Still working on the project that won’t end. It is almost twice as long as it needs to be now, but I guess it will be fine.
Today I bring you a unique home from Pennsylvania. Behold, the Barn Castle.
From the Zillow’s description: This remarkable historical structure, formerly a stone barn from circa the 1800s, boasts many architectural details. Massive walls, soaring ceilings, limestone flooring, spiral iron staircases, arched windows, rustic reclaimed exposed beams, cherry hardwood floors & solid mahogany doors make this truly a one of a kind estate.
It is said that a man’s home is his castle. Not sure why they limited it to men, because women like castles as well, but this person has taken things a bit too literally.
This house seems like too much, partially because of the paint choices.
I imagine that this is the point where the realtor was like, “Let’s just mess with it a little bit to widen the pool of potential buyers…”
View the listing and additional pictures here.
So yay or nay?
Looks amazing! Yay!
Yes! It looks like the perfect knitting chair.
* The throne, I mean!
I don’t know about the house, but I really want a throne now.
Me, too!!
It appears that the owners raided the Design Toscano catalog for furniture and statuary. The only things missing are the Lawn Dragon and Bigfoot.
Same here! Why have I limited myself to an armchair? I could enjoy reading IA books in it and then hold court with my kitties.
Wow, just wow, I wonder wear the folks who live there would go next after that show stopper? Lots of blue walls…
I actually love it. I can’t imagine how to decorate but I could just spend hours looking at the wood and rock accents. LOVE the chairs beside the wood column with details.
That’s a Glastonbury chair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_chair
I can imagine decades of insomnia…
What’s with all the giant angel statues?! I’m a Whovian, and that’s a no from me!
Agree, the Dr. Who angels are one of the most frightening ‘bad guys’ out there. They are totally creepy. Makes you nervous around angel statues for life.
Love the Dr. Who references and the bust line of the one in the throne room.
I believe that one is a harpy
Actually, she reminds me of all those mothers that don’t want people eating or drinking in the living room: “Thou dares to drink tea on the white leather couch” and then she smites you.
Well, according to Simon R. Green’s Nightside series, the Angels (from both sides) are supernatural commandos, and scary as hell (pun intended) 🙂
+1
Don’t blink!
Yay…to be gutted. Keep the architectural details (because awesome!) but the paint, the furniture, the black tiled bathrooms…love the idea of the place but I wouldn’t pay more than half what they want for it because everything needs to be redone. By professionals.
My cats especially love the wood detailing because “we can run up the walls and fall down the walls!”
Bad taste, a nightmare. It looks like someone on drugs raided the British Museum and threw everything into a house for the colourblind.
Susanne Nailed it!
+1
Definitely. Plus, 3800 square feet, a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, and no garage. In Pennsylvania. Plan on cleaning a lot of snow off the car.
“Still working on the project that won’t end. It is almost twice as long as it needs to be now, but I guess it will be fine.”
I’ll buy whatever this “project” is in any condition. Long, short, unedited, pretty pictures, no pretty pictures, in a language I can’t read, with a character I thought I hated, you get the idea.
Also if you like grapes and have never tried the variety “cotton candy grapes” give it a try. Very sweet, green grapes. Delicious. A perfect snack for writing. Or anytime.
+1 on the grapes!!
omg! those grapes are my absolute favorites. they are aptly named.
+1 on the project
I feel like this listing has potential if you redecorated by a lot. I like the architecture. The furniture and the blue-walls-with-wood and the statues… not so much. The virtually staged version is still not quite my style, but goes a long way to show how the architecture would be complimented with a more modern style of furniture.
I am extremely disappointed by the lack of library (seriously what is the point of a castle that doesn’t have one of those!?) but I suppose that could be rectified… and as a lover of high perches, I’m totally sold on the huge ladder.
Yes, agreed. You can see the bones of the old barn in the architecture (hence the ladders), but the furnishings look like they came out of a bishop’s mansion. Or the house of a VERY wealthy old man with a half dozen very young, very sexy, very underdressed “assistants”.
+1
No, doesn’t move me at all – now the other houses you showed recently with the staircases, now those I liked 🙂
It is very interesting. I wouldn’t buy it but I would walk through it just too see everything up close. I wonder what the door by the stairs in the 12th picture on the listing leads to??? ???? it seems like a house that would have a secret passage.
Not for me, thank you. Although with a sander and a few hundred gallons of paint…. I would much prefer a modern approach- blending the barn with contemporary architecture and letting the structures themselves provide the drama.
It would make an awesome Inn, wouldn’t it? I’m guessing there are Inns in Pennsylvania…
+1!
+1
Yeah but it only has 4 bedrooms. Almost 4k square feet and only 4 bedrooms? And no Library is a deal breaker.
I LOVE the outside of the house. The rustic stone & wooden exterior is gorgeous. Don’t know what they were thinking w/ the outbuilding…is that a mausoleum? The statue on top & the water fountain do NOT belong next to this house. That is beyond weird to me.
I love the wood & stone inside. I hate the way they decorated & painted the inside. It’s like someone who always wanted a castle or fancy British estate got stuck living in this house & decided to make it into what they wanted. Seriously, that decor & outside ornamentation would look lovely…w/ a British estate or castle.
Dear God, NAY! Unless it comes with dragons…
While the decorating choices aren’t exactly to my taste, I love the details in the house. The outside is gorgeous! The stone and woodwork inside is too. Honestly cheaper than I thought it would be. It looks like they did good quality of work, but sometimes you can only tell in person. ????
