Showcase Of Homes A Street Of Dreams Faux Finishes And Fantasy Accessories Hallmarks Of This Year’s Builders’ Bests

Have you ever seen a shower lined with books?

A den wall covered in leather?

Or been close enough to kiss Mona Lisa’s ambiguous lips?

All these can be found at this year’s Showcase of Homes … well, sort of.

Actually, the shower books are clever ceramic tiles. The den wall is masterfully painted to resemble leather. And Mona Lisa, alas, is not on loan from Musee du Louvre.

But faux is chic, and it’s in abundant supply at the Showcase of Homes, which continues through the weekend at Morningside, a new development east of Sullivan Road in the Spokane Valley.

Seven homes ranging from $236,950 to $479,000 are on display.

Six homes are for sale, including the least expensive - The Aloha by the Dean Deily Co.

Partner Dave Deily says the home was designed to take advantage of the site’s impressive view of Mica Peak to the southeast. The main living areas are toward the back of the house, with plenty of windows and access to a covered deck.

Other highlights of this year’s home show include:

The “bonus room” over the garage in Taigen & Sons’ Mica View. Teenagers love its apartment-size dimensions. You may leave wondering if a similar space lurks unused in the rafters of your home.

Another hit among the less-expensive homes is the master-suite bathroom in Gerry Morse’s The Atrium. Fragrant cedar planks on the walk-in closet’s floor are generating more comments than the leaded-glass shower or the television in the toilet area.

Up the hill among the more expensive ($375,000 to $479,000) homes, check out the faux stone range hood in Lori Gray’s The Conservatory.

Elsewhere in the home, interior designer Janet Phillips of Design Works chose unusual colors - for instance, dark chocolate brown for master-bath walls - along with Oriental-style rugs, heavy furniture and lots of artificial plants to give the home a cozy, “old world” ambience.

Next door, Dan Eaton’s The Montview features a decidedly more contemporary look with the help of furniture from Joel’s.

The pan rack over the range is a nice touch, as is the spacious utility/ laundry room off the kitchen.

Taigen & Sons’ Crown Jewel is loaded with high-end amenities, but don’t overlook the charming “safari” powder room just off the foyer. The combination of black floral wallpaper, a brown granite countertop, a vase with a leopard-skin pattern and an exotic mirror frame makes one imagine that flushing the toilet might cause a lion hiding inside the cabinet to roar.

Also stop by McDream Street, a kid-size showcase of homes.

Nine of the 10 playhouses - ranging from Victorian cottage to log cabin to lighthouse - will be raffled to raise money for Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides temporary housing for families traveling to Spokane seeking medical care for sick children.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Map of 1997 Showcase of Homes site

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HOME SHOW Admission to the Showcase of Homes costs $6, with children 12 and under admitted free. Hours are 3 to 9 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Spokane Home Builders Association executive Al Haslebacher recommends visiting tonight or Saturday morning to avoid the biggest crowds, and suggests allowing two hours to complete the circuit. For more information, call 532-4990, or visit the association’s Web site at www.spokane.net/showcase.