This is a must see. I usually link bizarre houses, but I would actually buy this odd house this time. Behold, Knight’s Retreat.
Super private estate nestled on almost an acre and a half. “Good Morning America” named this the #2 backyard in America. No detail was left untouched. Master bathroom is spa-like. HUGE bonus “entertainer’s” room features a custom sound system. “The Knight’s Retreat/Cottage” was designed by a local artist & beautifully crafted w/ precision & quality in mind. Ideal area for wine room. 4 total car garage(s) ideal for car collector! Close to downtown Austin/top-rated schools! MUST SEE!
Let us see.
Listen very carefully. Did you hear a faint wail? That would be Grace Draven when she sees this bedroom. This is her dream house.
You can see more of this house at this link. Don’t forget to check out the guest house. Looks like something out of Robin Hood. I realize that “no detail” was left untouched, but they were touched in an odd way. We have medieval Europe in the dining room, Asia in the kitchen, Africa upstairs, Arabia on the ceiling, modern Austin in the bathroom, and Greece in the back yard.
I still like it, though.
Jenette says
Wow! I would live there. This place is amazing!
Mary says
Makes me want to trade my house and 5 acres in the Hill Country…
Lindsay says
I would love to know more about the person/s who decorated it. There’s got to be a lot of personality behind that.
JenS says
Crusaders dream. All the places we fought. All the locales we raided. All the treasures we pillaged!
Lenore A. Villa says
Should have kept the slaves, though. No way you’ll be able to enjoy the place unless you have a small coterie of them, at least. (LOL)
Gwen Jayne says
I’d be happy with the surprise Grecian pool.
And the office space. 🙂
Lels says
Kitsch to say the least… 🙂
Carla says
I love it, lol
That house is just crying to be the setting for a romance novel ???
Andrea says
thek kitchen is a dream … and the pool 🙂
Lissa says
I’m not into hot weather (never lived anywhere south of the Columbia River), but this could convince me to move to Texas!
Kelly B says
There is a lot of cool things in that house. However, it would drive me nuts to have the cherry floor hit the oak and stop in that one hallway, upstairs transition.
I wouldn’t be able to furnish such a place, lol, but that’s ok I’d be in the backyard or pool the majority of the time…or maybe that office(!).
Thanks for sharing.
Breann says
That floor changing really bothered me too! ?
Leslie says
I saw the picture on Twitter and thought, “Wow, she let Gordon go all out!”
Keera says
Wow! As you move through the house you hit different parts of the world. I wouldn’t have any idea how to decorate it though. Or would you just leave it bare and use floor pillows and such?
Tink says
Sounds like the designer was a world traveler. Each room is a different location, maybe.
Breann says
I really like the disco ball in the ballroom. It lends a certain “authenticity” to the place.
?
Shannon in Texas says
(Pinky wish, Breann!)
Tink says
Sing it with me! “Staying alive, staying alive, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, staying alive.”
jewelwing says
LOL!
Breann says
Don’t forget to do “The Hustle”! ?
Patricia Schlorke says
Do we have a “Dancing Queen”? For those who don’t know what I mean this is a disco song by ABBA. 😀
Or if we’re going Bee Gees, “How Deep is Your Love?”
jewelwing says
Thanks for mentioning two so the eagworms cancel each other out!
Shannon in Texas says
Is it just me, or is that, in Ilona’s office space…
A disco ball?
I can’t decide if that’s just wrong, or the final, perfect touch.
Patricia Schlorke says
When I saw the bedroom with the castle fireplace (or is it a wood stove?), I thought “Game of Thrones lives!” 😀
That Grecian pool…reminds me of the Greek plays I use to read for a literature class I long time ago. Watch out for any naked people! 😉
The kitchen…I think it’s Eurasian (mash up of European and Asian travels).
The office space…great place for a nap.
Patricia Schlorke says
Without the disco ball (didn’t catch it at first). No…just no to the disco ball. Next thing we know bell bottoms and leisure suits make a come back. My eyes, my eyes!
