In The Forest at Panther Ridge, a private gate opens to a long drive under live oak and pine, and a charming Southern home is nestled in a quiet, private setting. The drive winds past a wooden bridge over the creek, a sparkling blue lake off to the left, and then continues through the trees to the house. A deep band of woods wraps the homesite, and there's a wraparound porch made for coffee and later, a glass of wine. A spacious circular courtyard wide enough for the whole family to arrive at once brings you to the elegant entrance. Lakewood Ranch is only minutes down the road; you would never know it from the hush.
This is 5,156 square feet under air (5,599 in all), and it is built for a big life: children in the hall, dogs asleep on the porch, grandparents who stay the week.
A metal roof crowns the house. Inside, two-story ceilings soar over the great room. A floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace anchors the room from hearth to the peak of the ceiling. A long run of windows and French doors pulls the woods, water and the sky into the house. Off that room, a generous downstairs bonus room opens toward a screened 16-by-35-foot lap pool with a new travertine deck, which continues out to a travertine firepit and a second travertine pad for the outdoor kitchen you have been dreaming about. The property is fenced, with enough pasture for a horse or two.
The house has been thoroughly reworked, inside and out. New motor and keypad at the entry, new irrigation, well, water treatment, septic, electrical panel, pool equipment and heater, and a generator hookup. Wide, long wood-look ceramic plank runs through the house, warm as hardwood and built for Florida. The kitchen is open to a lighted quartz bar that looks straight into the great room, so cooking and gathering are the same conversation. Quartz countertops, new cabinetry, a proper island with gas and a hood, GE Cafe appliances and double ovens, the farmhouse sink, a wine refrigerator, and a walk-in pantry. Dining is a formal room just off the kitchen, with French doors opening to the wraparound porch. The den is a large room, with a stone fireplace and French doors, a quiet place to get work done.
Four bedrooms, three and a half baths. The owner's suite is downstairs, with a sitting bay and a bath finished as a retreat -- a generous tiled shower, double vanities, and a real closet. Upstairs there are three more bedrooms and a huge bonus room. One is a private ensuite. One opens off the bonus room. The third sits at the end of the hall. The second upstairs bath is the big one, with a room-sized walk-in shower -- dual heads, the kind of space you do not expect even in a house this large -- and a soaking tub.
Panther Ridge features miles of hiking and equestrian trails through hammock and pine, with rustic bridges over meandering creeks. Fox and deer are part of the ordinary day. There is also a park and playground for the children, and a riding area for the equestrians. Neighbors on land, not on lots. Lakewood Ranch is next door for restaurants, A-rated schools, groceries, and concerts. The Concession Golf Club sits across the road. Premier Sports Campus is about two miles away. University Town Center and Lakewood Ranch's shopping and dining districts put everything within an easy drive. The town is there when you want it, but when you come home and drive through the gates to your Panther Ridge estate, it is as if the world never existed. Living on big land. There's nothing like it.
