Lap of Luxury: The New American Home 2025

Dan Coletti isn’t afraid to try to outdo himself when it comes to The New American Home. Having already designed and built three past versions of the annual showcase home in the hills overlooking the Las Vegas Valley and distinctive Strip, Coletti and his company, Sun West Custom Homes, did indeed outdo themselves this year with a 9,047-square-foot, three-level custom spec home that exemplifies luxury living.

“The views here are ridiculously good,” says Coletti of the lot he chose near the top of Ascaya, an elite housing-only master plan in Vegas-adjacent Henderson, Nev. “This was arguably one of the best lots available, and I thought a great deal about how we could take advantage of it.”

• Location: Ascaya, Henderson, Nev.
• Lot size: 0.54 acres
• Home size: 9,047 square feet (conditioned, including attached casita)
• Bedrooms: 4 + 1 (casita)
• Bathrooms: 4.5 + 1 (casita)
• Designer/Builder: Sun West Custom Homes, Las Vegas
• Interior Designer: Elevated Interiors, Las Vegas
• Landscape Architect: Vangson Consulting, Las Vegas

Big Swings and Little Touches

Coletti’s intent was to bring elements of the surrounding desert into the home’s interior design, with inspiration drawn from the jewel tones and earthy hues of Arizona’s Painted Desert.

The home features creamy, veined porcelain tile flooring, an abundant use of wood species that include Hawaiian monkeypod, ash, elm, and pine, and expanses of glass that capture views out the back and throughout the interior as well.

“When you enter, you can look left through the dining room and stairwell and on, out of the house. And if you look right, there’s a view through the study and across the hallway,” Coletti says. “Wherever your eye travels, you’re looking through the home,” he adds, revealing his penchant for both dramatic and intimate sight lines that bring awe and joy. “We worked very hard to make it look the way it does, to have it come alive.”

Coletti is also thrilled by his concept for an 8-by-8-foot clear acrylic floor just inside the entryway that gives guests a unique view down into the home’s below-grade 800-square-foot wine cellar and sitting area (see photo, below).

“We worked very hard to make it look the way it does, to have it come alive.”

—Dan Coletti, Designer, owner, Sun West Custom Homes

And there are smaller (if no less intriguing) touches as well, such as the backsplash’s glass shelved storage areas on either side of the range that are concealed by sliding stone doors, and a slatted-wood bench in the glass-enclosed breezeway that separates the main living area from the guest casita.

“There are these little trinkets throughout the house not seen anywhere else,” Coletti says. “There are quite a few wow factors as you walk through.”

Blending Inside and Out: Designing for a Seamless Flow

Known for creating seamless transitions from indoor to outdoor living areas, particularly from the rooms that look out over the valley, Coletti found other ways to enhance that connection.

In the breezeway, for instance, the floor of pavers and pebbles extends past the casita to a charming front courtyard and a garage. “It gives you the feeling of ... ‘Am I still in the house or am I outside?’” he says.

Similarly, the porcelain tile floors and wood-paneled ceiling extend from inside to the outdoor areas, and the tall telescoping all-glass sliding doors across the back of the house—encompassing the primary bedroom, kitchen, great room (above), and a junior suite—open up to various outdoor experiences, strengthening the indoor-outdoor connection.

Upstairs, a generous game room/lounge (left) with a full bar and a pair of secondary bedroom suites also benefits from the home’s elevated perch, opening to an extensive terrace with a fireplace, additional storage, and counter space, plus ample room for multiple seating or dining arrangements.

A sleek open-riser staircase with wood treads serves all three levels. And, for the first time, this year’s New American Home also includes an elevator, adding an extra touch of luxury.

The New American Home 2025 Floor Plan

The New American Home 2025 encompasses a total of 9,047 square feet of conditioned living space on three levels, plus a pair of conditioned garages with room for five vehicles, work spaces, and storage, as well as multiple outdoor living areas.

The ground level’s wide-open living space seamlessly flows into its outdoor counterpart and is flanked by two bedroom suites (A). That level also features a glassed-in office and secluded dining area. An enclosed breezeway (B) leads to a casita suite accessed from the outdoors and adjacent to a firepit courtyard (C).

Upstairs, a generous game room and lounge extend to a large balcony (D) that overlooks the Las Vegas Valley and Strip. A pair of secondary bedroom suites, one with access to the balcony, complete the footprint.

Lastly, a below-grade level features a conditioned wine cellar and sitting area (E) and the home’s primary mechanical room. All three levels are accessed by a staircase and an elevator.

All Hands on Deck

The construction of The New American Home 2025 was not without its challenges, including the below-grade wine cellar and elevator shaft. Add to that tight deadlines for photography and, ultimately, hosting guided tours for thousands of people attending the International Builders’ Show in late February.

The team also had to achieve the highest levels of energy and resource efficiency, indoor air quality, and other eco-conscious metrics—a mandate that required careful attention to many (and sometimes new) construction details and product specifications.

Site preparation for the roughly half-acre lot started in December 2023, and construction began a month later. Sun West received a temporary certificate of occupancy just before Thanksgiving—an 11-month turnaround. That’s significant because the prep and build-out for the elevator and below-grade wine cellar alone would reasonably take 16 to 18 months to finish, according to Mark Schlachter, Sun West’s construction superintendent on the job.

“We had as many as 110 trade workers on the site at one time and about 80 to 100 a day during the last two months of construction,” he says. “When you have pavers going in, low voltage on this side, electricians on that side, the trim guy right here, the tile guy in the backyard, and landscapers all around, it’s challenging to manage because you’re still on the hook for the quality of it.”

Buck Wargo is a business, housing, and real estate reporter based in Las Vegas.

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