Incredible properties around the world - enjoy and feel free to share with family and friends!
Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is the largest home in the U.S. and comes in at a staggering 135,280 square feet. That’s 35,000 square feet more than the next biggest home in the U.S. The estate was built for the Vanderbilt family, which built its fortune through railroads, and had 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces and was officially opened in 1895, six years after construction started. In 1930, the estate became open to the public. It’s almost like living in one of these 50 incredible castles.
The Breakers, Rhode Island
The Vanderbilt family also built The Breakers in Rhode Island, which is the 21st-largest home in the U.S. with its 62,482 square feet. The Italian Renaissance-style home features marble imported from Italy and Africa. It’s a 70-room mansion became a National Historic Landmark in 1994 but heirs of the Vanderbilt family have lived in a third-floor “apartment” (the third floor is actually eight bedrooms) as recently as this year, though it sounds like they’ll be moving out. The apartment was decorated by famous architect Ogden Codman Jr. in Louis XVI style walnut paneling. As luxurious as that sounds, these 12 ways to personalize your apartment might be a little more practical.
New South Wales, Australia
Down under in Australia sits this Spanish Mission style mansion that F. Glynn Gilling built back in the 1930s. It provides a panoramic view of the harbor in Bellevue Hills, New South Wales. Inside there are seven bedrooms, a ballroom, billiard room, bar, sauna, gym, private chapel and a caterer’s kitchen. There’s also a three-bedroom guest cottage.
A three-bedroom cottage sounds pretty good for the peasants but you should see the kind of cottage Prince Harry and Meghan lived in.
Camp’s Bay, South Africa
We’ll continue to stay well below the equator with this gorgeous mansion in South Africa. It’s called “The Casablanca” and boasts eight bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a wine cellar and whiskey bar. The views from this mansion are unparalleled as you can look out to the ocean from the back and get a glimpse of the mountains from the front.
Istana Nurul Iman
The home of the Sultan of Brunei cost about $1.5 billion to build back in 1984 and is known as the world’s largest palace. It holds 1,788 rooms, 257 of which are bathrooms and it can hold up to 5,000 people when the banquet hall is extended. The mosque will hold 1,500 people itself. On top of that, the palace has a 110-car garage and an air conditioned stable for 200 polo ponies.
Taohuayuan — Suzhou, China
Taohuayuan is known as the most expensive home ever sold in China after it sold for $149 million back in 2016. The mansion sits on 1,663 acres on a private island in the city of Suzhou on Dushu Lake. There are 32 bedrooms and all face south for more sunlight. The direction your house faces matters and here’s why.
The gardens of the mansion take inspiration from the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and include a mist-covered pond. These dreamy water features might fit into your budget a little better.
Cove Spring House
For $40 million you can pick up this 10-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion in St. James, Barbados. It was designed using coral stone with Palladian/Georgian architecture style. It stands atop a coral cliff that overlooks the Caribbean Sea and boasts a secluded beach that’s only accessible from the mansion.
This mansion could fit in perfectly with these insane resort homes of the rich and famous.
Castillo Caribe, Grand Cayman
For a slightly cheaper mansion, try out this $39.95 million estate in the Cayman Islands. It comes in at 48,000 square feet with eight bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and six half bathrooms. But just look at that beachfront!
Villa Los Leones, Barthelemy
This oceanside mansion doesn’t boast as many rooms as others but it sprawls high on the hillside. It’s just four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The architecture draws on Greek, Croatian, Moroccan and Mediterranean influences, and each part of the house is built with separate white pavilions.
Stateside, these are the six most popular architectural styles of homes.
Villa Tarka, Nassau and Paradise Island Bahamas
Golf on one side and ocean on the other? This 20,000-square-foot home clearly outdoes any kind of mancave, no matter how cool.
There are 246 feet of sandy beach, plus an infinity pool, 12 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms. If golf’s not your game, you’re in luck because there’s also a tennis court with an air-conditioned tennis pavilion.
If tennis and golf aren’t your style, you’ll enjoy any of these backyard games, including a giant Connect Four board.
