The turn-key golf course home at 404 Indies Drive epitomizes much of what makes Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club such a desirable community.
“The house has a very understated West Indies elegance,” says Bob Niederpruem, president of Orchid Island Realty, who listed the 3-bedroom, 4.5-bath home for $1,375,000. “It is a premium lot, one of the best in Orchid Island, with really expansive golf course views in three directions.”
The home sits on the shore of a large lake, opposite the 18th fairway and green on the community’s Arnold Palmer-designed 18-hole championship golf course. It offers 3,445 square feet of air-conditioned living space with 4,875 square feet under roof, including the oversize garage, covered porches and a 15-foot by 19-foot covered, brick-paved lanai that overlooks the swimming pool, lake and fairways.
The grounds are beautifully landscaped with a variety of tropical plants that add curb appeal in front and provide privacy in back, screening the yard from neighboring homes.
The home is rich in architectural details, such as “Noche” Saturnia Marble flooring that extends through the residence. Besides being attractive and highly durable, the stone floors tie the home together and anchor it physically and historically, giving it a solid, secure, somewhat timeless feel.
There are simple, slender, square columns on the front porch and between the gallery and living room that evoke a sense of Caribbean architecture instead of Rome or Greece, high-vaulted ceilings, double crown molding, mahogany built-ins, rattan ceiling fan blades shaped like fronds and many other fine design touches.
Entry is through solid mahogany double doors with a shallow-arched fanlight above. The doors lead into a nicely proportioned gallery that serves as an antechamber to the formal living room and connects the home’s two wings.
The arches between the gallery columns echo the shallow arch of the fanlight. Passing between the columns, a visitor enters the delightful 22-foot by 16-foot living/dining room which has a reverse hip ceiling that rises to 16 feet in height, creating a wonderful sense of spaciousness. There is a stone fireplace at one end of the room and niche for a buffet at the other. Three French doors lead out onto the brick-paved lanai.
“I love the way you can see right through to the lake and golf course when you step inside the front door,” says Niederpruem.
The left end of the formal space, where the dining room table sits, is shaped like a large bay window with the buffet in the middle flanked by two diagonal doors. The rear door leads into a huge space that encompasses an 18-foot by 24-foot family room with a high, inverted hip ceiling, a second fireplace, and mahogany built-ins, a large breakfast area and the open-plan kitchen, which feature a long breakfast bar, island, granite countertops, gas cooktop and oven and other professional-grade appliances. The kitchen also has a wine cooler and walk-in pantry.
Both the family room and breakfast room have French doors that lead out onto the lanai.
A vestibule connects the kitchen to the front gallery and to a separate guest or children’s wing that contains two well-appointed en suite bedrooms.
The owner’s suite occupies the other side of the house in this split floor plan. At the right end of the gallery is a vestibule that opens on one side to the master suite, which includes a 15-foot by 18-foot bedroom with French doors to the lanai, two walk-in closets and two separate bathrooms at either end of the bedroom. The back bath has its own door to the lanai and doubles as a pool bath.
Straight ahead from the vestibule is a room that could be a study, office or studio. To the right is a hallway with a powder room that leads to the laundry room and the garage door. Through the door are a golf cart garage with separate roll-up door and then the main two-car garage.
In the back of the house is a 15-foot by 30-foot scalloped pool with a spa surrounded by a paved pool deck and grassy lawn that slopes down to the lake.
The lake and golf course are home to dozens of species of colorful and exotic birds. The course was designated an Audubon sanctuary in 2005. To achieve the certification, “the golf course and club demonstrated that it maintains a high degree of environmental quality in the following categories: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation and Water Quality Management,” according to the club website.
White and brown pelicans, great blue herons, great and snowy egrets, bald eagles, ospreys, owls, wood storks, roseate spoonbills and king fishers are among the dozens of species that inhabit the lush, well-manicured grounds.
Niederpruem says the intimacy of the community is one of its biggest draws. There are only 376 homes and home sites on the 600-acre property, which is almost entirely built out with homes that range in price from $350,000 for a golf cottage to $12,500,000 for a grand oceanfront estate.
Despite the intimate size, the community has an unusual array of amenities including a magnificent 25,000-square-foot beach club with resort pool and cabanas; a tennis center with clubhouse, 8 Har-tru courts and a variety of adult and children’s programs, including weekly drills, ball machine and cardio clinics, ladies & men’s days, round robins and pro exhibitions; a 8,200-square-foot a state-of-the-art fitness center and spa; and a 17,000-square-foot golf clubhouse currently undergoing extensive upgrades.
There are dining venues at the beach club, pool and golf club ranging from casual to fine dining.
The club was founded by Robert Haines III, of Avon, Connecticut, in 1990. He was determined to build exceptional amenities for the seaside enclave he envisioned.
“History has it there was not a set budget for the beach club,” says Niederpruem. “Haines simply wanted the very best, regardless of cost. He also built a phenomenal golf course. It was designed by Arnold Palmer and they brought in massive amounts of fill to make the undulating fairways and elevated greens in an area that had been a flat orange grove.”
In 1994, Orchid Island was purchased by W. Galen Weston, developer of the adjacent community of Windsor. It thrived under his leadership and more than 300 homes were sold by the time Weston turned the community over to its members in 2007.
New residents are drawn to the club both by the range of activities and amenities and by the friendly relaxed atmosphere.
“People enjoy all the dining options and clubs within the club that we offer, says marketing coordinator Shirley Reul. “There is a yacht club, gun club, art club, kayaking, bridge – even a choral group.”
“People love the scale of the club,” says Niederpruem. “It is small enough that you can meet everybody. A lot of friendships are made here.”