Las Vegas Oasis

Nothing refreshes quite like water, and that goes double in the hot, dry climate of Las Vegas. Just the sight and sound of sparkling, splashing water make the environment seem a little cooler—and a house a little more appealing. For its Las Vegas Street of Dreams entry, custom builder Christopher Homes made sure there was water everywhere—front, center, and of course out back.

From first sight, water makes a big impression. A street-side water garden is designed to draw visitors up to the house and set the stage for what they’ll discover inside. Low rock walls terrace down to the street and contain the bi-level water garden. The gentle splash of water falling from the upper pool to the one below greets visitors as they ascend the steps.

Deep inside the house, water adds its cooling and calming effect. An atrium, open to the sky and ringed by a ribbon of water, brings the outdoors in. The walls surrounding the atrium can be folded back to completely or partially open the interior rooms to the outdoor space. With some sort of water feature visible from all of its major rooms, the home is a model of feng shui, the ancient Chinese system for creating a positive environment. A wellness garden provides a place to meditate near the raised spa. The adjoining Zen garden, with its combed sand surface and tinkling fountain, adds another spot of serenity.

Water may be a major feature of the home’s architecture and landscaping, but it’s also a scarce and precious commodity in the parched desert environment. Landscape architect Robert Stone’s job was to create a landscape plan that would wring the most impact from plant and water features while limiting water use. All the water features are recirculating and are built and equipped like pools with filters, automatic fills, and skimmers. Stone limited lawn areas and chose plants like bamboo and juniper for their low water requirements.

Christopher Homes’ past clients taught the company the importance of landscaping and outdoor rooms. From a focus group of current owners of its houses, the builder learned that well-designed outdoor spaces were highly important to the owners’ satisfaction with their homes. Now the builder brings in a landscape architect at the very beginning of a project to make sure the outdoor spaces work seamlessly with the indoor ones and the site. “The landscape architect plays a key role in determining the architecture of our homes,” explains Erika Geiser, Christopher Homes vice president of marketing, “because people live outside, too.”

Builder: Christopher Homes, Las Vegas; Architect: Scheurer Architects, Newport Beach, Calif.; Landscape architect: NUVIS, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Pool builder: Watters Aquatech, Las Vegas; Photographer: Raes Grohne; Illustration: Charles Lockhart.