Lured by relatively affordable housing prices, a new wave of financially independent female entertainers are buying homes in Las Vegas and reimagining them with flamboyant decor that keeps the kitschy ethos of the city alive.
These showgirls, who might have once taken orders from the men in charge, are now holding the cards, snapping up time-capsule residences and restoring them to their former glory.
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Dancer Gypsy Wood fell in love with her home, a three-bedroom midcentury ranch, and bought it for $320,000 in 2022. The original wallpaper was one of the many reasons she decided to purchase the house.
According to Zillow, the average home in Las Vegas costs $422,842, while in nearby Los Angeles, it costs $941,985, making Vegas a unicorn of a place where performers can feasibly finance buying a home through their art.
Model Carlotta Champagne purchased a six-bedroom house on the fringes of the historic Paradise Palms district for around $700,000 in 2021. The house, which she dubbed Ho Château, featured original rock walls, marble floors, and a sunken lounge overlooking an enclosed swimming pool and hot tub.
Champagne spent 15 years with Playboy and joined OnlyFans in 2020 before purchasing the home, which she is restoring to its former glory and filling with vintage finds.
She purchased her shell bed from a New York–based organization that creates elaborately decorated rooms for sick children and added a leopard print carpet in the primary bedroom and a bathroom floor embedded with vintage coins.
A glass coffee table in the sunken lounge features a topless mermaid base, salvaged from the high-camp Madonna Inn in California, where Champagne is often photographed.
On one wall hangs a 1970s painting of a clown orgy by Larry Vincent Garrison, and Champagne meticulously sourced an impressive collection of rare vintage erotic needlepoint cushions from their French birthplace via Etsy.
Champagne cites the Playboy Mansion as inspiration for her home’s decor, and the office chair is a nod to her years as a Playboy Cyber Girl.
A fabric wall covering salvaged from an old casino provides the backdrop for Champagne’s extensive wig collection, and the mermaid coffee table in her sunken lounge was salvaged from the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California.
Professional wrestler Melissa Deadrich spends her downtime stalking Facebook Marketplace for tiki-style water features and Franciscan Madeira stemware.
In 2022, Deadrich and her partner bought the four-bedroom Lava House in Beverly Green, a historic neighborhood known for its preserved midcentury architecture, with the vision of creating a “moody, sexy vibe. Something that felt a little dramatic and different to the typical house.”
The house, built by casino owners in 1962, channels the postwar Polynesian craze sparked in part by soldiers returning from the Pacific and further fueled by pop culture phenomena such as Elvis Presley’s 1961 hit movie Blue Hawaii.
Deadrich added the wood paneling in the television room and installed turf and a tiki-style privacy wall in the backyard, and the statue is from a thrift store.
Though Deadrich worked tirelessly to restore the Lava House, installing a lava rock shower and retrofitting the kitchen with vintage cabinets, many of the home’s original elements were gloriously intact when she bought it.
Onyx-black lava rock pours across the exterior and interior walls, and in the den, original glass swag lamps hang from chains, set against a wall of smoked-glass mirrors.
Vintage Vegas Style
The homes of these vintage-obsessed modern showgirls are a testament to the enduring appeal of Las Vegas kitsch, where velvet walls, mirrored ceilings, and lava-rock lounges create a unique and flamboyant aesthetic.
For Deadrich, buying the Lava House was a life-changing experience that led her to a community of like-minded friends who share her passion for vintage decor.
As these women restore their homes to their former glory, they are also preserving the history and character of Las Vegas, a city that was once dominated by men but is now being reimagined by a new generation of female entertainers.
A Community of Like-Minded Friends
Deadrich, Champagne, and Wood are part of a growing community of vintage enthusiasts in Las Vegas who are passionate about their homes and the city’s unique history.
They spend their time restoring their homes, attending estate sales, and scouring Facebook Marketplace for unique vintage finds.
For these women, their homes are not just a place to live but a reflection of their personalities and a connection to the city’s rich history.
At 10 pm on a Wednesday, Deadrich can be found rewiring vintage lamps or restoring soft furnishings, while Champagne is likely hosting a fabulous fancy-dress party in her sunken living room.
As the city continues to evolve, these women are helping to preserve its unique character and style, one vintage find at a time.
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