Tink says
But just think how much the cats will love it when it’s turned on and there’s all those colored lights dancing on the floor and walls.
Lynn T. says
Yeah, I thought about that too. But then I was “owned” by my feline pride for 20 years. Presently I am “owned” by a canine pup who checks everything for safety that is under 7 feet [Grin]. He would be busy for awhile.
Lovely house though.
Alice Brown says
Ok. I know this is not on topic, but you made a GOT comment, so I am sharing it here. I have tried to share this with multiple friends and family and all have given me a blank look followed with some comment like ‘oh, I don’t watch tv.’ You think you know people. Anyway, here:
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/4/18/18485061/game-of-thrones-got-hbo-sesame-street-westworld-crossover-video-tyrion-lannister-cersei
Carolyn W. says
That backyard would be a lovely setting for a romantic wedding.
Nancyc says
Gordon would never go for it. There’s no moat. lol
Margaret R says
All it needs is a ghost wafting about and it’s perfect……
An says
Is that a… ballroom? I mean that would make sense in this house, and you could definitely make an office out of it. But it seems like a ballroom to me? Do you have to waltz in that room?
mz says
Nice to visit.
How would it go with Costco pyjama / workout pants and your oldest you-cna’t-wear-this-in-public top??
Nope for me. (Does that mean I can’t live in Arland’s castle???? Please…NO!)
Richard says
It’d make a fascinating museum, but I’d have to be an Innkeeper to live in it.
Tink says
I showed it to my brother who’s moving to Austin in a year or so. I told him instead of building a house he could have bought this place. He said the interior was decorated in “Early Gaudy as Hell”.
Leena says
Leena
Leena says
Ummm not sure what happened to my comment but your brothers comment on the decorating style is gold!
Lisa L says
My style is more simple and bright, more spa like or beachy. This place just feels like too much. There is too much going on in my brain. I would be out in the garden most of the time trying to calm down. I could live with the sunroom/ballroom? It is less cluttered and has plants. With my ASD I have to be careful of the sensory overload.
“Do you love sensory overload? Then this is the house for you…”
AndrewC says
Holy Smokes! That is something else. The guest house! Wow. I hope it is being sold furnished, because I think the work of finding the right furnishings would cause me a breakdown. However, the kitchen was designed by someone who doesn’t cook much. Stove/frig/sink spacing is too far away from each other and the space next to the range is not enough. At least not for how I (and all my friends) cook. I suppose a wheeled cart could help with that.
That house would certainly turn you into a world traveller. (Wait. When did we drop the second “l” in traveller? I was taught if a word ends in “L” and you add -er or -ing you added another “L”. What the …) Traveler.
Ronda says
Oh myyyyyy. Ummmm, it is …. interesting to look at. TBH, aesthetically I’d rather have the house with the sex basement. ?
Jean says
Too many tray ceilings!! One in a house is enough. But seriously, this was the kind of thing I loved to design in jr. high, even though I didn’t draw very well – graphing tools and a ruler made up for the lack of free-hand ability. Furniture and textiles cut out of magazines. (My fantasy college major re-do would be architecture….)
Donna says
Nope, tries too hard. If this were a draft novel, the editor would be going crazy with edits.
Paulina T says
I love that your office has a disco ball. Very tiny for that enormous room, and yet jarring in its total difference from the feel of the rest of the room!
Lora Tyler says
Wow!!!!!
Meg says
Main house is a bit weird but like the backyard and the guesthouse which is like something out of Rivendale, LOTR. Love the tree bed!
Jessie says
Buy it! You’ll be closer and I can come over and marvel at your amazing all-in-one office/theatre set balcony/disco hall. 🙂
Laurence says
Great idea!
Amy says
Oh just wow! I thought that was a giant Jesus in the kitchen but then read it was something Asian. I love it from the front, but honey, I’d have to gut every room, except that florida room. I could live in there every day of my life and be happy.
