The vision for each of these homes is to create for the owners an instant lifestyle they can’t wait to get home to. This is the job of Alexis Gage, Larry’s wife and interior designer, who also selects many of the exterior details on each home. “We try to captivate the client with over-the-top-extreme aesthetics, and by showing them how well they can live. Sometimes people don’t realize how well they can live,” Alexis Gage explains. “I think we’re doing exactly what these customers want.”

The Gages prefer to build homes down to the smallest decoration. “Most people who buy big custom homes never finish them; they never furnish them. They don’t know where to start. They’re intimidated and nothing ever gets done and they live with empty rooms for too long. So when they buy one of our houses it’s a lifestyle they’re buying, and it can start right away,” Larry Gage says.

Homeowners don’t need to spend two years of their lives building and decorating a home because Gage does it for them. On average, Gage spends half a million dollars in furnishings. “If homeowners had a professional do what we do, it would cost a million-plus. We don’t include anything too wild. We design to appeal to someone on the conservative side,” he notes. Typical clients include CEOs, self-employed entrepreneurs and professional athletes. These homes are investment-grade, meaning they will not be dated in 25 years because of the quality of architects employed to design them, Gage says.

Consistent, high-end design

The vision for the Estates at Valhalla has always been to include pure European architecture - English, French classical, all styles that never go out of style, Larry Gage says. He works only with a handful of architects, from Texas, Georgia and locally in New Jersey. Gage uses the same architects to maintain a consistent style and feel to the community, something not all builders do. “Many builders sell a few lots, and then they lose sight of the consistency of the neighborhood’s look and feel. We’ve maintained a consistent look here. The goal is to create a first-class estate neighborhood that a homeowner can’t wait to get back to enjoy. These are trophy houses.”

On every home, Alexis Gage is there to help blend the architecture with the furnishings. She strives to carry the architectural style of each home through her interior design work. “I try to bring the outside of each house into the inside. My goal with every home is to make it simply irresistible. Ideally the clients should not want to change anything. They should walk in and say, ‘Yes, this is my dream home,’” she says.