The Valley is home to some of the top home-design and build talents in the nation. (Frank Lloyd Wright did choose to have a home and his school here, after all.) Here, five local pros pick some of their favorite custom projects, all with striking good looks, high-end craftsmanship and the longing stares of everyone who happens to pass by.

BY MELISSA LARSEN 

WORLDLY WONDER 

LOCATION: Scottsdale

YEAR BUILT: 2007 (addition was built in 2013) BUILDER: Salcito Custom Homes

ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER: Dale Gardon Design

DESIGN AESTHETIC: Formal Mediterranean

STANDOUT FEATURES: “The approximately 9,400-sq.-ft. formal Mediterranean estate exhibits a regal quality with grandeur in scale and proportion akin to great historic properties across the country and the world. From the custom-designed hand-carved Italian Lecce limestone façade to the intricately patterned marble floor of the Grand Hall, you know you have walked into a highly crafted masterpiece accomplished by Salcito Custom Homes, who executed the original design, and then several years later again in the remodel for a subsequent new owner. Dale Gardon, AIA, LEED AP, and principal of Dale Gardon Design was at the helm each time throughout the original main villa design, the main villa remodel and then the final component of the guest villa design. The main villa and guest villa have a beautiful consistency in traditional ornate detail throughout, but they also strategically incorporate a newer introduction of contemporary influences in millwork, lighting and furnishings. Similar to the finest examples of traditional architecture seen in Milan, Paris or Florence, the traditional character often has a more interesting juxtaposition of old and new.” 

SALCITO.COM

DALEGARDONDESIGN.COM