Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/593724
photography by Lisa Corson (ChandeLier, Chairs); todd WitCher (WaLL) The view couldn't be better—a corner penthouse that faces north and east, with 13-foot foor-to-ceiling win- dows that offer sumptuous views of the Strip and the eastern Valley and are so clear that you approach them with a touch of caution. "Nothing gets in the way of the view," he says. The home took three years to build, a custom job by LA designer Nicole Sassaman (nicolesassaman. com) and local companies Carpenter Sellers Del Gatto Architects (702- 251-8896; csdarchitecture.com) and Merlin Contracting & Developing (702-257-8102; merlincontracting.com). A Swiss Army knife of a residence, it's designed with three sleeping quarters but also the ability to be opened up for entertaining and hosting charity events. And virtually everything, from the furniture to the tub to the art, is one of a kind. Customizing spaces, at the high end, certainly seems to be a growing trend. "Most defnitely we see a fair amount of that in the homes we list," says Jamie Lium, managing broker at Shapiro & Sher (lasvegasfnehomes.com). "There's no question that is some- thing people literally install in their homes and it's going to bring added value if they leave it." To create a sunken living room and bedroom, the rest of the 3,300 - square-foot condo was built on risers. The ceilings were dropped to make room for an oval-shaped recession in the ceiling sprayed with mica stone that changes colors. The condo's high-tech sense of whimsy is apparent the moment you approach the front door. The door talks as you walk up to it: "Welcome, please ring the doorbell." The chime itself comes from The Jetsons. But the door is a clever stunt—because the real entrance is actually seamlessly hidden in a concrete-looking panel on the corridor, so it's a jolt when the wall opens up several feet away from what you thought was the front door. Step inside and you're greeted by a black wall with backlit text—in Riseman's own handwrit- ing—that highlights key words that are important to him, such as "home," "happiness," "friends," and "adventure," and can change colors or cascade into a rainbow of hues. Created by Vegas-based Yesco Sign and Lighting Service (yesco.com), the wall is the ultimate in personalization. The amount of custom craftsman- ship is obsessive and delightful. Six televisions pivot across the space, ensuring a good view from any- where; one even descends from the ceiling in the master bedroom. A chandelier made of shards of broken china (architecturalcustom.net) is made to look like an explo- sion of porcelain captured by a high-speed camera. There's a curving full-height glass wine cel- lar. Nearby, a full-service onyx bar (mdesignglobal.com) includes a pullout chrome table that can be positioned anywhere in the house. In a guest suite, a coffee table can be manually lifted up to conference table height; another coffee table is a subwoofer in disguise; a transpar- ent guest bathroom counter has a porcelain bird's nest buried inside; and the master bathtub was carved from a hunk of stone pulled out of a New Mexico mountain. Custom pieces like these—deeply idiosyncratic artistic statements—are becoming more common. Marsha Timson, director of the Las Vegas Design Center (lvdesigncenter.com), explains, "We want to mix styles. So if we have this piece we can tell a story about, it's adding interest to our lifestyle." Minimalist décor tends to look the same. Now, she says, "People want a conversation piece." Despite the bravura fourishes, what one remembers is the sense of intimacy. In fact, Lium notes that people are turning toward smaller- scale, resort-corridor condo living. "There are people who don't want that huge house commitment, but they want access to Vegas." In the guest suite, two short half- staircases lead to small spaces below the main foor and above—both with walls of glass. The lower one is a great spot for Riseman's 2-year-old grand- son to play; the upper one is a place to take in the whole condo or to, for a moment, escape from it. "I had envisioned using this place as really a center for entertainment," Riseman says, "a center for friend- ship and comfort." V above: Chairs hang from the ceiling by the east window. top right: The chandelier over the table evokes a slowed-down explosion of porcelain china. right: One wall displays Riseman's personal affrmations. HAUTE PROPERTY 106 vegasmagazine.com