Imagine the best of everything available for your home today: The most popular design style, the highest technologies, the best kitchen appliances, the latest innovations in comfort, and the safest neighborhoods. You’ve probably just pictured Casa di Treviso, the 2006 KMBC-TV Concept Home.

The concept homes, built annually in a different community and by different builders, are dedicated to educating the public about trends in the home design industry and benefiting local charities. Rick Forner and James LaVoy of Forner-LaVoy Builders chose the exclusive, upscale and growing community of Loch Lloyd, near Belton, Mo., to showcase their stunning, two-fronted, Italian-style home.

"We wanted it to be peaceful and comfortable. It’s equally as grand as the other homes here, but not grandiose," LaVoy says.

While many homeowners today seek Tuscan-inspired architecture, the style hit home for Forner, whose parents are first-generation Italians (and whose father is from the Treviso area). He says it was important to him to create something that looked like a true Tuscan style rather than the Mediterranean imitations seen in South Florida. "This house emits a more rustic elegance," he notes.

The project started on a small scale, with three bedrooms on one level and two upstairs, but compounded over time, to include double suites for master and guest on the main living level. Then they decided to finish the basement with a media room, a wine cellar with tasting area, an exercise room and a game area, and finally to cap off the house with a fourth-story observatory. Of course they encountered that common conundrum: budget v. square footage, but generous sponsors offered donations and upgrades to ease the financial burden and make this a special place.

"We decided that if we were going to do this at all, we were going to do it right," Forner explains.

There are many "lifestyle" issues addressed in this home, LaVoy says, from the neighborhood design and two-fronted architecture, to the elevator and outdoor living. It also includes advances in technology that improve energy efficiency and sound control, and expresses awareness for our environment with earth-friendly building products and techniques. Overall, the home serves as a one-stop resource for identifying concepts. It’s fit for its name, a tribute to our current and future way of life.