Cullum Homes Named in Modern Luxury’s 2026 Best of Design
How a soil surprise became the Valley’s most talked-about luxury amenity
Cullum Homes has earned national recognition in Modern Luxury Interiors’ prestigious 2026 Best of Design issue — a distinction that celebrates the products and places defining excellence across the luxury design industry. The Phoenix-based, award-winning luxury custom home builder in Phoenix AZ was spotlighted for one of the most talked-about innovations in luxury residential design: the signature car bar
The feature, written by Laura Eckstein Jones and published in Volume 1, 2026, traces the origins of Cullum Homes’ car bars from an accidental site discovery to a nationally recognized hallmark of high-end homebuilding in the Sonoran Desert. It is a story that speaks directly to the Cullum Homes philosophy: that the finest custom homes are not simply built — they are imagined, refined, and lived in fully.
“Unlike even the most luxurious garage, a car bar is designed to be lived in. Cars become focal points, art pieces and part of the everyday experience.” — Lindsay Cullum-Colwell, Cullum Homes
What Is a Car Bar — and Why Does It Matter?
The car bar concept originated during excavation at Cullum Homes’ Village at Mountain Shadows development. When softer-than-expected soil prompted the team to explore basement construction, founder Rod Cullum recognized an opportunity to rethink what a garage could be. Rather than a purely utilitarian space tucked at the periphery of estate living, what if the garage became the social heart of the home?
The result was the car bar — and it has since become one of the most distinctive offerings in Cullum Homes’ portfolio of luxury custom homes in Phoenix AZ, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley.
A Fully Immersive Automotive Experience
Cullum Homes’ car bars are engineered from the ground up as lifestyle destinations. Custom car lift systems move vehicles seamlessly from traditional garage space into dedicated showrooms positioned alongside full lounges, bars, and entertainment areas. Each design is driven by the collection it houses: a curated lineup of classic cars calls for a very different atmosphere than an exotic supercar collection or a display of American muscle.
“Lighting and mood are critical,” says Lindsay Cullum-Colwell, who, together with her husband Paul Colwell, is now guiding Cullum Homes into its next generation of design excellence. “A classic collection versus muscle cars versus exotics would each guide us to a different aesthetic — from carbon fiber accents to textural wallpapers and integrated lighting."
Design Intelligence Behind the Concept
Car bars are not simply showrooms with comfortable chairs. They are precision-engineered spaces where the architecture, furniture placement, lighting, and mechanical systems all serve a single unified purpose: allowing homeowners and their guests to experience an automotive collection the way a gallery visitor experiences art.
Circulation, access, and lift mechanics are carefully planned so vehicles can be repositioned efficiently and safely. In one home currently under construction, Cullum Homes designed lounge seating mounted on a custom platform with concealed caster wheels — allowing furniture to roll aside as vehicles are moved, then roll back to anchor a fully appointed lounge with bar service and large-format video.
Luxury Custom Homes in the Phoenix Market — and Beyond
Since Rod and Kim Cullum founded the company in 1985, Cullum Homes has operated as one of Arizona’s most trusted integrated luxury home builders — offering architecture, interior design, and construction under a single, deeply experienced roof.
Their signature neighborhoods — including Village at Mountain Shadows, Village at Seven Desert Mountain, and the forthcoming Ascent development — have set the standard for walkable estate-level living in the greater Phoenix and Scottsdale area.
The company’s next milestone is a car bar-equipped model home at The Ascent at The Phoenician®, anticipated to open this summer. That showroom will accommodate four to five vehicles and is expected to further elevate what prospective buyers consider possible within a luxury custom home.
Modern Luxury Is About Intention and Integration
The Modern Luxury feature highlights more than a clever amenity. It captures a broader shift in how high-end homebuyers in the Phoenix market — and nationally — think about what luxury means in 2026. Homeowners are no longer satisfied with spaces that merely look impressive. They want rooms that actively support their lifestyle, their passions, and the rhythms of everyday life.
“Modern luxury is about intention and integration,” Paul Colwell told Modern Luxury Interiors. “Homeowners today are prioritizing spaces that support wellness, performance and balance.”
Why This Award Matters for Arizona’s Luxury Real Estate Market
Recognition in Modern Luxury Interiors’ Best of Design issue carries significant weight in the luxury design and real estate industries. The publication, distributed nationally through modernluxurymedia.com, reaches a highly qualified audience of affluent homeowners, interior designers, architects, and real estate professionals who rely on it to identify the most forward-thinking names in the field.
For prospective buyers exploring luxury custom homes in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, or the broader Phoenix metropolitan area, this recognition is a clear signal: Cullum Homes is not simply building to current standards. They are setting them.
The Legacy and the Future
As Cullum Homes enters its next chapter under the stewardship of Lindsay Cullum-Colwell and Paul Colwell, the values that Rod and Kim Cullum established four decades ago remain at the center of everything the company builds.
“We believe our legacy for the future will remain what it is today,” Kim Cullum shared in the Modern Luxury feature. “To provide the finest homebuilding experience for our clients.”
That commitment — to craft, to client experience, to design that surprises and endures — is precisely what earned Cullum Homes a place in Modern Luxury Interiors’ 2026 Best of Design. It is a recognition well deserved, and a preview of what is still to come.
Originally featured in Modern Luxury Interiors, Volume 1, 2026 — Best of Design Issue Article by Laura Eckstein Jones · Photography by Dino Tonn · Rendering by 3D Estate
cullumhomes.com · Founded 1985 by Rod & Kim Cullum · Phoenix, Arizona