Dazzling Glass House With an Indoor Lap Pool and Waterfall Is the Ultimate Mix of Retro and Refined

An eclectic North Carolina property that has been put on the market for $1.6 million comes with just one clear prerequisite for a potential buyer: You must like glass.

A quick glance at the listing photos of the Raleigh, NC, home makes crystal clear why that is—revealing distinctive glass-block walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that make the structure look almost like an igloo, albeit one flanked by palm trees.

Having been built in 1981, but meticulously updated in recent years, the home is a tale of two stories, featuring a very retro, vintage aesthetic on the exterior, one that belies the bright, modern feel found once you set foot inside.

“I think this house does a really good job of marrying a couple different worlds and that's okay,” says listing agent Catie Sherry with Keller Williams Realty Cary.

"I think we're living a lot in a cookie-cutter new construction type world, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but there's something about character in homes. My sellers did an amazing job marrying the character with 2026 function and design as well.”

An eclectic North Carolina property that has been put on the market for $1.6 million comes with just one clear prerequisite for a potential buyer: You must like glass. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) A quick glance at the listing photos of the Raleigh, NC, home makes crystal-clear why that is—revealing distinctive glass-block walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) Having been built in 1981, but meticulously updated in recent years, the home is a tale of two stories, with a vintage exterior hiding a fresh, modern interior. The kitchen and flooring were just some of the updates to the home. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals)

Glass is just about everywhere in the 5,874-square-foot home, which last changed hands for $795,000 in May 2021, before it had been updated.

“There are glass blocks that actually make up the walls, like the exterior walls, so they're windows and they're functionally holding the structure together.” Sherry explains, adding the glass block lets in light but does not allow people to see in.

Those glass block exterior walls aren’t the only unusual features.

“The original owner added some just really wild, interesting ideas like a waterfall integrated into a fireplace,” she says. “I could keep going, but we don’t have all day. Those are just the highlights.”

Every room except one in the basement has some kind of glass—which Sherry notes will likely mean that the property appeals to a very specific kind of person.

“[The buyer] is going to be someone who wants something that no one else can have and that can appreciate uniqueness and that can appreciate art within a structure,” she says.

“You have to like glass. You have to like glass block. You have to like stained glass. And if that's not for you, that's okay. It’s definitely for someone.”

A forest surrounds the home, with the floor-to-ceiling windows turning it almost into a living wallpaper. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) There is an indoor lap pool with a stained-glass piece hanging above it. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) Many stained-glass pieces are found in the home, with the listing agent noting the a prospective buyer will likely have a passion for architecture and design. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) Two of the bedrooms have views of the pool. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals)

The current sellers did extensive updates about five years ago, changing the flooring, updating the kitchen, and removing a structure that stood in the way of the views of the oak forest outside. The home sits on almost 1 acre.

“One of the things that really stands out is the view. You walk in the front door, take a slight right and then all of a sudden, you just see these floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and it's incredible.”

The view is Sherry’s favorite part of the home.

“I've been in that house a lot, and I've sat in that little seating area in those four swivel chairs many different times in many different types of weather. It’s almost like therapy being in that room,” she says. “Looking out over the trees in any weather … you feel so safe in that room.”

There are four full bathrooms and three bedrooms, two of which have views of another unique feature of the home, the indoor swimming pool.

“It's a lap pool. It's between four and five feet deep. It has a waterfall at the end, which is really cool,” she explains. “But then the best feature, I think, is this stained-glass woman swimmer, [hanging above] kind of at an angle.”

The stained-glass swimmer is an architectural feat. Sherry says it has to be at an angle or the weight and pressure of it would make it shatter if it was parallel to the pool. The initial installation was a bit of a challenge to have it just right.

Even the bathroom vanities are glass block. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) The fireplace has a waterfall feature. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals) Glass and natural tones dominate the living space. (Chris Losak/ Lighthouse Visuals)

“It's art and then it's also just like a little nod to trying something different and being successful,” she says. “If you're doing backstroke, that's the most cool thing to see. She's doing backstroke with you.”

With the unique glass features from the 1980s and the 2026 updates, the home is a paradox and creates something special.

“This is almost a perfect house for two people, a couple, or whatever, if they were to have different tastes and one person likes modern and one person likes historical character, it'd be like a perfect blend,” Sherry says with a laugh.

“One person could hang out on this side of the house the other person could hang out in [another] room and it just would be a good match for conflicting styles that just marry together really well.”

While there are many different styles of homes on this quiet Raleigh cul-de-sac, this one stands out.

“I have never seen anything like this, and I don't expect to see many more listings like this,” Sherry says, adding some advice for the buyer.

“I think you have to love glass, and you have to be a nice person because [of the] the whole throwing stones thing, right?”