How can the chateau's design actually MAKE THE FUN AND LAUGHTER HAPPEN?
In two ways: our focus group identified that it can sometimes be difficult for groups to get along, so we outlined the most common conflicts and engineered ways to help keep them from happening. Then the design team developed entertainment features that foster laughter and good times in the areas that people hang out in. Here are design examples of each.
- KEEPING PEACE - In addition to giving each couple their own master suite (so that everyone sharing the rental expense gets the same first-class accommodations), we realized that teenagers have so much fun in the gaming theater that they sometimes forget to give youngsters equal time to play. That is why we installed a second complete Wii gaming system on a 55” TV in the nearby double master suite where toddlers typicallysleep.
- FOSTERING LAUGHTER - The Great Room includes the Hibachi restaurant- style kitchen island, the dining room and the living room, with its huge fireplaces and 16-foot screen. The theater and a 42” kitchen Smart Home monitor are hooked up to the Internet, Direct TV and more. This is where adults love to mingle, snack and bring up music videos on the computer to play through the home theater system. Every group has many personalities, and the design team realized that if we provided a unique stage and props, that these performers could really get the party and laughter going.
Enter the first-ever “Luxe Shadow Stage” - stocked full of hats, guitars and other props -- and prepare to laugh until your belly hurts! Be sure to watch the House/area video tour to the very end to see this fun feature in action!
Here is how it works: guests bring up their favorite YouTube music videos on the big screen, and then go backstage to mimic the artist or just make their silhouette move, dance and gyrate to the delight of the crowd gathered in the Great Room. Children, especially youngsters, love to put on shows -- that is why we also equipped backstage with puppet hats and accoutrements so that kids can use the Luxe Shadow Theater as a puppet stage to perform for their parents.
Yet another example of how the house "makes the fun happen" is the American Idol karaoke game in the Great Room. This Xbox 360 game allows everyone to compete with a microphone on the 16-foot theater screen and hear their voice through the spectacular DTS Digital surround sound system. The Great Room features multi-colored dance club lighting that moves to the music, and both the rooms and seating are stepped, so that 20 people or more can watch a movie or sporting event together without ever looking at the back of someone's head.
If that is not enough family fun, up to four people can play the arcade bubble hockey game at once or participate in a virtual Wii bowling tournament in the 4-D Gaming Theater. There is also a billiards table in the game room and several televisions. In total, the chateau boasts 25 speakers from Klipsch and Yamaha, 7 stereo receivers, 4 impact-simulating Paliser leather reclining seats, 2 Xbox 360 game systems, 2 Wii game consoles, a PlayStation III, and the just-released Xbox ONE! Best of all, they can all be played on the two huge HD theater screens!
Take pictures in front of the Slopes to Sands Step and Repeat and look like a movie star!