The world’s most opulent mansions

It’s highly unlikely that you live in a luxurious mansion. Do you really, though, need all that excess, and who’s actually going to clean all those windows? But let’s not worry about the owners of plush residences and their troubles. Let’s simply enjoy a look at their amazing homes.

The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island (United States)

The Vanderbilt family, who made their fortune in steamships and trains, had this 70-room residence built to replace an earlier home that had been destroyed in a fire. The Italian Renaissance architecture brings to mind palaces found in Genoa and Turin.

924 Bel Air Road, California (United States)

Wealthy businessman Bruce Makowsky included a 147-square-metre (1,579-square-foot) game room in this plush residence. It also features a heliport, 40-seat movie theatre, and a dozen VIP suites with breathtaking views of Los Angeles. Seven people work there full-time.This incredible property can be yours for $150 million.

Spelling Manor, Holmby Hills (Los Angeles), California (United States)

This mansion was constructed in 1991 for the family of major American producer Aaron Spelling. “Candyland” is a veritable castle at 5,249 square metres (56,500 square feet). Built in the shape of a “W,” the estate boasts over 20 bedrooms, a room just for floristry, and…a barbershop.

Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina (United States)

This vast French Renaissance residence is a Vanderbilt property. Construction began in 1889 and lasted six years. The home occupies nearly two hectares (four acres) and boasts 250 rooms, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.

Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, California (United States)

This property, built in 1927 and made famous by Hugh Hefner, is an impressive example of Tudor-style Gothic architecture. At 1,858 square metres (20,000 square feet), it’s one of the few houses to hold a year-round fireworks permit. The master bedroom occupies two floors, and the estate includes two forests and a zoo.

Fair Field, Sagaponack, New York (United States)

Nestled on 25.5 hectares (63 acres), this estate overlooks the ocean and includes several buildings. The Italian-style home has 29 bedrooms, three pools, and a 164-seat movie theatre. Some have dubbed it the Versailles of the Atlantic.

Old Westbury Gardens, New York (United States)

Architect George A. Crawley drew inspiration from manors dating back to the reign of Charles II (17th century) when designing this residence. The home, completed in 1906, is full of antiques and works of art and is surrounded by amazing gardens, ponds, and lakes.

Maison de l’Amitié, Palm Beach, Florida (United States)

Owned by a certain Donald Trump (before being sold to a rich Russian businessman for the modest sum of $95 million), the pleasantly named “house of friendship” sat on a 2.5-hectare (six-acre) estate and featured 17 bedrooms, tennis courts, Greek-style fountains, and a Jacuzzi with a view of the ocean. The home was demolished in 2016.

Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan (United States)

Wanting to recreate the cottage style of the Cotswolds in southwest England, Edsel and Eleanor Ford hired architect Albert Kahn in 1926 to design a sumptuous residence.Declared a national historical site in 2016, the house is now a museum.

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California (United States)

William Randolph Hearst began building a retreat he called La Cuesta Encantada, or the “enchanted hill,” in 1919. Architect Julia Morgan designed a 165-room residence to sit on a 50-hectare (123-acre) estate. Terraces, gardens, pools, and walkways surround the Spanish-style house.

Rough Point, Rhode Island (United States)

This magnificent residence was the home of celebrated philanthropist Doris Duke. Designed by Peabody and Stearns and built around 1890 for the Vanderbilt family, it houses several works of art, 16th-century Flemish tapestries, and 18th-century British portraits and French furniture.

Versailles, Windermere, Florida (United States)

Construction of this immense, 8,361-square-metre (90,000-square-foot) building began in 2004. Expected to be finished in 2022, the house boasts nine kitchens, 30 bathrooms, a ballroom, and a roller-skating rink. According to the owner, the home is “the same size as a Super Walmart” and is worth an estimated $100 million.

Eolia, Waterford, Connecticut (United States)

Eolia, named for the island home of the Greek god of wind, was built in 1906 as a summer home for Edward and Mary Harkness who moved in the following year. Sitting on an 80-hectare (200-acre) estate, the neo-Renaissance mansion has 42 bedrooms.

Filoli House, Woodside, California (United States)

This magnificent California residence is an outstanding example of Georgian architecture. Numerous architects, designers, and landscape artists contributed to its creation. It now serves as a museum and houses English and Irish antiques dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Carolands, Hillsborough, California (United States)

Known as “The Chateau,” this home was built by the heiress to the Pullman fortune, Harriett Pullman Carolan, and designed by the French architect Ernest Sanson. The 98-room residence sits on 224 hectares (554 acres). French landscape designer Achille Duchêne created the gardens in which he had originally placed a tearoom, pool, and orange grove.

Searles Castle, Great Barrington, Massachusetts (United States)

This mansion’s style recalls that of certain French castles. Construction began in 1885 under the direction of the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. Comprised of blue dolomite, the six-storey residence features seven towers. Its solid bronze doors, imported from Munich, Germany, are guarded by marble sphinxes.Inside are found 40 rooms, 36 fireplaces, an atrium, and two secret passages. The castle was sold in 2019 for the sum of $3.45 million.