Amy says
Oh, wait, I’d have to remove the disco ball, but then yeah, just toss some cheez-its at me once in a while and make sure I have water…. and coke… and wine… and chocolate…. possibly a moon pie or two.
Laura says
Thanks for sharing this – it’s so over the top! I love it!
jewelwing says
I do love the office/sunroom. You could live in there and rent the other rooms out on Airbnb, or as a…wedding venue, maybe?
Mary Cruickshank-Peed says
Beautiful, if not my style… that bathroom, tho… even my grandkids are big enough to leave me alone in the bathroom to poop… I’m sure I don’t want the mural on the wall to have two guys, no matter what they’re doing.
Heidi says
Sad thing, I look at this, and just think, to much work, would cost too much to maintain. My harem of studly men would be too tired to worship at my feet
Nancyc says
I like the way you think!
Verslint says
I’m a minimalist so it’s not my style, but the space you claimed for the office? Yeah, I’d live there. Garden is also awesome.
Mary H says
Nobody said it, so I have to. It just has to be haunted.?
RJ Blain says
If I owned this house, I would invite all of my writer friends to come visit me so we can write in various rooms.
You would find me in ancient Asia, kthx.
I’m just going to sit here and sigh at the pretty pictures instead of finishing this book that must go to my editor by midnight…
Kimberley says
OMG I’m in love ? I’ve had dreams that didn’t look this awesome. That said, some furniture is just this side of gaudy.
Peace light and love ?K
Pklagrange says
It would be a step backwards from the minimalist approach I’ve been taking as of late…. And I really need a plain white kitchen. But the disco ballroom is to die for and I will try to convince my DH we need an addition!!!
Claudia says
Wow, I would LOVE to meet the owner(s) — it takes a big, BOLD personality to go all out like that! They’re fun to hang out, no doubt. The house is not my style, but bravo. It also looks like a very comfortable space, with all sorts of creature comforts.
Anton says
The house meant the world to its owner. I think you would love it as well.
Ruth says
Wow. Count me in. I like it.
e smith says
I want a castle fire place!!! Really cool house, the grounds are stunning.
Cheryl M says
My first thought when seeing the kitchen was ” Who’s going to clean those walls??!!” Real cooking and all those judged surfaces would just be a mess.
Fun, really cool place, but way more work than I want.
Leena says
I’m thinking this home should be advertised as ‘An Inkeepers’ delight’ just as homes that need a complete re-do are often referred to as a ‘renovators delight’ totally OTT but lots of fun in it – you’d feel like you were traveling through medieval Europe and Asia, with some English countryside and a Grecian pooplthrown in for good measure ?
Simone says
4,908 sq ft!!! I can’t imagine having a house that large. My husband and I have been living in a 900 sq ft apartment for the last 12 years. For the listing I love the kitchen, the guesthouse bathroom and the garden especially but can’t imagine all the upkeep.
On the subject of real estate here is an article about how much space you can rent for $1,500 a month in the 100 most populous cities
Wichita KS & Memphis TN tie for first with 1,948 sq ft
Austin TX comes in at 1,049 sq ft
NYC is the smallest with 271 sq ft
https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/apartment-search-2/apartment-value-in-the-top-100-us-cities-what-can-you-rent-for-1500/
Donna A says
I don’t know why I don’t like it but I don’t. I love Brighton Pavilion and clearly the owner and old Georgie boy had a lot in common design wise (I’m sure everyone around the houseowner was all ‘No, it’s enough now, stop it, you’ve lost all taste’ but now it’s getting tours and TV publicity they’re like ‘Ha! Who’s laughing now?’). But something about it is a touch offputting to me and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It looks like it might feel oppressive and dark. I don’t know. It’s cool to look at but I wouldn’t want to stay. However if I they ever put Brighton on the market (or Bodiam, I love Bodiam, except the rats are a bit much) and I win about twenty lotteries….
Angel Mercury says
This is amazing. I really like that sand colored room with the greenery and skylights. The kitchen with the stone walls are nice but I would dread having to dust. Seems like a lot of nice work that’s just a tad bit too much. The bathroom is so dark though.