Neigh. (I’ll show myself out. ????)
Very punny! ????
This is ridiculously cool. It is a yay! for me
The problem is the blue(s) with all the wood, but the bones of the place are amazing. At this price point, I’m surprised they didn’t physically repaint the place to stage it.
Either the blue walls OR the blue ceiling would work with the 90’s windows, but that beautiful architectural wood detailing doesn’t mesh with any of the rest…
Nay, too much,and it feels like it was built on the backs of working people.
Yes! I love the unique look of it!!
Meh. It’s like they couldn’t decide between barn and castle. Gorgeous wood panelling next to rough-hewn beams just doesn’t work. And looking at the roof, I’m thinking the house systems are probably in pretty rough shape. Even leaving all that aside, gutting the kitchen and bathrooms and repainting everything will be an insane expense.
+1
Way overpriced, regardless of the questionable choice to use leftover ecclesiastical architectural salvage…
I’m curious what it’s like to heat that place in the winter.
+
I LOVE IT. It isn’t another cookie cutter, needs to look like Pinterest to impress people house. I’m not a bright blue fan, but the owners like it. It looks like it was a home vs being just another house. Unique ROCKS. But then again I live in a house built in 1942 so I believe houses have character. I would definitely live in it. To all the snobby haters of the world, unique houses rule.
I love the details of the house! The stone the wood the details. My design aesthetic is extremely eclectic so I could work with this ! That would be assuming I wanted some place that big, for that kind of money, in Pennsylvania lol
My friend was looking at a stone house in Pennsylvania. It had 7 fireplaces . I think it dated from the 1700’s. But there was radon in the basement and the water wasn’t safe.
So no go.
But I sort of like the stone and wood.
The weird shade of blue not so much.
My cats would love the throne.
But it needs more bookshelves.I would probably dress the angels, outfits and jewelry.
It’s fun to see different architecture and think what would you do with this house.
Thank you.
+1
I love the structure, but the decor gives me hives and indoor painting would have to happen.
Nay! I would love to look round and some of the wood carving is gorgeous but it leaves me cold as a home. A hotel or something, maybe?
Interesting
That’s an “Aw HELL no” from me, but I grew up in Bucks / Montgomery counties in PA – so when I look at that, I see the tormentors of my childhood. No thank you.
Now I’m living the NorCal MCM dream. All’y’all can keep your barns.
Yay…. so you know how the statue is of things to come maybe Viking shield maidens or King Arthur legends? Ha. Hope you guys are well.
Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the post.
Interesting but not for me and mine. I need pasture for Barney (bovine) and Titan needs a lot of land to exercise his (canine) body. Jupiter wouldn’t care. Typical feline. I can just see her and the lunatic dog on the roof doing their protection patrols. ????.
I went to the listing site and it is on 3-4 acres, so not a standard lot. Changes for me cream/ecru instead of blue, get rid of the angels, turn one bedroom into a craft room I can put my 4-shaft loom in plus fiber and fabric stash and another into the library. Get rid of the throne, but love those viking chairs. (Actually putting the loom in the highest room is what they would have done in period).
Looove it. I mean except the blue. Cause I agree blue can be very nice. But that is a BIG space with lots of dark wood. All I can focus on is the
blue bubblegum nightmare walls. Of course, I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t be able to sleep there anyways, since it’s def-o haunted.
For. Sure.
I would not have the chops to walk that house in the dark.
I absolutely love all of the wood and stone work. I don’t like the paint colours. It is a yay for me.
Yay from me. I don’t like the black tile in some bathrooms or the sink choices, but otherwise I’d probably like it with just a bit of paint color changes and some back splash tile in the kitchen. 🙂
Not a Southerner, but I’m guessing a Realtor’s version of “bless your heart” is “it has potential”. (They never say what it has the potential to be, just that it has potential.)
So… It has potential.
LOL, the phrase “bless their heart” definitely crossed my mind as I was looking at the photos. Not a Southerner either, but that phrase is so useful in so many situations. This is definitely the house of someone who believes more is more.
I like the look of the exterior if you take away all the excess stuff. Same with the interior. However you would need a trust fund for maintenance and upkeep, so I’m out.
Also, having looked at the photos on the Zillow site, I recognized one of the doors, the one with the little square peephole thing – I forget what you call it, but you can shoot an arrow through it if you’re under attack. I worked on a farm previously owned by a VP of a luxury home builder. He had the luxury home building contractors build his barns. Those doors were on the tack room and feed room and miscellaneous equipment rooms. There was a chandelier in the room where they stored the horse blankets, and a massive stained glass window over the aisle in the main barn. They also put light switches behind doors, made the haylofts airtight, and totally failed to account for the topology of the site in designing for drainage. Or possibly they failed to design for drainage in the first place. Pretty much every time I walked in that barn, I thought: If I had that kind of money, I would know what to do with it.
Murder hole perhaps?
I do recall an anecdote about one of the very old British universitys having them due to their age. Can’t remember which one and google was not being helpful.
Loophole? Embrasure? Arrow-slit? Peep-hole?
It’s none of the above. I’ll recognize it when I next see it, of course, which will likely be too late for purposes of this discussion.
Is it a balistraria?
I dunno.. a lot of things kind of appeal, although it’d need some work. At least based on where I live, that’s a lot of house for the money. (Which also says a lot about the horrors of local real estate!)
