Ridgeline Estate

Some houses ask for attention. This one earns it. Sawn cut white limestone in large 16 by 32 blocks meets a dark standing seam roof, and at dusk the whole facade warms to the color of the sky. The motor court curves in beneath mature live oaks, and the black steel windows glow against the stone.

It is Hill Country modern at its best, clean and current and completely at home in the hills.

The welcome starts before you ever reach the door. The entry courtyard sets the tone. Stepping stones set in gravel lead past a hanging daybed and a fire feature, and a low limestone wall keeps it private. Overhead, the gorgeous live oaks we carefully built around shade the whole space.

From inside, the full-height steel and glass pivot door and a two-sided black steel and glass wall keep the courtyard in view all along the entry hall, and the interior designer warmed the walk with walnut paneling, wide-plank oak and a sculptural pendant that leads you on toward the stair.

And then the house opens up. The great room meets the valley head on. The pocket sliding glass doors disappear into the walls, the room and the covered terrace become one long space, and the stained wood plank ceiling runs straight through the opening without a break. On a spring morning with the doors open, it is hard to beat.

The fireplace wall is the showpiece: a slab of dark, boldly veined stone that the interior designer balanced with cream upholstery, sculptural brass lighting and a dining table set right where the view is widest.

Beautiful kitchens are easy to find. Beautiful kitchens that work this well are not. This one is built around a single slab of Swan Quartzite. It wraps the waterfall island, climbs the full-height range wall and folds around the hood, and the soft gray veining never breaks. Pull up a stool at the island and the view runs across the great room to the hills.

Around it, the interior designer layered rift-sawn white oak above, deep stained cabinetry below, walnut-toned beams overhead and brass at every pull. Reeded glass frames the window over the sink, and the butler's pantry around the corner keeps a glass-front wine wall ready for guests.

Some rooms you never want to leave. The primary suite holds the corner with the widest view, and floor-to-ceiling glass puts the whole horizon at the foot of the bed, with the terrace one step away. Chevron oak floors and a built-in media wall in dark millwork give the room a quiet, tailored finish.

The bath is bright, calm and a little glamorous. White Pearl Quartzite tops the dual vanity, the seated makeup desk and the shower bench against large-format onyx-patterned tile, and a freestanding tub sits beneath a crystal chandelier. Polished nickel replaces the kitchen's brass so the suite has a character of its own, and the closet, fitted in dark millwork, opens straight into the bath.

Even the workday gets a view here. The home office sits under a vaulted ceiling with a full-height steel window to the courtyard, which makes Monday mornings a lot easier to take.

When the workday ends, the media room takes over: deep navy seating, a book-matched stone coffee table and a coffered ceiling crowned by a sculptural ring chandelier. Its wet bar pairs Black Forest Leathered Quartzite with warm walnut and a wine column, and down the hall a glass-walled sunroom and a mirrored home gym round out the wing.

Some evenings, nobody wants to go back inside. The covered terrace is finished with the same care as every room in the house, and it barely has walls. A stone fireplace with a slatted wood screen warms deep lounge seating under a stained wood plank ceiling, and a long dining table looks straight across the valley.

Some homes photograph well. This one is even better in person. Walk down to the pool and look back at the house. The pool sits terraced into the hillside behind a stacked stone retaining wall, and above it the terrace and the white limestone glow as the sun goes down.