The Residence
The Residence in Bermuda certainly stands out because it towers over it’s private cove and provides one of the biggest private beaches in the area. The eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion sits on 5 1/2-acres and has four stories so you can enjoy the view from any point.
Prince’s Island Gazebo Gathering
On one beachside of the property Prince formerly owned, sits a large gazebo for people to sit and relax as the watch the waves. Get your gazebo into shape and check out these 34 awesome outdoor ideas.
Bellevue, Bermuda
This mansion has some history to it as it dates to the 1800s but it’s undergone extensive renovations to remain pristine. Plus, there’s plenty of room to roam around with its 5 1/2-acres. There are five bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths inside. Three of the bedrooms have wood-burning fireplaces. Outside there is a private pool, a tennis court and two guest cottages.
Palm Jumeirah Beachfront Palace, Dubai
According to 2018 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, the average American home has about 2,641 square feet. This mansion in Dubai comes in almost 20 times bigger with 46,000 square feet. Those 46,000 square feet include 11 bedrooms, a 16-seat movie theater and a 200-person private nightclub.
Signature Villa, Dubai
This three-story masterpiece in Dubai provides rare luxuries like a lap swimming pool, speakers throughout every room, two bars, an outdoor gym and lots of home automation. Italian marble adorns the interior, Spanish stone for the façade and German furniture. The mansion is 15,662 square feet and has five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
Luxury Villa, Dubai
This luxury villa on Palm Jumeriah, an artificial archipelago that juts into Persian Gulf in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has got some awesome views. There’s the beachside view and then a great look at the Dubai skyline, which features several striking buildings.
This mansion has 13,000 square feet, a private movie theater and game room, six bedrooms and seven baths, along with an infinity pool.
Emirates Hills Villa, Dubai
This mansion in Dubai has its own style and with 21,000 square feet, there’s a lot of space to explore. The mansion is Vaastu compliant, which means it follows centuries-old principles and concepts of architecture. Things like which way the door faces and the orientation of the bedroom matter more in the design style because it can create balance.
Palm Jumeirah Villas, Dubai
This property includes four villas and has a price tag of $13.3 million. There are five bedrooms and five full bathrooms inside each of the 12,000-square-foot villas. The infinity pool overlooks the sea and there are gorgeous marble floors inside.
Check out eight easy ways to add a little marble around your house.
Arabic Style Beachfront Villa, Dubai
Also along Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is this Arabic style villa that’s just 9,000 square feet. It has six bedrooms and six bathrooms and a 1,500 square foot terrace. It definitely stands out among the other mansions in the area.
Get some ideas on how you can revamp your patio by taking a look at these 50 breathtaking patio designs.
Acacia, Al Barari, Dubai
Elsewhere in Dubai, you can find this stunning mansion in Al Barari.The mansion covers 18,000 square feet and has a big rooftop entertainment area. It also comes with a price tag of nearly $11 million. The six bedroom home has three separate staff rooms, two of which are outside of the villa and three different kitchens.
Constantia, South Africa
Imagine waking up to a view like this. This six-bedroom, six-bathroom home sits on 3 1/2 acres with a breathtaking view of mountains. Inside there is 23,099 square feet to stretch out in or to work out in the gym. There’s also a lap pool and home tech to make it all go.
Stellenbosch Boutique Wine Estate, South Africa
We’ve shown you really cool wine cellars in the past but you know what’s cooler than a wine cellar? You own vineyard like this mansion has in South Africa. The mansion comes with 25 acres mostly dedicated to growing grapes. Helderberg Mountain is near enough you’ll feel like you can touch it and the Tuscan-styled home will make you feel like you’re in an Italian vineyard. The view gets better because both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans can be seen from the mansion.
The house has five bedrooms and six baths with wood-burning fireplaces set in bigger rooms. The mansion features a gourmet chef’s kitchen with luxury appliances.
Check out the 18 kitchen gadgets pro cooks use that will make you feel like a chef. (Most of them are less than $20!)
Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa
This mansion is built to entertain with five reception rooms, a wine cellar and a tasting room. Additional entertainment options include a game room and a braai room, which is a room for dining, entertaining and serving drinks. A braai room isn’t too dissimilar from the outdoor kitchen pavilion we created.