It is lovely or could be with a bit of painting and love, but having lived most of my life in the north all I can see are astronomical heating bills when I look at this barn.
+1
I can’t wait to see this on McMansion Hell.
Also – why does the stove look like it only has 2 burners?
I love it, but would hate to clean it.
That person had fun decorating.
I don’t understand why a barn would have more than two stories? Two stories, yes. But that looks like it may have been three stories? Not an expert.
Hayloft.
Yay
Groovy, indeed. But what was that about ‘too much wood’?
Really!
Very…..interesting. I wouldn’t mind staying in a hotel like this. Wouldn’t want to live in it…waaay too much to clean. Although with a house like that, you’d probably hire people to clean it for you.
I think the house is gorgeous. Throne aside, the wood and stone are amazing. I even like the blue. The house is too close to the road though, and the upkeep would likely be a nightmare.
A solid maybe. Parts of it are amazing, and the rest is interesting.
I like it.
I need to win the lottery so I can move to PA.
Some of the elements are beautiful but the house looks “heavy”.
First glance outside pic – cool, can’t wait to see the inside! Then additional outside pics – wait…why is there a tarp on the roof…why is there an a/c window unit from a 2nd floor window?
Then the inside…
O_O
Run Forrest….there’s gotta be a medieval-rustic knight of the order coming to evict any intruders on his property – RUN AWAY FASTER!
Nope, can’t even
Since I am in a worldwide historical re-enactment group that focuses on the Middle Ages and Renaissance, getting knights to show up is not a problem.
I was thinking maybe one of Nick’s motley crew from Atlanta’s Chapter. LOL
Toss the furniture and repaint- definitely Yay!
The exterior : yay !!
The interior : nay !!
How do you do the housework in a house like that ?? I can’t even tidy up my little one-bedroom appartment…
And too much corners and crannies to check the evenings before going to bed…. yes, I’m the coward girl who check under the bed…
Wow, I love it! It has so much character 🙂
It’s very ornate with the wood carvings and stone work, but all I see is how much dusting I’d have to do in hard to reach, or clean spaces. I suppose I could afford to hire people to clean it if I had a house like that, but still, it doesn’t say comfortable, cozy home to me.
It’s true. Money can’t buy taste.
It really is in the middle of nowhere, on the northern reaches of Amish country. As the crow flies, it is not very far from Philly. But look at a topographical map, the journey towards civilization becomes more complicated. But philly- lots of history and great food. And just a little down river from the Delaware valley.
The house is too much. After some thinking, I do like the blue room. The blue relieves the wood. After buying it, I would have a yard sale. Who wants to dust tchotchkes, especially huge ones?
Ouch! I’d have culture shock every time I stepped through the front door. The outside is lovely. The interior woodwork is gorgeous. They really, really don’t go together. The statues could be scrapped. The throne could be sold. The blue walls repainted. That griffon pillar, however,… it would break my heart to remove it and break my mind to keep it. Fortunately, I live on the far side of the country and will never have to view it in person.
I kind like it!
I think it’s awesome and fun. A bear to heat but full of character and personality.
Yay for sure, some paint and new furniture, and this house would be so lovely.
Yay on the house but I would use different furniture/decor…
It might make a nice “themed” BNB with some remodeling.
nay, I can already see my kids climbing that ladder like structure in the living room. And they are all grown men!
Hah!!! I could see my entire family taking on that challenge. And the repair and hospital bills to go with it.
But… it would be fun at least once.
yes, and yes. Fairly rural, but you aren’t that far from Philadelphia. East to get almost anywhere, and a pretty good climate: Four seasons, but a lot shorter than the New England winters. I would love to live in a house that has all of this.
Yay!
The kitchen looked a wee bit tight. But it has a lot of unique features and space. It wold take a lot of furnishing though.
I like the house, but most of that furniture could live at the dump as far as I’m concerned. I have never understood a yen for leather.
And where are the bookshelves?
I like the bathtub.
Looks like Castle Anthrax. Where’s Gawain?
This is viscerally American. I love the realtor’s virtual staging addition. There’s a lot to work with but a lot of limitations too. I would hard pass just because I have a zillion animals and can imagine pet hair everywhere. Six years after moving in I would get around to wiping down some crown molding and think “ye gods, how did husky hair get up here? How? Hoooooow….”
I love it! You should check out Fonthill Castle, also in Pennsylvania. It’s a decorative tile-lover’s dream.
I love the stone work. My grandparents had a stone house that was built by their parents. I get happy feelings from stone walls
Nope, I’ll pass, though I much prefer the white walls to the blue or purple ones.
No garage for the cars? Off street parking? At least have a garage for the horses and carriages? where are you going to store the jousting equipment?
And the details for basement is confusing.
Basement:
Has basement? yes
Basement: None.
Do you plan to install a torture or s/m chamber? ????????????
I love it and need a throne room right now. I’ll have dinner parties and greet my guests from it.
Weirdly, I like it. Nothing I would have ever chosen but overall pretty cool minus all of the creepy angel statues.
I love it but I wouldn’t want to live in it. Looking at the listing, I wonder what a Florida Room is… and how they can list it as waterfront when the pond on the property is barely bigger than the house…
I had to research Florida room as well! I think in the UK we’d use conservatory or sun-room (with/without glass roof) – although I did like one definition which said that a Florida room expands the living space of a house, providing windows to overlook views of your surrounding and capturing sunlight; unlike a conservatory or sun-room which tends to be on the side of the building… which makes me wonder – is a Florida room on the roof? (How else could it not be on the side of the building?)
