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"The move to Las Vegas from Los Angeles gave Raul and Mariana Garcia the chance to build the home of their dreams. In the process of restarting her interior design business now that their two sons are established in school, Mariana wanted to express her sense of casual style in a house that subtly reflected the Hispanic roots of both her family and the region. At the same time, Raul, an entertainment lawyer, and an admitted &amp;quot;techie,&amp;quot; insisted the home include the latest in electronic systems.  Working from a custom design, U.S. Home Corporation built them a 4,473-square-foot, single-story residence that satisfied all that and more. The plan&amp;#039;s free-flowing, interconnected public rooms and spacious 12-foot ceilings &amp;quot;gives us enough flexibility to have a quiet family evening, a dinner with friends, or a cocktail party for a crowd with equal ease,&amp;quot; says Mariana.And building from scratch let them integrate all the electronics, with the help of Don Calley of Image Sound Control. &amp;quot;But you don&amp;#039;t see most of that,&amp;quot; says Raul. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m proudest of what my wife has done with the things you do see.&amp;quot;  Working with her friend, interior designer Charles Riley, Mariana fashioned a warmly welcoming setting finished in earth-toned paints from Sherwin-Williams and traditionally detailed ceramic tiling from Tile of Spain. She supplemented Century Furniture pieces from their old home with new oversized Century styles and added furnishings from two mail-order sources, Retrospect and Room &amp;amp;amp; Board, that conveniently arrived &amp;quot;as the moving truck pulled up.&amp;quot;  Nowhere in the Garcias&amp;#039; new home do past and present more dramatically harmonize than in the family room. &amp;quot;I wanted a room with a big fireplace, where we could all sit around and talk and watch the flickering flames,&amp;quot; says Mariana. &amp;quot;And my husband wanted a comfortable seating area where he could sit back and watch sports on TV.&amp;quot; Mariana was able to create a space that fulfilled both of their wishes. Its focal point is a majestic mantel with tiled surround and hearth by Pamesa, featuring a Heat-N-Glo gas fireplace. Molding above the mantel and in an identical style creates a frame within which they placed a Philips 34-inch digital plasma wide-screen television set that, less than six inches deep, hangs on the wall like a picture. A pair of durably upholstered club chairs, two leather sofas, and an oversized ottoman that can double as a coffee table, all ordered by mail from Retrospect, provide the family with a range of seating options. A taupe-colored Solar Screen roller shade by Smith+Noble cuts down on the glare from direct afternoon sunshine. The kitchen, just steps away, gives family members and guests alike ready access to snacks and drinks without losing sight of the screen, or the fire.  Modern media also finds its way with ease into other rooms thanks to creative interior design decisions. In the home theater, top, the experts at Image Sound Control installed a Philips LCD projector that, along with built-in wall speakers from Boston Acoustics, gives a cinema-quality experience. Armchairs are positioned on carpeted platforms for optimum viewing.  The home office/guest room, also enjoys state-of-the-art equipment. On the desk from Retrospect, a computer with an Intel Pentium III Processor and a Philips flat-panel monitor runs Intel&amp;#039;s AnyPoint Home Network software. &amp;quot;We toss a coin to see who gets to use the computer first,&amp;quot; says Raul, who often reads in one of the black Milan chairs from Room &amp;amp;amp; Board while he waits his turn.  Daily life in the Garcias&amp;#039; new home literally revolves around the kitchen. With its center island and a walk-around prep and cleanup counter that doubles as a serving buffet, this cooking space was designed to be readily accessible to formal and casual dining rooms, the conversation area, the family room, and the home theater alike. &amp;quot;And that makes excellent sense,&amp;quot; adds Raul, &amp;quot;because at any given time we&amp;#039;re likely to be eating in any one of those places, not to mention the patio, the home office, and the bedrooms.&amp;quot;  Just as they did elsewhere in their new home, in the kitchen, Raul and Mariana succeeded in blending the best of traditional styling with the latest advances in technology.Semicustom cabinetry from Diamond Cabinets in a coffee-stained cherry finish accented by paneled doors complement oak plank flooring by Mannington, set diagonally to make the kitchen feel even more spacious and add comfort and style underfoot.  &amp;quot;My husband and I spend a lot of time here; we both love to cook together,&amp;quot; says Mariana. For that reason, as well as for the large-scale parties they sometimes throw, they decided to outfit the kitchen with dual ovens, dishwashers, and island cooktops, all by Bosch, along with a side-by-side Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer. Adds Raul, &amp;quot;We have great conversations facing each other at the stoves.&amp;quot;  We&amp;#039;d always wanted a master suite big enough to luxuriate in,&amp;quot; says Mariana. &amp;quot;This one gave us so much room that, for a moment, we didn&amp;#039;t know what to do with it all.&amp;quot; Interior designer Charles Riley helped her make the most of the space. &amp;quot;The large scale of the Century Furniture pieces,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;really live up to the room&amp;#039;s size.&amp;quot; Adding coziness is a color scheme in warm tones, including walls in Sherwin Williams&amp;#039; Khaki Shade and a patterned carpet in a tarragon hue by from the Louis A. Dabbieri collection from International Design Guild. U.S. Home Corporation, the home&amp;#039;s builders, included dark beams in the high, sloping ceiling to add a touch of old-world intimacy.  The master bath is large enough to allow Mariana her own personal J-Sha whirlpool bath from Jacuzzi, which gives her a luxurious shiatsu-style massage while she soaks. Raul, who prefers to shower and loves music in the morning, got his own private domain thanks to a Jacuzzi J-Dream steam shower, which includes a built-in stereo system. The fair division of space extends to his-and-her vanities as well. &amp;quot;Our only fights now,&amp;quot; laughs Mariana, &amp;quot;are over who controls the TV set on a pedestal between the counters.&amp;quot;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/a6992/hacienda-style-32593/>