Christopher's showcase home opens to public

The public is invited to tour Christopher Homes' custom showcase residence in The Enclave at Southern Highlands Golf Club starting this weekend. The $7.5 million estate measures 10,000 square feet, plus it has an additional 3,000 square feet of outdoor living area.

The residence, which was the official show home for last month's International Builders Show in Las Vegas, is open to visitors age 18 and older from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. There is an admission fee of $10 per person, a portion of which will be donated to Candlelighters for Childhood Cancer of Southern Nevada. The home closes for public viewing on March 16.

J. Christopher Stuhmer, CEO of Christopher Homes, said the home showcases the latest in design and technology. Christopher's partners in the project were California-based Scheurer Architects, Builder magazine and Home magazine.

"... We wanted to create ... an exquisite show home to demonstrate the level of quality we can deliver to our custom-home clients," Stuhmer said. "This is a custom residence that works equally well for entertaining on the grandest of scales or for simple day-to-day living. It can comfortably accommodate a family of four or a gathering of 400."

Highlights include high-tech appliances, home automation and entertainment systems, as well as the finest in building materials, furnishings, artwork, fabrics and stonework.

Erika Geiser, vice president of marketing, said the home has a village-like ambience.

"Unlike most homes of its size, this residence reveals itself gracefully, allowing visitors to discover its spaces and the logic of the home's interconnected floor plan," Geiser said. "The formal dining room, for instance, is part of a wing separated by a courtyard and center hallway from the main house, but with convenient and unobtrusive access to a butler's pantry and the kitchen. A seemingly benign hallway leads to a generous laundry room and command center complex that wraps behind the kitchen, while a half-level walk down to one side of the main staircase reveals a guest suite complete with its own courtyard."

Among the upscale appointments are a wellness center with a raised and curtained massage platform, two flat-screen televisions and a steam room; a Versace room, a below-level area with a game room and wine cellar; and a central courtyard that is accessible from all of the main rooms on the first floor.

The custom residence is one of 18 to be built within The Enclave, a gated neighborhood. The homes will range from about 5,000 to more than 10,000 square feet, and will be situated on lots measuring from 13,800 to more than 35,000 square feet. Prices of the custom homes (including the home sites) are anticipated to range from about $1.5 million to more than $8 million. Each custom-home buyer will receive a golf club membership to Southern Highlands Golf Club, upon application approval.

The homes will be built through Christopher's custom-home division.

"Once again we are raising the bar in terms of the level of luxury and convenience we offer our custom-home clients," Stuhmer said. "Christopher Homes, along with Scheurer Architects, will design a unique custom home for each home site. Each home will be positioned to optimize views, and every stage of the design-and-build process will be handled in-house, by our own team of design and construction experts."

Stuhmer said views played an integral part in the planning of The Enclave, where 70 percent of the home sites are adjacent to the golf course and nearly all of the home sites front the neighborhood's private park, which features a waterfall and pond. Most lots provide city and mountain views.

Each buyer receives interior design consultation at the builder's full-service design center.

To visit, take Interstate 15 south to the Henderson/Lake Mead exit, head west and follow the signs.

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