LUCKY NO. 7
Lucky No. 7
A future custom-built for family
By Jenna Biter
Photographs by John Gessner
A checkerboard of grass and pavers leads to the glass-paneled double doors of Charles and Amy Crabtree’s white brick home. “Sebastian, come on, buddy,” says Amy, opening the doors. The 12-year-old miniature schnauzer skates across the wide oak planks running the length of the entry hall. To the right is a blue study lined with books and sports memorabilia. To the left is a music room showcasing a K. Kawai baby grand and a commissioned painting of Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
“This is how it’s supposed to be — I can see through the house,” Amy says, looking from the front doors all the way to sliding glass doors at the back.
The Crabtrees retired to their custom build overlooking Donald Ross’ masterpiece in 2020 after splitting time between Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Bethany Beach, Delaware. The Holly Inn in Pinehurst would often be the couple’s stopover on road trips back and forth. The village charmed them off their feet and eventually out of their far-flung homes. “We sold both homes within a two-month period,” says Charles.
Pinehurst was the draw, but family was the clincher. Once the Crabtrees’ daughter, Courtney, moved to North Carolina and had their first grandchild, the future was set. “It was an easy decision,” says Amy. Now Courtney and her brother, Chase, both live in the Forest Creek community with their families. “We have our four grandchildren here, and they’re just a five-minute ride away,” Charles says.
Down the entry hallway, past a bellowing grandfather clock shipped to the States from Germany, the house opens up. A slate-blue built-in displays family photos beside one of the home’s five fireplaces. This one is in the living room. There’s another through the sliding glass doors in the outdoor dining room, which overlooks the wide landing, a grandkid-approved infinity swimming pool and ultimately the golf course fairway.
“We were on our last day looking for property, and we had kind of exhausted everything,” Charles says. “We thought, maybe this isn’t going to work, and then all of a sudden, the Realtor said, ‘These wooded lots here — I think one of them — we might be able to talk to someone to see if they’re interested in selling.’”
“We asked, ‘Well, where is it?’ They said, ‘This is No. 2.’”
They bought the .89-acre wooded lot and Huntley Design Build got to work combining favorite elements of their previous homes into one 6,850-square-foot dream build. It was the COVID era, but fortunately for the Crabtrees, their building materials had already been delivered, so construction wasn’t delayed by the supply chain crisis. “From the time we moved the first tree off the lot, which was July, 2019, to the time we were in the home on June, 2020 . . . ” Charles says.
“Eleven months start to finish,” says Amy, completing the thought.
Back inside the living room, turn in one direction to enter the Crabtrees’ personal sports bar with pine wood from the lot lining the ceiling and a wine cellar that holds up to 1,500 bottles. There’s a golf simulator, neon Putter Boy sign paying homage to the Pinehurst Resort and two signed, limited edition prints by sports artist LeRoy Neiman, one of Jack Nicklaus and the other of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for playing the most consecutive games in Major League Baseball. Turn the other way, and you’re in the dining room and kitchen. A long table seats 10, enough to fit the Crabtree family, grandkids and all. “We try to do a Sunday dinner, or some sort of event, once a week if we can,” Amy says.
The upstairs is home to three guest en suites, a gym and a bunkroom for the grandkids. “When they come over, this is where they hang out,” Charles says. There are two sets of bunk beds, a cushy sectional and TV, and plenty of floor space to play. “They’ll be up here having a big old time, all four of them, and then when we come up after they leave, it’s a complete disaster,” he says affectionately, like only a grandfather can.
The Crabtrees themselves don’t spend much time upstairs, only to play with the grandkids, work out or if they need to fix something. “Between the master and the kitchen and this room, everything is right here,” Amy says, sitting at the bar top. It’s as if they built an apartment within a house, enabling maximal time together.
They drink early morning mugs of coffee in the master bedroom and slip out a side door to the hot tub. When they play golf it’s as a couple, and they’re even together in the art on their walls. Mixed-media collages by British artist Tom Butler dot the house, and if you look closely the likeness of Charles and Amy can be seen in many of them. “We said we’re retiring early, and when we retire early, we’re going to be together,” Charles says. Here they are in front of the Eiffel Tower. There they are in New York. It’s a personalized Where’s Waldo. The only thing missing is Sebastian the miniature schnauzer, who has yet to make a cameo.
