Pushed out past neighboring houses on a hilltop, this North Carolina modern home sits enveloped in sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and downtown Asheville.
But the home’s low-slung profile out front belies those scenic views. Architect Nathan Bryant, principal of Altura Architects, positioned the house in a wedge-like direction, which cleverly allows the house to have privacy while also being open to the views.
“It’s not parallel to the street, which makes for an interesting, sort of skewed orientation, but this house wasn’t about making a statement to the street,” he says. “It’s quite shy compared to its neighboring houses, which was intentional. It’s more about the experience once you’re inside.”
Maple Lane House in Asheville, North Carolina, by Altura Architects.
Modern Design, Timeless Function
The wide, zero-barrier entry speaks to the homeowners’ goal of building a house to support their lifestyle today and in the years to come. The retired couple moved cross-country from the Pacific Northwest to North Carolina to be closer to family and enjoy Asheville’s restaurants and music scene a mere 10 minutes away.
That entry, with its expansive floor-to-ceiling Marvin Modern windows and 9½-foot-tall door, doubles as a design feature. “We wanted to create this sort of lantern effect that draws you to the front of the house,” Bryant says. “It’s this clear jewel box that glows at nighttime and invites you in.”
Maple Lane House in Asheville, North Carolina, by Altura Architects.
Inside, white walls, warm European white oak floors, and Higgins limestone that extends inside from the exterior establish the organic modern look. Talli Roberts-Early, principal interior designer at Northside Design Collective, says prioritizing the views inspired the quiet interior color scheme and informed where to place the couple’s extensive art collection. “In western North Carolina, the views are often where we take our interior color cues from,” she says. “The Blue Ridge Mountains offer tones of blue and green that are visible year-round throughout the home’s vast expanses of glass.”
Likewise, Bryant says, the surroundings informed where the windows would be placed. “Anytime we had views of the mountains or downtown, that’s where we chose to open the walls up,” he says.
Barrier-Free Living
At the heart of the home, a center gable forms the spine of the horizontal house, creating a lofted pavilion for the kitchen, dining, and living spaces. Daylight moves throughout the open and airy main-level interiors, flowing around shiplap partial walls framed by dark steel columns and beams that provide both structural support and visual contrast against the white surfaces.
Maple Lane House in Asheville, North Carolina, by Altura Architects.
The open plan and partial partitions allow for easy movement throughout the home. “If you were using a walker or a wheelchair, it’s not an issue at all,” the homeowner says. An elevator connects to the lower level, where the couple’s grandchildren and other overnight guests have plenty of room to stay comfortably.
In the kitchen, a 6-foot-wide by 8-foot-tall Marvin Ultimate Direct Glaze window overlooks Asheville in the distance, which sparkles with light at night. “We quite literally picture-framed that choreographed view of downtown,” Bryant says. An assembly of polygon windows above the range wall brings in more light and adds architectural interest both inside and out.
Maple Lane House in Asheville, North Carolina, by Altura Architects
Corner windows in key places such as the entry, living area, and primary bedroom seamlessly immerse the house in nature. “It’s about getting daylight in from multiple directions and sort of enhancing that panoramic view,” Bryant says. “The owners rarely turn on their lights during the day.”
Natural Connections
Bryant says the Marvin Ultimate windows, with customizable designs and superior thermal performance, provide the clean aesthetic that was necessary for the streamlined home. “They have a crisper contemporary profile to them,” the architect says.
Many of the more than 100 windows in the house are also operable. “There’s always a nice prevailing wind from how the house sits on the ridge, so there’s a natural form of air conditioning,” Bryant says.
Outdoor living spaces, including a kitchen and screened porch, further blur the indoor-outdoor boundaries. At the front of the house, a bluestone patio with a firepit beckons neighbors and their dogs to gather with the couple to watch the sunset.
“I recently had my book club here,” the homeowner says. “They said they have window envy.”