Florida rooms are frequently on the *back* of the house, rather than the side. They are, therefore, often on the opposite side of the house/lot from the road and main door, thus improving view and increasing privacy. No roof involved! 😀
I guess the back isn’t a side then…
When I read ‘side of the house’ I’m picturing an extension coming out from the original building, as opposed to the two walls perpendicular to the front of the building.
I love this thing we call language – something so simple becomes so complex when your own personality and knowledge is taken into account!
No, just no. Glamis, now THAT’S a castle!
NAY. No garage in Pennsylvania. Get ready to brush snow off that car.
I like some of the airyness of the rooms, the big driveway, and the plentiful flora. The indoor and outdoor statues/statuary and some of the chairs would have to go, and at least 2 of the bathrooms’ sinks and paint colors would have to be replaced.
I’m very confused about what some of those wooden beams are supposed to be doing (mostly the horizontal beams). Are they meant to be aesthetic rather than supportive choices, because they neither look good nor do they appear to be necessary.
Look up timber frame barn and the word bent and you will understand what is happening there. What that is in the blue room is one of the bents from when this was a barn and yes it is a support.
I love looking at wooden floors, plus they’re great for dancing. But then I think of the upkeep of it and just… no. And I saw wooden floor in the KITCHEN. That’s a fucking nightmare. There were also wooden beam in the bathroom/shower? No. Steam. Water. Mold. Blargh. Upkeep. More blargh. Overall, nice for a tour around to look at the house and interior but I wouldn’t choose it.
Wow. Just. Wow. Tbh the HDR images and Mashup of architecture makes it look a bit like a Sims building…
I now know where the Knight Templars are hiding. Or perhaps a the secret Head Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid resides here. I think Damon said Heath had a gold framed pciture that would fit right in.
I was in until I saw the bathrooms, just very odd choices. And I wouldn’t want to have to dust it.
I’m too lazy to own a house like that. I can barely be arsed to dust my TV. But I would love to hang out there for a few days. I wouldn’t say it’s to my taste either but neither is my house full of Ikea shelves.
I kind of like it? My favorite color is blue but even that much blue is too much for me haha. I’m a bit confused by adding a stone house to the remnants of a wooden barn, the outside is very confusing to me. The fountain and mausoleum are way too overkill and have got to go and the throne is just over the top. It’s too much house for me but it doesn’t immediately repulse me either. I would definitely want to walk through it and get the story behind it.
I love when you post these insane houses…
I’d definitely change some things if I bought it to cut down on the opulence, but overall, I’ll have to say it’s a yay.
Honestly makes me think of something Hugh would enjoy and Elara probably fought for the blue and white ????
I kinda like it!
Yay as long as I can redecorate and add plants. Lots of plants.
Nay. I actually plan to move to PA when my sister retires, but the castle is too big for us, even if my mom is still with us. I wouldn’t want to have to clean it. It is interesting though.
No judgment but it’s a nay for me!
I showed the house to my favorite 6 year old. “Best house ever to play tag”, was his comment. I agree.
The giant Statue/Fountain combo in the front yard kinda throws me, but in general I dig it! Literal thrown and all!
Never mind… the fountain has already grown on me like a fungus… I dig it all now… but I agree that some repainting is in order.
If this is the house I think it is from a cousin going through it thinking about a purchase. It does have a combination office and library and it was briefly a bishops mansion after conversion from barn to house. The cousin said her and her husband decided against buying it since they couldn’t figure out how to make it their own without ruining the historical references.
I see your Barn Castle and raise you Loftus Hall (Ireland) if you’re in the market and are brave enough 🙂
https://keaneauctioneers.com/properties/loftus-hall-hook-head-co-wexford/#item1
I would so buy this if I had the money.
Most haunted property here in Ireland so they say. Its fabulous.
I love some of the decorating choices…let the paint & ceilings peel, but fill the fireplace with candles and polish the silver candlesticks on the newell posts – and is that a gift shop or a baseball cap collection display room? I’m hoping it’s open to the public and that’s the tea rooms they’re showing rather than a kitchen for a family that will not sit together to eat!
Der Platz schlechthin um die zombie plage zu leben
Die Loftus Hall kann ich mir gut als ausbilungsplatz für ein Buch über junge Spione vorstellen
Hiernochmal der link https://keaneauctioneers.com/properties/loftus-hall-hook-head-co-wexford/#item1
I hope we get the pre-order link to the secret project soon ????
The house is huge, the space is amazing…and the kitchen is a terrible afterthought? What the hell happened… spent all their money on angel statues and decided, eh, who needs to eat? It’s not like there’s reams of takeout around there!
My thoughts exactly!
Nay for me. Not sure what’s more off-putting: the endless, overwrought statuary, or the paint colors. It’s trying hard to be many, many things, when it just needs a good dose of homey.
“This house seems like too much, partially because of the paint choices.
I am a fan of blue. My entire downstairs is blue. But there is too much wood here.”
lol! Understatements of the century here. Also the wood is a bit too red for that blue. And the wood on the floor is a different red than the wood on the wall.
It is like someone decorated for a haunted Disney ride, then forgot the dust and the cobwebs and turned the lights on inside and decided to live there instead.
So, nay.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is half the price of my house in San Francisco. True my house has more bedrooms and full baths, but it is half the square footage. What are they doing with all that square footage? I also have 100% less wood and stone detailing, which is a win in my book because less dusting etc.
