“It’s big but not too big,” says Tricia Silverie of her 4,700-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath French-style country home. Located on three and a half acres in Quail Meadows, the home Silverie and her husband Daniel built three years ago is also elegant without being too formal.

“For such a fancy and expensively-built home, the feeling is amazingly casual,” Realtor Doug Steiny says. “They are very casual people—they are neat and clean and tidy, but not suits and ties. It’s work-out clothes and jeans.”

Tricia, who is on her way out the door to teach a spinning class in Monterey, says her favorite room in the house is the master bedroom.

“There’s a fireplace between the bedroom and bathroom,” she says. Enough said.  But then, the master suite also includes an enormous closet area, a Jacuzzi tub under the fireplace, and an oversized walk-in shower. Views from the many windows show sunlight filtering through the trees. The subtle shades on plastered walls don’t compete with the outside glory.

Steiny says that the home possesses the three key elements that, in his opinion, an upper-end home needs to have to be “bulletproof in the marketplace.”

“It’s single level,” he says. “It’s got a fabulous master bedroom, bathroom and closet. And it’s got a kitchen great-room. People don’t really like these separate formal kitchens and eating areas anymore.”

Besides the eating area in the high-ceilinged kitchen, complete with fireplace, there’s another table in the living room (with its own 28-foot ceilings and fireplace), plus a dining room and numerous informal eating areas on patios outside.

And for anyone who has hurriedly rushed through their house gathering up kicked-off socks and dropped towels before company comes, the fact that the house has its own laundry room with a multitude of shelves and cabinets makes it a dream of organization.

Luxury details abound: pillowed limestone floors and hickory plank floors reclaimed from a 19th century European church are warmed through a radiant heating system. In the kitchen are double Bosch dishwashers and double Viking convection ovens, plus a built-in wine refrigerator. Bathrooms have hammered copper sink bowls, lovely European light fixtures, marble countertops, custom wood cabinetry, and elegant mirrors.

Then there’s the outside bliss. The home has a grand appearance with a slate roof, copper gutters and a three-car garage accessed through a portacachiere. Views of hills and sunny skies surround the home.

“It’s probably got the best weather on the globe,” Steiny says. “It’s on a 600-acre parcel that used to be part of the Fish Ranch. The area was developed by Ed Haber—he’s the beloved guy who just passed away. There’s a mountain ridge that comes down and wraps around the area. They used to call it the fishbowl. At the house you’re surrounded by hills that protect you from the fog and wind, but you’re still close enough to the coast so you’re not sweltering.”

The location feels like country-living but is just minutes away from Carmel Valley Road.

“It’s nice because you’re close to everything, yet removed from everything,” Tricia says.

“It’s two minutes to town and two minutes to the golf course,” Steiny says.

There’s also hiking in the nearby Santa Lucia Preserve. Besides the numerous deer, Tricia and Daniel have seen bobcats, coyotes, wild turkey and wild boar.

“I think we’ve heard a mountain lion too,” Tricia adds. “But I don’t really want to see it.”

Price: $3,995,000. Homeowners’ Association fees: $300/month. 5490 Quail Meadows Dr., Carmel. Contact Doug Steiny, Sotheby’s International Realty, 622-4860.