The Emberlyn Estate is a custom home built from the ground up in Centennial Hills, a residential community in the northwest Las Vegas valley. Designed in a modern contemporary style, this approximately 7,500-square-foot residence includes six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a full basement with a private theatre and zen courtyard, and an upper-level master suite with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a private deck. The home also features large pocket doors that open the main living areas to covered patios and balconies, connecting interior and exterior spaces throughout.
What sets the Emberlyn Estate apart from many Las Vegas custom builds is what sits below grade. A full basement is uncommon in the Las Vegas valley because of caliche, a calcium carbonate hardite layer that sits just a few feet beneath the surface. At this site, the crew hit caliche at approximately four feet. Removing it required hydraulic rock breakers and careful coordination to protect the surrounding soil and neighboring properties.
The result is a finished lower level with a private theatre, a zen-like courtyard anchored by an olive tree and a custom wall fountain. Built by John McDonough, with Kingdom & Co., the Emberlyn Estate represents the kind of complexity and craftsmanship that defines our approach to custom home building in Las Vegas.
The Emberlyn Estate: Built Below the Surface
Building a basement in Las Vegas is not something most builders take on, and the reason comes down to what is underneath the ground. The Las Vegas valley sits on a layer of caliche, a calcium carbonate formation that is essentially natural concrete. It cannot be trenched with standard equipment and it does not respond to conventional excavation methods. At the Emberlyn Estate, the crew hit this layer at roughly four feet below grade.
Rather than redesign around the obstruction, the team brought in hydraulic rock breakers to remove the caliche and continue excavating to the depth required for a full basement. The process added time and required careful sequencing to avoid undermining adjacent soil or transferring vibration to nearby structures. The finished basement includes a private theatre and a zen-like courtyard with an olive tree, black river rock, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and a custom wall fountain. It is a space that feels entirely removed from the desert above it, and it exists only because the team had the experience to work through what the ground presented.
Modern Design With Custom Detail
The Emberlyn Estate was designed in a modern contemporary style defined by clean geometry, flat rooflines, and a material palette that balances warm wood tones against white stucco and glass. The exterior features cantilevered volumes on the upper level, wood panel accents, and glass garage doors that reinforce the contemporary character from the street. Desert landscaping in the front transitions to lush green lawns and mature trees in the backyard, giving the property a layered feel from every angle.
Inside, the finishes were selected to match the precision of the architecture. Hardwood flooring runs throughout the main living areas. Custom cabinetry and millwork carry through the kitchen, living spaces, and bathrooms. The master bathroom features 4-by-7-foot porcelain slabs on walls and floors, a format that eliminates grout lines and creates a seamless, gallery-like finish. Porcelain slabs were also used in the shower enclosures throughout the home. Large pocket doors on the main level open fully to covered patios and balconies, creating the kind of indoor-outdoor connection that the modern style is built around.
Standout Spaces in the Emberlyn Estate
The master suite is the signature space of the Emberlyn Estate. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls open the bedroom to natural light and landscape views on multiple sides. A custom projector TV is recessed into the ceiling so that when it is not in use, the room reads as a clean, uninterrupted volume with no visible screen or mount. The suite extends to a private upper-level deck with a jacuzzi, giving the homeowners a space that functions as a retreat within the home.
Below grade, the basement anchors the lower level with two distinct experiences. The private theatre is a fully finished entertainment space designed for a true cinema feel. Adjacent to it, the zen courtyard brings natural light and air into the basement through floor-to-ceiling glass walls that frame an olive tree surrounded by black river rock and a textured stone accent wall with a custom wall fountain. It is the kind of space that visitors do not expect to find below grade, and it transforms what could have been a dark lower level into one of the most memorable rooms in the home.
The home also includes six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, and full house automation that gives the homeowners control over lighting, climate, and entertainment systems throughout the residence.
20 Months From Groundbreaking to Move-In
The Emberlyn Estate was completed in approximately 20 months from groundbreaking to final walkthrough. A custom home with a full basement, cantilevered upper-level volumes, multiple decks, and the level of custom detail found throughout this residence requires careful sequencing at every phase. The caliche excavation alone added weeks to the foundation timeline, and the complexity of the structural framing, with cantilevered sections and large pocket door openings, demanded precision that could not be rushed. Every phase was managed to keep the project moving without compromising the quality of the finished product.
