6 homes with make believe features
It doesn't hurt to look!
Newport, Rhode Island. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed "Hilltop" in 1870, blending styles to evoke a baronial estate. The five-bedroom house features Moorish arches, carved doors, stained-glass windows, a tiger maple–and-oak staircase, oak tinder beams and joists, window seats, stone and carved-wood fireplaces, a tiled Moroccan oven, and stone loggias.
The 3-acre lot near downtown Newport is landscaped with lawns, shrubs, specimen trees, and daffodil beds. $2,999,000. Jose Aguon, Gustave White/Sotheby's International Realty, (401) 263-4168.
Los Angeles. Built in 1926 by Roland E. Hill, designer of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, this four-bedroom French Eclectic–Storybook home is a registered historic property. A complete restoration and update preserved all original details, including a turret with winding staircase, stained-glass windows, oversize fireplace, and onion-arch doorways.
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The Hollywood Hills property features a swimming pool, slate patio with firepit, fountain, citrus trees, front garden, guesthouse, garage, and sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley. $2,495,000. Altman Brothers, Douglas Elliman, (310) 819-3250.
Garrison, New York. A Hudson Highlands icon, this two-bedroom castle dates to 1881. Built of rough-cut stone, with red slate–roofed towers and dormers, it retains its original hardware, ornate master staircase, and paneled walls.
The 16.5-acre estate above the Hudson has views of the river and West Point, sits next to 100 acres of protected woodland and trails, and is an hour's drive from New York City. $3,450,000. Melissa Carlton, Houlihan Lawrence, (914) 474-0111.
Shiloh, Tennessee. This 1,100-acre estate features a make-believe Western town complete with a general store, barber shop, and hotel. The three-bedroom main house, built in 1998, has a carved-wood staircase, three fireplaces, a vaulted great room, and a billiard room.
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The property includes a pavilion with kitchen, a formal garden, two bungalows, a barn, two creeks, and a 4-acre duck pond with dock, and abuts Shiloh National Battlefield. $3,499,000. Pam Klos, Zeitlin Sotheby's International Realty, (615) 509-1616.
Westcliffe, Colorado. The main residence of this ranch estate includes an Old West–style saloon bar. The 12-bedroom house also has a billiard room, a sauna, and a gym. On the property's 200 deeded acres are a three-bedroom cabin built in 1870 and renovated as a homestead, a three-bedroom Victorian-style cottage, a swimming pool and hot tub, a horse stable, grazing pastures, and a volleyball court.
The parcel borders conservation easement land and overlooks the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. $3,440,000. Simon Foster, Porchlight Real Estate Group/Luxury Portfolio International, (720) 299-5040.
Boca Raton, Florida. This four-bedroom home has a Polynesian-themed backyard with a swimming pool, spa, two tiki huts, a wet bar, a kitchen with a Brazilian wood rotisserie and grill, and a shower shaped like a surfboard. The house features tiled floors, crown molding and tray ceilings, a tankless water heater, hurricane-resistant windows, and three fireplaces.
The quarter-acre landscaped lot at the end of a cul-de-sac is steps from the Intracoastal Waterway. $550,000. Ben Giordano, The Best Waterfront Realty, (561) 929-9955.
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