Bohemian Rhapsody
This four-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion in South Africa looks like a yacht from a far with its angled walls but up close its a uniquely beautiful house. It provides a view of the mountains and the ocean.
Inside there’s a Fibonacci spiral staircase, a glass elevator, wine cellar, movie theater, fitness studio and massage room.
You can add a little luxury to your home with a sauna you can pick up from Lowe’s.
Bryanston, Johannesburg, South Africa
There aren’t many places in this mansion where you won’t have a view outside. Inside it features an open plan family room, six bedrooms and six bathrooms. There’s also a chef’s kitchen, movie theater, billiard room and underfloor heating. Elsewhere around the mansion, there’s a wine cellar, a sky bar, covered patio and a spa. There’s also home security items like a burglar alarm and even a guard house.
A guard house might not be practical for you but these 22 inexpensive ways to theft-proof your home will be in your budget.
Lo Barnechea, Santiago, Chile
The luxury of this Santiago, Chile mansion comes across pretty quickly after one look at the marble floors and stairs. Then there’s the beautiful Chilean beechwood doors and balustrades. Outside, the home overlooks a valley and provides a view of the mountains.
Spanish Farm, South Africa
This mansion isn’t too far from the winery in South Africa and while this five-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion that has 9,149 square feet, doesn’t have a vineyard, there is a room where wine bottles hang from three of the walls.
Morningside, South Africa
European style influences can be seen all throughout this home, which is modeled after an Italian villa. Inside there’s a grand staircase and chandelier, fancy European furniture and many other high-end features. As far as entertainment goes, there’s no shortage. This mansion also has a braai room, a cigar lounge, pool, sit-in wine cellar, cocktail bar and a chef-style kitchen.
Nicklaus in the Heart of Patagonia
This home in Argentina has got activities nearby for any time of the year. In the summer there’s golf. In the winter there’s skiing.
The home was built using locally sourced materials like stone and beechwood. It also sits on various levels in order to preserve the natural flow of the land.
Inside the dining room has its own fireplace and the bar has a fireplace of its own, too. In all, there are four bedrooms and fourth bathrooms. There is a half bath as well in the 5,704-square-foot mansion.
El Barco, Llao, Llao, Argentina
Near the Chilean border in Argentina is the village of Llao, Llao and this gorgeous three-story mansion. Built in 2007, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house overlooks Lago Perito Moreno and Rio Negro.
The only thing better than living near water might be living in it. Try it out by staying at one of these houseboats that feel like a tiny house.
Palos Verdes House, Argentina
It kind of looks like a great cabin getaway spot but in reality it’s a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in an awesome Argentina setting. There’s great hiking in the area and once you’re back from that, there’s a large patio area perfect for a cookout.
Lage Park Mansion, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Lage Park Mansion is located within a 52-hectare park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It used to belong to industrialist Enrique Lage, who had the mansion remodeled by an Italian architect named Mario Vodret. Inside the mansion, paintings by Salvador Payols Sabaté hang on the walls. The mansion and the land became a park back in the 1960s and even later on became the backdrop for Snoop Dogg’s music video for Beautiful, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice.
Strömsholm Palace
The Strömsholm Palace in Sweden dates to the 1550s and once served as a residence for Swedish royalty, in particular the queen dowager Catherine Stenbock. The old palace later got remodeled but served as some of the foundation of the palace that still stands that got built in 1669 on an island.
Later on the palace became the site for the Strömsholm Riding School, which was part of the Swedish Army from 1868 to 1968. It continues to hold equestrian events each year.
The palace houses a number of important Swedish paintings that date to the 17th century. The right kind of painting can be worth a lot of money, just like some people who discovered a painting in the attic found out.
House of Scientists, Lviv, Ukraine
The House of Scientists is a neo-baroque mansion in Lviv, Ukraine, that’s one of the most amazing looking buildings in the world. It also has a colorful history as it once held a casino and brothel. Later it became a youth recruitment point during World War II. It became the House of Scientists in 1948.
Austrian architects drew from the best European palatial styles at the time. Inside the large oak staircase and other oak features make it stand out. There are crystal chandeliers, a marble fireplace and antique furniture throughout.