The contemporary production home is here

Modern contemporary has been a Las Vegas luxury home trend for several years and now that look is trickling down to production homes.

American West is offering its first contemporary home, Madison, in the new Fox Hill Estate in the Highlands Ranch planned community in the southwestern portion of the valley.

The new neighborhood, which debuted in May, includes one-, two- and three-story homes. The grand opening drew more than 270 people, said Bonnie Hernandez, the company’s marketing director.

Hernandez added that two of the Madison homes have been sold and construction is expected to begin soon.

Though there are no models of the new three-story homes, the sales office at 10022 Pipestone St. displays artist’s renderings and has a large digital screen like a giant iPad (it’s taking the place of the old community models). It will have a version of the Las Vegas homebuilder’s signature balconies at the front of the home as well as a rooftop deck, another first for the builder.

The 4,934-square-foot home has five bedrooms, 3½ baths, three-car garages and is priced at $488,500. It’s the most expensive home in the neighborhood, which offers floor plans that start at 2,002 square feet and $345,500 in price.

American West Vice President Daniel Welsh said company executives meet weekly with designers and architects to discuss what’s trending in new homes. They also survey their homebuyers for suggestions on how to tweak features. “We build in Las Vegas. We don’t build anywhere else,” he said. “We are constantly looking to see what works here.”

The builder was one of the first to add over-sized islands with seating in its kitchens and super-sized spa showers in baths.

The four model homes in Fox Hill Estate are named after company executives’ children. The Brooklyn at the end of the row is the namesake of Welsh’s daughter. It’s a 3,103-square-foot home that has what American West calls BRAG (bonus room and game) space. From the entrance, the traditional residence looks like a one-story home; upstairs is a loft for bedrooms and a family room.

The kitchens show off the builder’s cabinets — white, black, gray and dark woods. There is usually a double fridge unless the extra space was used for a larger pantry. A bay window is at the stove. Lots of seating in the kitchen.

Some of the spa showers include tubs. Welsh recalled not needing a tub when buying his home until his wife reminded him that they had three small children.

He pointed at the enclosed caramel-colored shower and tub in an upstairs bath and said, “If you have kids, it’s a really good thing to have.”

Careful attention is given to the window positioning in the homes so natural light can flood into the living areas. Other details are coffered ceilings and modern horizontal fireplaces in the great rooms.

One trend he has noticed is fewer requests for casitas and more people asking for double master suites in the homes. Welsh said his company is focusing on the second master.

He said these luxury features are offered in all of the builder’s communities.

Caren Polland with Las Vegas-based Colour Concepts has been decorating models for Las Vegas homebuilders for 30 years. She said “clean and simple” from the fabrics to the furniture pieces is what’s in for new homes these days.

“The trends really have changed in the last few years,” she said. “There is a surge of contemporary, even in some of the exterior elevations of the homes.”

American West started the planned community in the heart of the recession. Fox Hill Estate is the seventh neighborhood in Highlands Ranch, which has about 500 residents. Welsh said the planned community would not have a homeowners association; instead, it elected to form an LMA, referred to as a limited, or landscape, maintenance association to keep the costs down for residents.

The scaled-down version of the HOA would have covenants, conditions and restrictions but no board. The builder has installed walking and biking trails and the county is building a 15-acre park nearby. Welsh said the community should be completed in four to five years and will have 3,200 homes.