Las Vegas Home

Las Vegas, Nevada

At the heart of this 6,500 square-foot contemporary Spanish stucco residence is a multi-purpose family/media room that's extraordinary. That's apparent the moment you pass through the two-story foyer/atrium — capped with an octagonal domed skylight — and step down into the sunken, octagon-shaped room which is open to the foyer, kitchen, dining, living room, office and patio. The focal point of the 500 square-foot room is a granite fireplace that takes up one wall accented by a second wall of beautiful birds' eye maple cabinetry.

Used for family and casual entertaining, the owner had some specific things in mind that posed quite a challenge given the room's open architecture and abundant ambient daylight. Though front projection was out of the question during the daytime, the owner still wanted to have the option for nighttime viewing. And being a music aficionado, the owner wanted to be able to use the room for audiophile-quality listening as well.

The solution provided a 40-inch direct-view TV housed in the cabinet for daytime. And for nighttime, a 97" Stewart Electriscreen descends in front of the TV. The Runco 980 IDTV 3-gun Projector is neatly hidden away in a soffit in the middle of the room. Front cabinet speakers with down-firing speakers at the side and rear perimeter of the room, as well as 2 audiophile-grade speakers on either side of the room, completed the sound system. A full Lutron Homeworks Lighting control system and fiber-optic lighting built into the steps are used to set the mood.

The entire media system, as well as the home's front entry, security, lighting, environment, fireplaces and pool/spa are controlled using AMX integration technology. The system was originally installed in 1993. Subsequent upgrades have included rewiring the house to install Landmark PLK-DMS keypads and trading the Axcent2 head-end for a Landmark Card Cage. Today, the family is using the AMX Color Tiltscreens, Inwall Touchscreen, Keypads and Softkey Remote Control for convenient access to the various functions.

In the media room, simple one-touch commands using the custom-icons and buttons on the 10" Touchscreen allow family and guests to easily switch from satellite to Laser Disc, CD and VCR entertainment sources. When the projection screen is engaged, it automatically switches off the TV. And when the owner selects "Audiophile" on his Touchscreen, the system automatically switches from the theater speakers to the professional-quality sound speakers.