Ms. Kim says
I would almost by it just for the guest bathroom. mmmmm
Moira says
No. Just no. Not my taste at all; too ornate, too dark! Yard is gorgeous, though!
njb says
+1. Gaudy and mismatched interior. I’d take the yard.
NSum says
A bit Austinatious for me, although I respect the creativity.
Aurora Ebonfire says
+1
Austinatious lol
Robin Lee says
Is that a disco ball in the bedroom?!
Kamrin says
That backyard is pretty…wow.
SH says
The toilet in the guesthouse bathroom is pedestrian, disappointing, and anticlimactic. In order to maintain the theme, I would expect a hole in the ground, with extremely detailed tiling all around it, and a bidet with jets that shoot from various angles in the floor and walls. To stick a brown mid-century, suburban toilet in with all the excess of Rome or Pompeii demonstrates an egregious lack of imagination and gumption.
MVI says
or http://www.herbeau.com/5501.html ?
R says
YES.
KGor says
It screams “Air B&B” to me. You would make more money than selling it probably.
kitkat9000 says
Yeah, no. I mean, parts of it appeal to me greatly, but then others very definitely do not. It’s interesting how polarizing the decor is- it’s very much a love it or hate it situation… which is probably why it’s been on/off market since March 2017.
George Bailey says
Nice … but give me the Biltmore House in Asheville NC anyday, lol !
Breann says
That’s my dream house too! ?
njb says
absolutely! And when you consider when it was actually built, it’s even more impressive in it’s modernness.
Suey says
Housework
Jaye says
LOVE it. Some SCAdian made the big money.
L says
Wow!
Parts of the house look like someone got too excited after watching some History Channel documentaries, and parts of the house make me thing “Hmm, I could imagine Kate Daniels I this space” (eg either as part of her house, part of the temple grounds, part of The Guild etc)
elizaduckie says
Way too baroque for me. One will need staff, or how does one keep deeply grooved rock clean? It’s a huge dust and spider catcher! I do love that open room you named as ”office”. although it seems uncomfortably big for that use. More like a small ballroom…I can just picture it, swirly taffeta or silk dresses, and all. That could be inspirational. : )
Tara says
A Gertrude Hunt ball room! Yes!
Gundega says
The statues & busts in the house are tad bit too much for me, but other than that – the house is gorgeous! I LOVE it!
When I buy my own house I’ll design it similarly! 😀
Heather says
The Dicksee and Leighton murals are stunning touches
Fan in California says
Yikes.
Nicholi Gold says
I love this! Thank you.
Andrea D Smith says
If I lived close I’d go on that 5pm tour for inspiration. I love the outside and “my office.”
Lola says
How beautiful! It would be an amazing hotel or place to hold workplace retreats.
Katherine L Woodbury says
Wow. ………..I…………….wow.
Actually, I’d probably enjoy it for a vacation. The backyard is fantastic.
Cecile says
I can’t say this is my taste…
However, where I’m from (Belgium, center) so much space and such a garden.. it would cost double that price (at least)!
Again, not that I live it, too dark, too much everywhere but for the breathing space only, that’s worth it for me ?
Tara says
Soo much space… too much space to clean… I’ll stick with my snug 948 sq ft bungalow thanks!
Shiloh says
Wow.
Anonymous says
The house is really overdone. The garden room and the yard are awesome. I can’t imagine having to take care of all that. Is there any plan for another Innkeeper soon? Not to rush you, but I want to know if Klaus has found his parents.
MerryB says
Wow. I’d not do all of that, and some of it is more than I’d be comfortable with, but overall, wow. I could live there. Clean there? That’s a whole other ball of yarn. Thank you. I wonder if they thought of taking pictures for sale as book covers or other such stuffs.
Intan says
wondering if u would like this:
https://www.boredpanda.com/two-artists-work-together-to-create-wearable-art-inspired-by-the-natural-world/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=BPFacebook
njb says
wow, that almost makes me want to learn to knit. beautiful!