Looks like a beautiful place to visit but wouldn’t want to live there. I see those massive high ceilings and I think “how do you dust up there?” And “won’t their heating bills be (ahem) through the roof since, y’know, hot air rises?” Maybe I am too practical for such places. But it is lovely to look at.
I’m from Florida, so I didn’t think of that. We love high ceilings to help the heat escape. Maybe in Mesopotamia or Jerusalem, Central or South America. Or, Texas? Move it to Texas – perfect.
Move it to Texas – I’d sell my modern house in a hot minute! I love the wood and stone, though I’d lose a lot of the blue paint. There’s a lot going on w/ timbering and rough stone. The walls need to be on the plain side.
The heat bill in coastal Texas would be do-able, plus that roof begs for solar of some sort. Interior parts of the state get colder, but still – solar would help.
Sigh, but not happening, so I don’t have to worry.
I love it. Need to add a few bedrooms.
The statues remind me of the weeping angels in Dr Who, they just need some chains keeping them from taking you!
Nope. I love the details on the doors, but the colors and that sink are too much.
Baptismal font as a bathroom sink is a nice touch — however, I see baseboard heat … all that and they only have baseboard heat???
I literally hate this house. I would not live in it if given to me. I live in Pennsylvania, and all I thought was my gosh, how much are the heating bills. It’s freaking cold here.
I loved except of course blue room, and blue is my favorite color. Perhaps its the shade of blue. They should try the blue you see in the North Atlantic (although that might be too grey). Or perhaps a dark Pacific Ocean blue. But that shade of blue doesn’t work.
I actually like the colors but the woodwork is overwrought and the furnishings are hideous.
On behalf of the Commonwealth….just say no. While the restoration of the original fieldstone barn is laudable, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Looks like this guy colored everything outside of them and just kept going.
I really love some of the architectural details, but I expected more from the kitchen, dining room and baths.
I love that it has 3 acres of land, though.
Well, there is a lot of land attached, but have to say I’d not make an offer. I like wood and I like stone. This place should appeal, but I just can’t get past the impression that the building is a repository for old church memorabilia. For all the soaring ceilings & sunny scenes in the photos, I’m getting a creature from the crypt vibe. Weird but true.
It’s wonderful!
Oddly enough I kinda like it. I’d hate to maintain though.
I am probably not the one to ask. There are gargoyles in my bathroom because it amuses me that when people go to pee they are looking at my little stone monsters. I often wonder what they think, or if they are afraid to ask me. If I had the money or house large enough, I would probably do something similar. Alas, I will just stick tiny monsters in my bathroom to surprise people.
We have art pieces hanging on the walls in the hallway: an eye outside the master bedroom, a nose outside the bathroom, and an ear outside the kids’ bedroom. Our idea of humor.
Norman nightmare.
Also, who puts a bed between two wide latticed second story corners? That’s asking for trouble.
As Howie M would say “that’s a no from me”.
(I did really like the post with the apartment in Moscow. I would definitely live there!! The tiled bathroom is gorgeous art!)
I had a ‘you know your an engineer when…’ moment when I looked at the photos and one of the first things I noticed was that it looks like part of the roof needs to be replaced. You can see what looks like a large tarp on a section of the roof in one of the photos on zillow as well as a lot of moss on multiple sections of the roof.
This looks like a bad Hollywood movie set for some drug cartel. Although I’m probably really dissing the cartel….
On the outside it looks like something the Baylor family would live in.
On the inside, it looks like what Roland might have, especially the throne room.
Otherwise, I think someone’s taste is in their mouth. ????
For a moment there, I thought they had Weeping Angels in the house. Very risky strategy.
Big yay!!! Its a great misterious majnor for a nefarious vilain or the hause of your rich but with a tragic past hero
Thumbs up for me
Not a bad price. Reasonably close to the Northeast extension of the PA Turnpike. I used to work in King of Prussia, PA and that’s close by. Too bad I’m happy with my current Lake home.
I sent this to my boyfriend and now he’s semi-seriously considering putting in an offer.
Yay for me. I would change some furnishings before turning it into a writer’s conference center or bed and breakfast.
A friend sent me a listing for a house here in Austin which had stained glass dragon windows and skylights throughout. Stayed on the market a long time and the price kept going down. You have to find just the right person for that! I am the right person, but without the money for it.
Our sword collection would look great in that house. But the dungeon is missing (for wine) and so is the great hall (for holiday feasts with friends and family).
Honestly, I think this home was built for 1 person.
I mean if someone was going to give it to my I would accept, but it needs soooo much work. Paint job through, creepy dark bathrooms. Gothic can be fun, but this is just not
I’d take it. I’d have to redo the blue walls, but otherwise, all good with me!
My bedroom may or may not match the blue in the room given as an example.
with a bamboo wood floor and exposed wood beam trim..
I find it soothing. with the caveat that the exact shade can’t really be appreciated in photos. a lot on how you would see it in person would depend on the light.
there would also be a lot more art on the walls, instead of statues.
and a lot of library shelving.
Nay. I LOVE the outside, and some of the interior architecture is amazing, but like you, it would take a LOT of paint for me to truly like it. xD
I love this house. I would keep it as is and not make the changes that the realtor suggested.
