Toll Brothers provides information resource with design studio

From carpet, cabinets and countertops to floor coverings, fireplaces and finishes, Toll Brothers' Las Vegas Design Studio is an 8,400-square-foot home design mecca and an excellent source for what's hot and what's not in luxury homes.

According to Toll Brothers design experts, here's what's in for Las Vegas luxury homes: courtyards, expanses of glass, gourmet kitchens, game/bonus rooms, spa-like baths, decorative glass, home theaters, meditation rooms, guest suites, three- and four-car garages, resort-style pools and outdoor entertainment areas.

Some things that are out for luxury homes: concrete slab entries, windowless rooms, gingham country kitchens, Foosball in the kitchen, cramped water closets, flowered stencils, rolling TV stands, cluttered spaces, hide-a-beds, overflowing storage bins, above-ground pools and never-used backyards.

"With 300 active communities in 21 states, Toll Brothers studies the preferences of home buyers who influence trends in architecture and home design," Merlin Jo Giesler, design studio manager, said. "In Las Vegas, every buyer comes to the design studio.

"Local trends also emerge and that keeps us up-to-date on what Las Vegas luxury home buyers really want," she said.

Toll Brothers has 10 active communities in the Las Vegas area: Hidden Canyon Estates, and Franklin Park and Madison Grove at Providence in the northwest valley; Vita Bella at Lake Las Vegas Resort; Traccia and Fairway Hills in Summerlin; and Inspirada, MacDonald Highlands, and Madera and Mirasol at Mountain's Edge in the southwest.

For more information, call 243-9800 or visit TollBrothers.com.

Toll Brothers operates 300 communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.