8 Things You Need to Know About This Castle in Texas
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}We first noticed this insanely huge and lavish custom-built castle in Southlake, TX, when it was our most popular listing of the week in late October. But we yearned to know more about this $4.9 million castle and what buyers will find when they pull their sword (or checkbook) from the stone. What we learned is that it's fit for a king.
1. The ceiling twinkles in the theater room
A regular old home theater is for mere mortals, not for royalty! This home's theater room comes with tiered seating and high-tech lighting, including on the floor to help guide you to your comfortable leather recliner. Also, the lights dim naturally before the movie starts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Perhaps the best feature about the room is the ceiling, which displays different lighting effects. "There's a panel in there you can adjust -- one is twinkling stars," says listing agent Diane Gallichio.
2. 14 air-conditioning units cool the castle
It gets hot in the Lone Star State, so 14 air-conditioning units are required to keep this 19,763-square-foot castle cool.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}3. 14-car garage doubles as a man cave
When the sellers bought this castle, they upgraded the meager four-car garage into a 2,500-square-foot showroom that can hold 14 or more cars, "depending on how you park them," Gallichio says. Additionally, the garage has a man cave with a bar, half-bathroom, television, and gaming area.
4. The multiplier effect
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The castle has eight fireplaces, two full kitchens, six refrigerators, six dishwashers, eight bedrooms (each with its own full bathroom), four half-bathrooms, an elevator, five wet bars (including the wine room), and an outdoor fire pit.
5. Pool area is bonkers
The beach-entry saltwater pool has a waterfall feature, but the adjacent grotto is bananas! At the flip of a switch, flames come out, presumably to announce that the king (or queen) has arrived.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}6. Master bathroom has chandeliers in its two showers
Royalty don't bathe like peasants. The master bathroom is a sprawling his-and-her affair with vanity mirrors and counters, toilets, and dressing area split evenly on each side. There are two jetted showers with chandeliers on their 15-foot ceiling. The two showers connect to a whirlpool-style tub.
"She goes to the right and he goes to the left, and they meet in the middle," Gallichio says.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}7. There are 7 types of flooring
Counting indoor and outdoor surfaces, flooring varies among brick, marble, tile, adobe, wood, carpet, and slate.
8. One of the towers can be turned into an observatory
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tower with the parapets is intended to be an observatory. After they bought the castle for an undisclosed amount in 2011, the sellers added the three-story, circular area.
"It's all there, but you have to add the dome and a telescope," Gallichio says.
When it's done, a new owner can look to the stars and plan an intergalactic siege.