I personally don’t think that gray, white, or taupe are colors that sell. All the light neutral colors tend to make the house unmemorable to me. I like color though I would go with a warmer blue like turquoise or teal. Out of my price range and I personally prefer being in California.
Nora Roberts used these series called the McGregor series. For some reason, this castle brings to mind her description of the patriarch’s home. Wonder if it was the same source of inspiration….
Sry for the typo. Used to write these series I mean.
I think the house is pretty cool, but I can’t do all of that blue. And no to the angel–too much Dr. Who at our house to enjoy that scariness!
Oh hell NO! Under the statue out front looks like a mausoleum.
Yea, for an extended B&B staycation where every member is part of an extended Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery party.
The house needs some major work, looks like it needs a new roof over the entire thing, and while I like color, something about the blue doesn’t go with the wood color. I would gut rehab the bathrooms, and lord I hope they are planning on taking the interior statues with them. I would have nightmares about Weeping Angels. *shudder* Not sure where the pool is that they reference in the listing, unless they are referring to the pond? And I can’t get a sense of where the pond is in relationship to the actual house.
That property from Ireland would be worth every penny and any need work just for the views of the water! The Loftus Hall’s architectural touches are just beautiful, although I got a chuckle from the room where the walls are half painted, looks like my current living room since I haven’t finished painting it yet. It took me forever to decide in colors.
I don’t like the kitchen or bathroom. I want a throne in the bathroom too/sarcasm. Too much for me. I like history but want to live in modern. This makes me think of moldy food and someone having to carry up my jugs of bath water. Going to the bathroom either in an outhouse or chamber pots. I know they are no longer in this house and it is upgraded but it is too close for comfort to me.
I actually love the blue, and the wood, and the stone. I had a medieval-themed wedding, and would’ve built a castle if it had fit in the budget. The things that make me slightly queasy are the spiral staircase and that upper floor bedchamber where the bed is flanked by windows UP AGAINST THE BED! I am not a fan of heights with Edges, so I would want a much more SOLID staircase, and definitely couldn’t sleep in that window-flanked bed. It’s very pretty, but I would constantly be in terror of falling out of bed and all the way to the floor below.
The black tiled bathroom isn’t awesome, but it’s so much smaller as to be very manageable to change to suit.
The statuary needs to move outdoors, though. Bookcases, even in the half-height library type, are a much better room fixture.
The lamp post outside reminds me of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast!
Wow. So. Much. Blue. And lots of ornately decorated wood. Fun to look at , but not really my style. So I’m going with “nay”.
Anybody ever read Please Don’t Eat the Daisies? Written by Jean Kerr, wife of drama critic Walter Kerr and an author of plays and humorous essays. This house looks just like I imagined the house in that book looked.
When their family grew, (Kerr wrote this about having twins: One day there’s one of them and two of you, the next day there’s three of them and only two of you.) they bought a house built by someone who traveled the world and brought something home from every single place they went, then put it together a bit haphazardly.
The house is the subject of a chapter or two, describing the adventures of trying to make this weird building liveable for a family. “Carpenters are such patient, gentle people, they will make good companions for the children as they grow up.” (a paraphrase, but I think it’s close.)
No, no…a thousand times no. I’d rather die than say yes.
I like the blue wall & wood – the combination feels William Morris-like to me, which is amazing in which to surround yourself. I do not like the furniture (note, not so much a fan of William Morris furniture either). I also would not have painted ALL interior walls the same shade.
The bathroom with the cauldron-like sink and mirror black tile? Over-the-top fabulousness that needs dry ice and a soundtrack to fulfill its destiny.
Parties. Libraries. Yum. Would be perfect if there was a barn butler staff included.
I am a big fan of looniness and this screwball house fits the bill. Looniness gets to override all other considerations, including humility and good taste.
God Bless ‘em.
P.S. You couldn’t pay me to live there.
Too big for me, a stylistic mishmash and do you think they were given a discount on those red rugs?
This house was previously up on some vacation rental sites. My husband and I try to take a trip with a few close friends every year or two and this was a possibility we looked at in 2018. So weird to see pictures I recognized pop up in my feed today. ????
amazing the difference a little paint and staging and depersonalizing the house makes.
Hummm…. I’d like to go see it. Like a museum. But I would not want to live there.
Absolutely nay. Too heavy and too ornate and the decoration is not to my taste. I like simpler and more elegant, regency, french style rather than heavy, late Victorian.
I get what you mean about the colour choice. I always think blue is hard to get right with natural wood, cos blue is such a cool colour and wood has a lot of natural warmth.
But whether you like it or not, the craftsmanship is excellent and all of that lovely space!!!
I think it might be a cool bed and breakfast ????!
This is fantastic. The colour blue does it no favours but it vaguely reminds me of Tudor style housing. Wonderfully eclectic. Far too large for me and probably very expensive to heat.
A great setting for a gothic story.
According to the comments I’m crazy, but I love this. Like if I win a lottery I totally know what I will do with my money.
This place is almost perfect. I will repaint the white with a real color, put Angel statues in the garden. And do some other cosmetic changes, but I’d love the personality of the furniture!!!
The other comments make me feel sad that people have become so scared of color, personality and being weird.
Are white, beige, brown and grey the only acceptable colors now?
There are so many “interesting homes” out there!
Here’s my mom’s, which she’s mildly remodeled over the years. It’s somewhat benign now, but it was built by an oil tycoon turned drug dealer. Imagine all the windows having red or black velvet drapes, all the taps being gold plated, and man’s initials being monogrammed into the CARPET at the front door AND the door to his bedroom. Yep.