Rose says
Ooo! Here’s one for you – but probably *not* one you’d consider living in:
https://www.redfin.com/TX/Buda/311-Towhee-Dr-78610/home/33820496
…it’s like someone threw up in Victorian in there.
Jean says
Even. on. the. breakfast. nook. fan….
And so much Pink….
The backyard w/pool looks so normal….
Rose says
Right? Well, that and the two rooms that look to be mancaves…
wont says
The photos are enough for me. Too much of everything. I noticed they left behind the God-awful red sofas. But…if this is your thing. I would always take Old European over most American designs, but, again, this is too much for me. Evidently all this effort and expense wasn’t enough to keep the owners there. Regrets?
Clara says
Statues. Weeping angels (Doctor Who). I wouldn’t be able to sleep. ‘Nuff said.
Reenie says
Wow. Just, too much.
My tastes run more to open, light, airy and minimal. Most of the pictures of this house feel claustrophobic, dark, stuffy and cluttered. It’s almost the polar opposite of my own preferences.
It’s also completely disjointed, style-wise. Every room has a different theme, comes from a different time period or location and they almost all seem to try for a multi-cultural fusion. Almost every room has something that is completely out of place for the theme: The kitchen that’s pictured above has old English country style cabinetry, modern industrial refrigerator and range, European stacked stone walls, middle Asian statuary for accents, and what looks a lot like a barn trough style sink. I’m not quite sure what the designer was trying to convey with that room. Some mixed period rooms work. That one, not so much. The room you want for an office is a very nice room, it actually blends… except for the disco ball hanging from the ceiling (WTF?). Then there’s the bedroom that’s done in an Asian/Turkish/Moroccan fusion which could work, except for the bed frame that really belongs in a log cabin somewhere in the Alps.
Sadly every room that’s pictured has something that’s off about it. They all just miss the mark and because of that they all feel wrong to me. Definitely not a house I could live in, or would even want to visit for very long.
Teej says
It makes an interesting & eclectic mix…but I wouldn’t want to clean it. And I can already hear the designer tell me I’m not artistic enough to replace that _____ that I accidentally trashed just from living there! That said, I would kill for Ilonas proposed office space, disco ball and all–love the light!?
Rebecca says
What is with the furniture? If your house is going to be medieval, put in some lovely Jacobean pieces. The dining room table looks like a cheap fake, not to mention the beds. All that work redoing the place and they cheap out on the furniture.
Momcat says
Interesting, but I’d be looking for a spectre “wi’ ‘er head tooked underneath ‘er arm” at any moment. The room you like as your office? Maybe, and most of the outdoors, but ‘way too creepy to live in for me. Someone had a lot of fun creating all that though.
Juni says
Not enough room for my horses ,barn and arena….
Jenny Schwartzberg says
Where are the books?! No house is a real house without books. There should be walls of books! This house is crazy but it doesn’t look lived in. I guess they cleaned it up and took out the personal stuff but it doesn’t look loved.
Amelie says
LOL this house makes me think of the fake Kentucky castle my friend got married in Versailles, KY (and they pronounce that town Versales in Kentucky and not the French way). It looks like a Medieval Times from the outside and while I am not well versed in architecture and decor from different periods, the inside is a mish-mash of what an American thinks a medieval castle should look like. The fake castle has an interesting history too–a couple came back from Europe all inspired to build their own castle in the middle of Kentucky because why not. However after construction the couple got divorced and the unfinished castle lay empty for years. Finally the original owners died and another guy snapped it up and finished the construction. It was sold again to a local group of investors a few years ago and I don’t really know what it is now but it has changed names several times. Here is the website for this ridiculous building should you ever need setting inspiration ever for a book lol: https://www.thekentuckycastle.com/ Very interesting venue for a wedding!
The Perfume Baby says
My destriers could drink out of that kitchen trough…umm sink.
Zaz says
To ornate for me. All I could think looking at it is that it would be hell to clean