6 jaw-dropping homes kids will love
It doesn’t hurt to look!
Oakland Township, Michigan
Modeled after a medieval castle, this five-bedroom home in a Detroit suburb is more than 60 feet high and has hidden doors, passageways, and staircases, as well as 26 rooms, including secret rooms.
The house, built in 1990, also has an elevator, five fireplaces, ornate carved wood and other details, and an open living room and dining area with vaulted, coffered ceilings and arched windows. The wooded 6.25-acre property includes a moat with a drawbridge. $2,500,000. Dylan Tent, Signature Sotheby's International Realty, (248) 990-0356.
Pinecrest, Florida
The backyard of this 2019 six-bedroom home includes a large tree house with a porch, swing, and climbing wall. The light, airy main house features an open layout, floor-to-ceiling windows lining corridors and walls, a primary suite with dual sinks and a walk-in closet, and two detached, separate-entrance guest quarters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The 0.8-acre property, 30 minutes from Miami, has native landscaping, an outdoor kitchen, and an 80-foot-long pool with a bathing shelf. $5,800,000. Alexandra Sierra, Compass, (305) 281-0175.
Madison, Wisconsin
This 2019 five-bedroom home on Lake Mendota has a spiral metal slide connecting the three upstairs bedroom suites to the first floor. The open-layout main level has a game room and theater as well as a chef's kitchen and a living room with fireplace and water views.
Outside are patios, a three-car garage with a green roof, a basketball court, and 99 feet of sandy-bottom, gradual-entry lakefront. $4,000,000. Shelly Sprinkman, Sprinkman Real Estate, (608) 220-1453.
Lehi, Utah
The centerpiece of this contemporary home is a 1,300-square-foot indoor basketball court with concrete walls, the same flooring as the Utes' court, and a mechanical door to the backyard. The house also has five en suite bedrooms; a gourmet kitchen; and a main space with floor-to-ceiling windows, heated polished concrete floors, and fireplace.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The 0.7-acre lot in the Travers Mountain foothills includes a 40-foot infinity pool, a hot tub, and lake and mountain views. $5,200,000. Preston Hicks, Jason Mitchell Real Estate Utah, (801) 310-3375.
Greensboro, Georgia
The backyard of this organic-modern four-bedroom on Lake Oconee has a pool with a hot tub, lazy river, waterslide, waterfall, firepits, and cave. The house features a two-story living area with built-in stone planters full of tropical foliage; a movie theater; and a chef's kitchen with pantry and prep area.
Outside are a covered porch with a pizza oven, grill, smoker, and fireplace; the pool; a putting green; and a private dock on the lake. $3,250,000. Shanna Bradley, Ansley Real Estate/Luxury Portfolio International, (404) 808-6295.
Essex, New York
Lake Champlain's Crater Club, a private summer community, has its own kids' camp. This 0.6-acre parcel includes a 1930 three-bedroom rustic main house featuring wood-clad interiors, a living room with fireplace, skylights, and vaulted raftered ceilings, an eat-in kitchen with breakfast room, and a large screened porch; there is also a one-bedroom guest cottage.
The community offers a clubhouse, clay tennis courts, a playground, hiking trails, and swimming and boating docks, and Essex Village is walking distance. $295,000. Sue Babcock, Engel & Völkers Lake Placid, (518) 524-4408.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
The people who raffle their homes
Under The Radar Offer the chance to win your house for £2 a ticket? It's simple and can make thousands but it's not stress-free
-
6 light-filled homes on the Jersey Shore
Feature Featuring a Victorian with a wraparound porch in Beach Haven and a condo with ocean views in Asbury Park
-
6 bold homes for maximalists
Feature Featuring a restored Queen Anne Victorian in California and a sculpture studio turned townhome in New York City
-
6 sun-drenched homes by the sea
Feature Featuring a large patio overlooking the ocean in Laguna Beach and a marble rainfall shower in Norwalk
-
6 well-preserved homes built in the 1930s
Feature Featuring a restored 1934 colonial in Arizona and a cold-storage warehouse turned loft in New York City
-
6 lounge-ready homes with conversation pits
Feature Featuring a terrazzo-flanked pit in California and a fire-side pit in Nevada
-
6 elegant Queen Anne Victorian homes
Feature Featuring original diamond-glass doors in New York and a registered historic landmark in Arkansas