The Falls showcases designers’ dreams

The Falls is a home that dreams are made of.

Literally blasted from the mountains that comprise The Ridges village in Summerlin, it is elemental in nature and its named was derived from the nine water features both inside and out of this 17,195-square-foot architectural wonder.

It’s a project that will always be special to me, not only for its phenomenal design but also for the realization of a long-held dream to find the perfect home for the first-ever American Society of Interior Designers’ Showcase house in Nevada. I have wondered for years that since showcase houses are done with regularity in almost every major city in the U.S. and with great success, why not here in Las Vegas?

The Falls is this year’s featured home on the annual Parade of Homes and is a first-time collaboration between the ASID, the oldest and largest of interior design organizations in the world, and the Las Vegas Parade. The Showcase house gives a number of local ASID designers an opportunity to “strut their stuff” and the public a chance to see the results of when creative design meets inspired architecture. At the same time, it raises money for the Las Vegas Habitat for Humanity.

It’s also given me an opportunity to put to the test a number of the concepts and theories that I’ve been espousing in this column with my design for the home’s master bedroom and bath.

In a recent article I admitted to being what someone referred to as a wall whisperer. That is an individual who, strangely enough, “hears” what the walls of a room are saying to him and is able to determine a design path which will, hopefully, prove to be the road to glorious results.

This “conversation” led me to a choice of Modern Masters’ shimmering copper penny metallic paint, a decision that was no doubt influenced by the extensive use of copper elements throughout the residence. This paint is rather daring and not typical — but then neither is The Falls. I was inspired by its beauty and originality.

My next choice was the window coverings for the sleeping area and the bathroom. This was made relatively easy for me with a visit to one of my favorite design showrooms here in town, The Gerrity Group, which has a superb selection of fabrics and furniture.

The sheers for the bedroom are glorious with their geometric pattern and perfect shades of copper and brown metallic threads, as are the unusual blackout drapes with a front side that appears as a beautiful soft brown and underside of standard-issue blackout material.

The homeowner fell in love at first sight with a four-poster bed made of metal with a burnished-copper finish. I was in complete agreement with her as the sleeping area is not an overly large space and the bed’s scale and simplicity would work beautifully.

I should mention that the layout of the furniture — bed, night tables and wall-mounted plasma TV — follows my golden standard for placement. Even though they may not float in the room (i.e., pulled away from the walls), they are situated to make maximum use of the space and derive the greatest advantage of the incredible city view. When in bed, the homeowner will be able to see out the windows, watch the television and the fireplace all without ever having to turn his head.

I placed a textured-leather armchair on a swivel with an ottoman in the space (also from The Gerrity Group) along with a traditional chaise lounge (courtesy of Andre Originals) directly under the fireplace. The chaise is upholstered in a leopard print and shown with the most luscious fur throw you could ever imagine tossed elegantly across its seat.

The bed’s drapery sheers are encrusted with pearls and are complemented by custom mirrors leaning seductively atop dark woven-wood night tables with sculptural lamps crowned with orange silk shades. All of this was set off by a brilliant geometric area rug (NW Rugs).

The master bathroom features an oversized, round glass-enclosed shower and fire features on either side of a round Jacuzzi tub accented with sheers (this time from Bergamo) that are unusual to say the least. These window coverings are made of metallic threads in shades of copper and brown and feature fringe-like fibers very reminiscent of long, silky hair. How divine — and different.

As you can tell from this description, I’ve stayed on my path of shaking things up and thinking out of the box for my design. Still, I never could have achieved the results I did without the understanding and trust of the wonderful homeowners, Michael and Rhonda Mona, who were so supportive of ASID’s collaborative effort to make a dream come true.

A heartfelt thank you to them and to all our vendors and contributors for their efforts on our behalf.

The Falls can be seen this weekend and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 4, along with the other featured homes on the Parade. Tickets are $25 and are available online with Paypal or credit card at www.ASIDCANV.org.

Stephen Leon is president of Soleil Design International and has been designing and manufacturing custom furniture and cabinetry for more than 25 years. He is on the board of directors of the Central California/Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. Questions can be sent to soleildesign@cox.net.