There’s also a programmable under lit dance floor under the roll away carpet of picture 18. The WALLS in this room were velvet too. Black. With red velvet curtains. They say he was modeling it after one of Hugh Hefner’s mansions.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1801-Mcarthur-St-Newcastle-WY-82701/114604739_zpid/
You had me “programmable under lit dance floor”. Say hello to my little friend!
It’s great for a giant game of twister!
Loftus Hall team!!!!
Serously, what is Barn Castle? Because I’m pretty sure that huge pastiche isn’t a castle.
It’s defiantly a mix of design ideas. I am not sure how I feel. Part of me feels like it is a house that would be open to the public with tours. I cannot imagine living there.
Side note- as I imagine you all like to look at other house, not just those discussed here. Has anyone seen a listing for a house that all of the outside walls are glass? I saw a posting on facebook and then it was gone when I backed out of the posting and I could not find it again. It is two stories, has a greenhouse outside. From the inside shots, including those of the bedroom, you can see the neighbors. I think was in Colorado.
So much no! Looking at this, the same thought crosses my mind as when I see food fights or mammoth food servings celebrated … people in third world countries must hate us.
A bit overblown for my taste. I like the street it’s on though.
How you find these houses?
I think I kind of love it! It’s a bit much but so am I.
Nay….besides the paint, it has window A/C’s and baseboard heating. I can’t imagine (1) how cold it could be in the Pennsylvania winter and (2) how much it would cost to heat. I suspect the stone could help keep it cooler in the summer but wow!
I love it
I liked looking at it. Wouldn’t live there though.
Hmmm. It looks like two different styles I like the outside of the house. The inside seems like it belongs somewhere else. I like blue colors too but the white color works better to me.
“Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder.”
I say yah, Hubby and bank account say nay.
I like the wood and stone. The statuary would go along with 90% of the blue. It’s overpriced by a 100K, but who knows in this market. The throne room; there’s not enough room for the supplicants to kneel. I don’t like the oil heating system, it would be the first thing to go.
Do you think they sit on that throne and yell “beer me”?
I’m rereading Iron and Magic again. And this place tries SO hard to carry out the castle motif!
I love it, a castle, but better than a castle. But it would have to come with staff and a money is no object income. The only thing I didn’t like was the staged version of the room. Didn’t like the white walls. They really made the plain wood especially intrusive. The furniture in that view looked like someone just dropped it from a second hand shop. The stuff that every staged room has. The exquisite carvings on the finished woods were wonderful. It reminded me of the beautiful carvings in the old wooden churches in Scandinavia, done with the passion of craftsmen.
it looks like something out of a hidden object game.
What is with the ladder motif? All I can think of is using it to escape a medieval dungeon. Seriously strange decoration and color usage. But the contrast of the rough timbers everywhere (are they really needed?) and the highly decorated doors and columns just looks wrong.
From an european point of view never ever. So nay
There is a fine line between magnificent and yuk.
For such a big castle, the kitchen seems tiny. It would make a great Inn though. But Orro would like the kitchen adjusted.
Looks like the Baylor’s new home!
I read the comments so far, and frankly, I’m surprised that people would ever think that the furnishings would come with the house. The whole motif is religious, to my eyes, and I would not be interested in much of that house. The one bathroom has a very wide toilet, and the “throne”, with that, makes me wonder if the person who sat on either of them was a very wide person. I hate the black bathroom, and the sinks are so tiny that I would hesitate to try to brush my teeth or wash my face in them. I can only wonder what would become of the carved wooden columns under the diligent claw sharpening of cats or the constant territorial rubbing of cats or dogs against the edges. Children could get lost in that place. Adults could get lost in the maze of it! If the statues of all the angels or whatever they’re supposed to be came with the house, they would provide great stress relief when I smashed them with my sledge hammer. But what to do with the thing in the yard that looks as if it wants to be a fountain with a building that opens in the middle of it? The windows look as if they are crying for stained glass in some of the rooms.
Visible on the website where the house is offered are heaters in many of the rooms, so individual room heat seems to the solution to the fact that it’s baseboard heating that’s too small for any of the rooms to keep it warm in winter.
I do love the wood. I also agree that painting every room blue is a bit much. The entire house cries out for some color to relieve all that blue, and the red carpets aren’t making it, for me. Those will probably not be left behind, either. The roof is a disaster and looks to have been patched several times in various places instead of fully replaced to keep it in shape. The real problem is that so much of the carvings are based on a religion, and while they’re nice for what they are, if I want to go to church, I’ll go to church. The light fixtures are even weird to me.
What I really cannot figure out is why anyone would take an old barn and make it into a house, then add on a wooden structure of a house to one end of it. All that space, and only 4 bedrooms with 4 bathrooms seems like it’s just kind of not enough. That huge refrigerator in that kitchen without any workspace seems odd to me.
If you could afford the house, you could afford to have people in to clean it, but if you live in that house, you’ll never get any privacy with people in and out to polish all the woodwork and floors and decorative things carved into it all.
Hard pass.
Uhmm… A gorgeous museum. Oh, wait..! You meant as a home??
No. Just…nope. Nice visit, don’t want to live there. Though the big chair would fit my broad behind! LOL
Yay. I like the overall house. Paint, redo the black bathroom, add your own design style and it’s good. Of course I wouldn’t know what to do with 3800 sq ft. Hubby and I have been in a 900 sq ft apartment for the past 14 years ????