Updown Court, Surrey (England)

This home, located on a 23-hectare (58-acre) estate, is larger than Buckingham Palace. The grounds house five pools, a heated marble driveway that cost $6 million, a panic room, a bowling alley, and more. Yearly maintenance runs to at least $1.5 million.

Marble Palace, Calcutta (India)

KashyapRaja Rajendra Mullick built this palace in 1835 on the site of a temple constructed by his father. Its neoclassical style integrates Corinthian columns and bas-relief sculpture, and no fewer than 100 types of marble were used. The estate features a lake, rock garden, and zoo.

Scarlet Oaks, Cincinnati, Ohio (United States)

James Keys Wilson designed the Schoenberger Home, or Scarlet Oaks, in a neo-Gothic style. The imposing castle-like residence, completed around 1870, was annexed by Bethesda Hospital and converted into a sanatorium in 1910. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Dar al-Hajar, Sanaa (Yemen)

This 1930s palace was constructed in a Middle-Eastern style by Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin, possibly atop a structure dating from the 18th century. It seems to be carved from the imposing stone column on which it stands in crowning perfection.

Villa del Balbianello, Lake Como (Italy)

This villa was originally built as a 13th-century Franciscan monastery. Later, Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini added the Loggia featuring a frieze and balustrade offering a splendid view of Lake Como.Hollywood has filmed several movies at the site. Examples include Casino Royale and Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones.

Rancharrah, Reno, Nevada (United States)

Norman Biltz, known as the “Duke of Nevada,” was the first owner of this impressive ranch. He sold the property to Bill Harrah in 1957. Harrah’s son, John, bought out other family members in 1991 and added a climate-controlled indoor arena covering 4,830 square metres (52,000 square feet) for his horses.The main residence, extending 2,302 square metres (24,786 square feet), boasts five bedrooms and multiple libraries and music rooms.

Werribee Park, Victoria (Australia)

This impressive structure sits on 400 hectares (988 acres). The mansion and its surrounding elements, such as gardens, a cave, employee residence, stables, a forge, and even a cemetery, date from 1873.

Witanhurst, London (England)

Witanhurst, one of the largest private houses in Britain, was constructed between 1913 and 1920 in a well-to-do neighbourhood in the heart of London. The Queen Anne-style residence has 25 bedrooms, a ballroom, and a glass rotunda. Queen Elizabeth II even attended a party there in 1951.

Florham, Morris County, New Jersey (United States)

Built in 1897 for Hamilton McKown Twombly and his wife Florence Adele Vanderbilt, this plush home, inspired by 17th-century architecture, neo-Gothic style, and the Renaissance, has 102 rooms. Landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York’s Central Park, transformed the grounds into luxurious Italian-style gardens. At the time, 125 people were required to maintain and manage the estate.

Woodlea, Scarborough, New York (United States)

The firm McKim, Mead, and White designed this residence at the request of Colonel Elliott Fitch Shepard after he bought a (200-hectare) 500-acre plot near the end of the 19th century. His wife, a Vanderbilt, may have had something to do with the result: a 75-room, Victorian-style mansion recalling an 18th-century Italian villa. Construction ended in 1893 for the mind-boggling cost of $2.5 million.

Neverland Ranch, Los Olivos, California (United States)

Michael Jackson spent nearly $20 million in 1987 to acquire a ranch that he then transformed into a veritable amusement park. The property sprawls over 1,000 hectares (2,700 acres) and includes, among others, a lake, a dance studio, two guest houses, and a Disney-themed train station.Its value has dropped greatly in recent years and was evaluated at $31 million in April 2019, compared to $100 million in 2015.

Buckingham Palace, London (England)

King George III bought this palace in 1762 for 21,000 pounds as a gift for Queen Charlotte. Considered the world’s most expensive residence, it has 775 rooms (including 188 rooms for personnel), 78 bathrooms, 1,514 doors, and 760 windows that are cleaned every six weeks.

White House, Washington, D.C. (United States)

In 1791, the first American president George Washington chose the location of what would become the presidential residence, undoubtedly the best-known home in the world. The White House boasts 132 rooms, six storeys, 28 fireplaces, and requires 2,200 litres (570 gallons) of paint to touch up the building’s facade. Interestingly, Theodore Roosevelt was the first to give the structure its official name in 1901.

Lyndhurst, Mount Pleasant, New York (United States)

This Gothic-style house was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838 and has been home to, among others, former New York mayor William Paulding Jr. and railroad magnate Jay Gould. Its turrets and asymmetrical neo-Gothic structure were not necessarily to everyone’s taste.

You may also wish to read MORE Extra blogs Here

Like and follow us on Facebook at Peteroz Blog | Facebook