one championship home

Southern Living, Oct 2004 by Young, Dianne

Hall of Fame golfer Beth Daniel has built the house of her dreams in Delray Beach, Florida.

If the LPGA handed out trophies for the best houses on the Tour, this South Florida address would score some serious hardware. It nestles along the Intracoastal Waterway, offering eye-stopping views from almost every room, and greets visitors with an open expanse of light-filled space. Everything about the house, from overall floor plan to carefully chosen details, reflects a blend of maximum function and personal style.

Building such a dream home takes patience, effort, and ingenuity. Just ask Beth Daniel. This LPGA player and Hall of Fame golfer searched and planned for years to craft the house she wanted.

Nothing Happens by Chance

A Charleston native, Beth first discovered Delray Beach while playing the mini-tour after she graduated from Furman University. "I just kind of fell in love with it," she explains. During her 25-year career, she has called other places home, but there was something about Delray. Maybe it was the locale's small-town, OldFlorida atmosphere, spiced with just the right dash of low-key sophistication, but it struck a heartstring. Beth bought a house south of town and began looking to build.

That opportunity materialized when she found a vacant lot directly on the waterway. Working with interior designer Aline Cassady even before construction began, Beth was determined to capitalize on the setting. The result is a home that suits the golfer to a tee.

Guiding visitors on a relaxed tour, she recalls, "I told the architects that I wanted a house where you could see everything except the bedrooms when you walked in the front door. That's pretty much what I got." In this simple plan, the main living areas on the first floor spread out like one large, spacious room, unbroken by solid walls and doors. The secluded master bedroom and office sit to one side. Each of the other high-ceilinged rooms leads naturally to the next, drawing the eye to the windows that line the back of the house.

A formal dining room, adjacent to the front door, holds a 72-inch-round Portuguese wood table with decorative inlay, which matches the buffet that is tucked into a mirror-walled niche. The small living room nearby is defined by white columns, beige carpet, and elegant yellow-and-red furnishings. However, the home's real star-even in the living room-is the view, visible through windows that arch all the way into the upstairs loft. You can see out across the pool and patio to the blue sky and the Intracoastal. "The view is definitely one of the house's best features," understates Beth as she ushers her guests into the family room, breakfast room, and kitchen beyond.

Favorite Spot

This is the place Beth most likes to be-Daniel home central, if you will. An avid cook, she spends a good bit of time in the kitchen, which was designed to make it easy to both prepare meals and entertain. The cabinets, the island workspace in the center, and even the refrigerator doors are made of maple-stained walnut, giving them the clean, rich appearance of furniture. The granite countertops temper the effect of so much wood, and glass-block windows on either side of the cooktop let in more light.

A custom-built entertainment center is angled into the wall of the family room and serves as the space's centerpiece. It boasts three TVs-one of them a big-screen-and faces a comfortable, earth-toned sofa. Floor-to-ceiling doors pocket as they slide out of sight, extending the living area out onto a screened patio.

Careful Choices and Thoughtful Details

A house like this doesn't just happen, and Beth is quick to credit all the time and effort she and Aline put in as a team. From touring model homes to a joint trip to North Carolina in search of specific furniture pieces, the two worked together, concentrating on every element in the house. All of their diligence paid off. For example, the lights are linked by computer, so when you flip a switch you can illuminate an entire pathway or area. "It's not really more expensive," says Beth, "you just have to do it early in the construetion process." Other examples also abound. A larger-than-standard hot-water heater heads off any capacity problems during those times when Beth has company. The electrical outlets in the kitchen are faux-fmished to match the tile backsplash, so they are not visually jarring.

These are all things, says Beth, that make her house more livable. "It is very functional," she points out. "Another thing I really like is that this is a casual house. I always wanted to build a place where people could come in and relax. My problem is," she concludes with a grin, "I never want to leave when I'm here." DIANNE YOUNG

Her Winning Ways

In 2003, after an eight-year drought, Beth Daniel won her 33rd professional tournament. She also received the LPGA's Heather Farr Player Award, which is given to the player who has best exhibited determination, perseverance, and spirit in fulfilling her goals. That honor is only the latest achievement in a remarkable career. Here are just a few of the highlights.