Very much yay! With the caveat of completely redoing the colors & replacing the furniture.
I grew up only a few miles from this place but never heard of it. I like the architecture of the building but not the statuary. The colors are intriguing, but I’d have to see them in person to say if I really like it. If you look on Google Maps at what it looks like from the road, it is simply the side of an old barn, you’d never know what the house was like just driving by.
I am rereading Innkeeper and between this post and rereading the stories it brought to mind a question that I wanted to ask – you never describe Orro’s room at the Inn, I would love to hear what it looks like.
Hey PSS,
Orro’s room is described in Sweep with Me 🙂 :
“Orro’s suite was made by him. He showed me what he wanted, and I reproduced it as faithfully as I could. It was the room of a sentient creature, but it felt like the cozy den of some small animal. The room had no sharp angles. The soft eggshell walls met the floor and the ceiling with a curve, as if the space had been hollowed out of a log or dug out of forest soil. The doorways were arched, the large window slightly misshapen, neither a circle or a square.” Andrews, Ilona. Sweep with Me, page 95, 96. NYLA Publishing, 2020. Kindle Edition.
I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you, ModR! I guess I just didn’t remember it. I didn’t get to that book in my reread yet, I’m half way thru One Fell Sweep.
Wow, so someone took a very nice old barn, dressed it up in a mish mash of decorative styles and motifs, slapped on some truly awful paint colors, and populated it with objects that are proportionately at odds with each room and sometimes each other. The exterior looks intriguing. The interior is just . . . off and uncomfortable. Feels like there’s no place I could truly relax.
More to the point, if I had that much money, why would I buy a home that’s smack up against what looks like a decently trafficked road? Also, the fountain (or is that a grandiose watering trough?) is a serious no. Fill er up with plants or out she goes. Anyway, I think a really good interior designer could make that house sing its own quirky song, but as is? Newp.
As a side note, the hilarious grace note in all this (at least to me) is . . .What color did the realtor choose to restage the room in? Of course gray, ???? the go-to option for all home stagings, but one that is singularly inappropriate for this particular beastie of a house.
Not enough bookshelves. Bedrooms look small and I don’t see any closets. Kitchen has more cabinets than I do now but is there a dishwasher? Bad heating and roof. Windows would lose too much heat. I don’t want to have to dust all that stone either.
Nay – too much is too much.
I think a lot of the features are great, but put together it looks like delusions of grandeur plus compensation for something…
Nay. I dislike the colors, being an earth tones person. And as you said, too much wood. I never thought I’d say that as I love wood and stone.
it looks nice but it would throw me how much repainting you would need to do, and decorating to make it into a style you like. if it were me and it was empty of the the crazy furniture then i would go for it, but I like the blue, i would definitly repaint the ceiling white or use it for a mural of the sky. in places. looking at the listing the mint green in the bathroom would have to go. the fixtures look awesome tho.
WAAAAY too much blue. Gorgeous house, but you’d need a maid and a groundskeeper. No library but somebody liked books with at least 2 if not 3 bookcases built into the walls. At least a couple of rooms there that could be converted into a library without messing things up. Someone commented on a two burner stove. Possible high end cooktop built in, probably induction, since that looks like a cast iron pot sitting on it. Anyone know what the motto is on the fountain??
I liked the blue walls.
Is that a weeping angel in pic #3? Don’t blink!
Whatever THE Project is, pleeeeease don’t shorten it! Every extra page is a gift!!!
You put the work in and we are most certainly happy to read it all 🙂
Surprisingly part of it look like a mansion here in Minnesota , was build by a Swedish publish that made it big , alas cause he was a self made man ( ie novo rich to the born wealthy) him and his wife were both snubbed social even though they had a lovely home
Lovely home love the wood and stone. Paint colors are unfortunate but paint is easy to fix
Even a little home can be someone’s castle. Check out all the photos
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/480-Rainier-Dr_Pittsburgh_PA_15239_M31229-90149#photo11
If you want a bit more natural light this house might be a candidate.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1910-Corbridge-Ln-Monkton-MD-21111/36206811_zpid/
I mentioned this house above but could not remember where it was located. I am so glad you posted as it was driving me crazy.
Yay. I’m a sucker for stonework.
Some parts are a bit much, but overall I like it. I suppose the breaking point would be location. It’d be best with some acreage and the nearest neighbors far enough away you’d need a car or at least an atv to visit.
Any. I personally don’t want that much house. Not that it’s not interesting or anything….
Nay. I was auto errored. Twice.
Yay, with some repainting. And more bookcases. It looks like it has good walls for those.
I’ve seen worse, but the issue is that the ceilings are definitely too low in some places. And I like wood– and dark wood in particular– but it’s just not my style? Remembering I live on the West Coast: it’s cheap, though, so that’s something.
I saw this listing and thought it needed to be shared with the BDH. https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Paradise-Valley/8100-N-68th-St-85253/home/27449068
This is the same price as a 3 bed 2 bath townhouse where I live *sigh*
I actually love the blue, it just needs to be darker on the ceiling with a star map.
I love it. Over the top? Yes. That’s why it’s perfect.
Just catching up on all things Ilona.. and I LOVE this place. A dream home for me but sadly we live in Florida..and would be a mite bit short on funds for this.. ???????? I wish I could win the lottery. Thank you for sharing ❤️ Hope you guys are staying sane, healthy, and happy.