Open House #8: Old Leeds Ridge
May 9, 2008
This is the final stop on our Birmingham Fantasy Open House tour, and I saved the biggest and most expensive house for last. Welcome to Old Leeds Ridge, a sprawling mansion that sits on 5 acres.
Here’s what the description on the MLS has to say about this home, which is selling for $5.8 million:
Welcome to this stunning 5 bedroom, 5 full baths and two half baths estate home! Combining the finest qualities of two different worlds-the order, symmetry and formality of French and Italian design with the rich ornamentation of the Renaissance-this home extols the remarkable beauty of the Beaux Arts movement.
A formal portico, roof-line balustrades, handmade window surrounds and decorative garlands and shields accentuate the splendor of the tri-partite facade. Solid concrete construction offers permanence to this estate home which combined with the elegance of the interior make for gracious living and extravagant entertaining.
Take a look and see what you think.
Did you like this one? Do you think it’s worth $5.8 million of your pretend money?
I found it interesting that some of these photographs looked like they were professionally taken for a magazine or something. For example, look at the two photos of the living room, one taken at night that looks professional, and the one taken during the day from the same angle. They look so different that I had to study them for awhile to figure out what was different.
I’ll post voting instructions next. Go there to vote for the house you would most like to live in and the one you liked the least. I can’t wait to see which house “wins.” Maybe we’ll pool our funds to buy it together as a group. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
Did You Miss Any Other Open Houses this Week? Go Catch Up!
- Open House #1: French Chateau in Birmingham
- Open House #2: Shook Hill Mansion
- Open House #3: Sleek Greek Contemporary
- Open House #4: Southern Traditional
- Open House #5: Homewood Manor
- Open House #6: Rockledge Estate
- Open House #7: Stately Brick Traditional
If You’re Hooked on House Tours:
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park, Ohio: Paxton Avenue
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Rookwood Drive
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Edwards Road
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Observatory Drive
- HGTV Green Home ‘08
- The Purple Angel House
- The Spite House in Virginia (only 7 feet wide!)
- Cobble Court, a French-Norman Estate in Ohio
- Stokesay Court, the manor used in the Keira Knightley film “Atonement”
- Coco Chanel’s elegant Parisian apartment at 31 Rue Cambon
- 1908 Gaslight Mansion in St. Louis
If You’re New Here: Hooked on Houses features decorating inspiration, celebrity house tours, fabulous before and afters, real estate news, fantasy open houses and more fun stuff. It is always 100% ad free. Comments from my readers are the only payment I receive, so I hope you’ll leave one! To see what we’re talking about today, click here.
Entry Filed under: Fantasy Open House. Tags: beaux arts, Decorating, House Tour, mansion, open house, poll, Real Estate.
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1.
Tori | May 9, 2008 at 11:37 am
Is it a bed and breakfast or a house?
2.
JLB | May 9, 2008 at 11:44 am
I can appreciate the amount of work that went into it. It is not for me. It is a little too much…too much. I think it is def worth the price though. Just not for me.
3.
Amy | May 9, 2008 at 12:13 pm
This house is truly exquisite. It’s so difficult to get past the stuffy furnishings and draperies though. My style is just so much more laid back; I’m from Florida you know.
Hmmm, thinking, thinking.
4.
Melanie | May 9, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Julia, I completely didn’t even realize that those were the same 2 rooms! I was just thinking, how many different sitting areas does one family need?? I think I need to work on my sharper brain now!
I have really enjoyed this tour!
5.
Laura | May 9, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I asked yesterday if a house could possibly have anymore chandeliers…and this proves that yes, indeed one can. Thirteen. Wow…thirteen.
I love the ceiling in the sitting room. The house itself is exquisite. Its formality reminds me of my parent’s home on a larger scale. It’s a beautiful home that someone has obviously taken a lot of time and effort with. For me its too formal, but I can definitely appreciate its beauty.
6.
REAGAN | May 9, 2008 at 1:33 pm
This house is a little too fancy for my style…I’m not even talking about the decor – the style of the house is just too much. It’s not the worst, but I wouldn’t buy it!
7.
Jessica | May 9, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Um, yes, I’ll take it. And 2 maids. And a chef. And a butler. And a driver. And a gardener.
Yep, I’m all set now!
I loooooove this house.
8.
atticmag | May 9, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many frilly curtains as I have this past week.
9.
Amy JO | May 9, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Wow. This house is amazing. I couldn’t live here, well maybe I could get used to it with enough time. It’s just too fancy for me. I would really love to vacation there for a couple of weeks. That would be awesome!
10.
Amanda | May 9, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Draw up a contract-I’ll take this one! Love it! I’ll take it all (maybe not some of the drapes, but everything else will do just fine!) The price is just right for me…can anyone lend me a few bucks?
11.
DaK | May 12, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I’m wondering, which living room do we get?
12.
rue | June 24, 2008 at 9:27 am
If it was half the size I would buy it. Oh and the bedroom with the pink bedskirt…. yikes!!
This was fun!! Thank you for taking us on these tours
rue