD
History in the Backyard
Leaving a legacy on Pinehurst No. 2
By Jenna Biter
Photographs by John Gessner
A couple of years back, Quinn Breuer accompanied her son, Quinton, to a U.S. Kids Golf tournament in Pinehurst. One visit was all it took. “It’s the pine trees. The environment. The people. The village,” Breuer says. She asked her husband, Todd, “Can we retire here?”
Quinn has been a stay-at-home mom, but now her babies are heading out the door. Todd hasn’t retired yet — home base is in Peoria, Arizona — but the Breuers are already preparing for their golden years in the village. The empty nesters purchased a modified Cape Cod a month before the 2024 U.S. Open on Pinehurst’s No. 2 course. “Good timing, you know?” says Quinn. Their backyard abuts the third hole.
The 5,240-square-foot, five-bedroom, pass-it-down-to-the-kids legacy house lounges on a half-acre plot that sidles up to No. 2’s wiregrass. “It’s location. It’s history. It’s unique,” she says.
The house on Midland Road was built in 2005. “It’s only two doors down from the Donald Ross house,” she says, referring to Dornoch Cottage, the home that was built by and belonged to the Scottish golf architect and mastermind of No. 2. “When you walk into the backyard, it’s the flowers and the golf course and the pine trees. We don’t have trees in Arizona. We have desert.”
The couple initially purchased land on Linden Road and were finalizing plans for new construction. Todd surveyed the property on a visit. He longed for a better view, preferably a golf course. Father and son both enjoy the game. Quinton is 19 years old and plays on the golf team at South Mountain Community College, in Arizona.
The Breuers wanted something different than the lot they had. They lined up a Hail Mary and asked their Realtor to notify them if any houses on No. 2 came onto the market.
“A week and a half later, we got the call,” Quinn says, still in disbelief. “About a month later, we owned the house.”
The exterior is classic Pinehurst. The Breuers liked the village vibe and kept it that way. Its painted brick is a warm Southern cream; crape myrtles flank the front portico; and a wing sweeps out to each side. The left side extends further than the right, ending in a cupola-topped, two-car garage that connects to the house via breezeway.
Interior remodeling began right away. “We wanted it to be warm and traditional and modern at the same time,” says Breuer. Constrained by only a short list of musts and must-nots (a sectional in the family room, substantial bookcases in the study, no window treatments obstructing the golf course view), interior designer Angela Budd of Angela Douglas Interiors had enough creative wiggle room to run.
Quinn didn’t love the cherrywood floors — “too red,” she says — but they could be replaced more easily than a place on No. 2 could be found. The old floors came out and new ones went in. Just inside the front door, the white oak planks piece together in a herringbone pattern. A blown-glass chandelier counterbalances the floor and draws the eye upward. Attention fixes straight ahead on a black entry table that pops against the clean, white walls.
Like a roundabout, the table’s circular top whirls guests around the foyer, spinning them off into the rest of the home. To the left is Todd’s study. A drip painting print in the style of Jackson Pollock hangs on a wall. Pop art lips rendered by the Breuers’ daughter decorate another. Kiana, now 20, made the artwork for her dad when she was a kid. “I always think the best homes are personal,” says Budd. “They feel collected.”
Opposite the study is the formal living room. A marble surround frames the gas fireplace, and shearling swivel chairs sit in conversation with a white couch. One room removed, closer to the back of the house, guests can find the dining room drenched in a dramatic blue called Gray’s Harbor. “It’s not all blue, and I don’t do navy because it feels too nautical,” Budd says, “but this color is a nice blend between moody and elevated.” A pair of panel-ready, Sub-Zero refrigerators keep the Breuers’ wine. A bar between them doubles as a buffet for dinners when the kids are home.
“It’s a family space,” says Quinn.
The kitchen, across the hallway, underwent a light refresh. In the family room, Budd added a corner banquette for chatting, sipping and informal eating. The L-shaped sectional occupies the rest of the room.
“The house is just very . . . to me, it’s so warm, and it fits with their personality,” says Budd.
The master is on the first floor. It’s beige and green, clean-lined but cozy. The kids each have an ensuite on the second floor. French doors open onto a shared balcony that overlooks the brick-edged pool and outdoor seating, lush flowers trailing over the white picket fence, and the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming view of the fairway beyond.
“We want to hand it down to the kids, and the kids to their kids,” Breuer says. “We still can’t believe we own the house.”
