Every New American Home is built under extremely tight deadlines that add to the pressure of constructing the country’s premier showcase for residential building products and techniques. During the months leading up to the International Builders’ Show, the project team works tirelessly to make sure that everything is ready for the thousands of attendees who tour it during the conference. The last few weeks are always a tight race against the clock.
But perhaps more than any other New American Home, construction of the 2014 model has come down to the wire. In many ways, the project has been a work in progress from its early planning stages to the very last days of construction. From its floor plan and orientation to interior elements and product selections, decisions were made and changed and then changed again, sometimes at the 11th hour.
The good news is that the extra work, delays, and revisions have yielded a stellar finished product: an understated but dazzling home that surprises visitors at every turn. With a unique layout that embraces and celebrates the 0.26-acre site, the two-level beauty rises out of the foothills of Henderson, Nev., to capture glittering views of the Las Vegas Strip.
The plan lines up the living spaces along one side of the first floor, making room for a large two-level atrium and dining room where the views take center stage through a plate-glass window. Its T-shape encompasses a first-floor master bedroom wing with equally breathtaking views of downtown.
“The house you see now is way more inspired than the first design we had,” says Josh Anderson, builder of the mammoth project. Anderson worked closely with architect Jeffrey Berkus to fine tune the layout after Jeffrey’s father, architect Barry Berkus, passed away in late 2012.
Visitors are guided from the front door through the two-level atrium to the home’s core via a center-access “runway” made of large-format Daltile porcelain tile. To balance out the cavernous space, designers scaled down the volume in the living room and kitchen by dropping the ceiling height from 23 feet to 10 feet. They also broke up large expanses of materials such as wood and tile with showy accent pieces.
“We wanted to make sure that nobody would feel overwhelmed by a particular material because the spaces are so large and views so great,” says Tiffany Bowman of Winter Park, Fla.-based Marc-Michaels Interior Design. “It was a study in how to create this very unified space that would take your eye out to the view.”
In every aspect, the house meets the demands of the Las Vegas luxury market. It features the hottest amenities such as contemporary styling, trendy feng shui elements, and aging-in-place components —including the first-floor master suite and an elevator.
There’s also a second-floor master in addition to three other bedrooms: two upstairs in the main house and one in the attached carriage suite. Quieter elements that are no less impressive include a fully equipped yoga room, a soothing water feature in the main entry, and a rooftop terrace with breathtaking views.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Las Vegas, NV.
