Celine Dion is one of those superstars who does everything up big, from her wedding to her ballads. Remember her $20 million “waterpark house” in Florida? Well, this 24,000 square-foot French Normandy-style chateau built on a private island near Montreal is pretty over the top, too. She’s selling it for about $29 million–take a look!

My daughter Lily walked in as I was looking at the grand staircase. “Wow,” she said, “those look like a lot of work. I wouldn’t want to walk up all those stairs every day. I hope she has an elevator!” (Don’t worry–she does.)

Dion and her husband-slash-manager René Angélil are reportedly selling the estate because they’re spending more time in the U.S. now. They’re downsizing to a smaller house in Quebec for future visits.

There’s a “completely custom La Cornue kitchen.”

The property is being sold “turn-key” with most of its contents.

The listing says there are 6 bedrooms and only 3 full baths in the house. I expected there to be more in a house this huge.

I’m puzzled by this bathroom because the tub seems to be sitting in the middle of what appears to be the landing at the top of the stairs. Hence the need for the privacy sheers around it, I guess.

Lily says the next room “doesn’t belongs in the same house.” It’s definitely a candidate for my “One of these rooms is not like the others…” series.

Curbed calls this her “dungeon-like wine cellar.” It is a little Phantom of the Opera with the candles and everything…

If you’re a celebrity who could use a little more privacy in your life, this estate would be perfect for you. Sitting on nearly 20 acres, the gated island includes a private bridge and a security station to keep the paps away.

Want it? For more photos and information, check the listing by Joseph Montanaro of Sotheby’s and the article in the WSJ (thanks to Kim for the link!).

P.S. If you missed it, check out Celine Dion’s “Waterpark House” in Florida:

Click Here to See More Celebrity Houses I’ve Featured!

When I first saw the photos of this 1880s farmhouse in the real estate listings, I thought the agent had made a mistake. It looked like two different houses had gotten jumbled up in one listing. But it was no mistake–the house just has a split personality. Sort of the real estate equivalent of a mullet–business in the front and a party in the back. The front is classic farmhouse, but walk around back and you’ll discover something surprisingly sleek and modern:

Hard to believe the two are connected, isn’t it? First there are some fairly traditional-looking rooms, like these:

But from the original front porch you can see that the staircase inside has been given a modern makeover:

It would be hard to tell that some of these rooms were belong to an over 100-year old farmhouse:

A bright playroom decorated in white and green  looks fun and fresh:

This patio is much more modern looking than the front porch:

It’s like getting two houses in one! Do you like it? Or do you wish they had picked one style and stuck with it?

This house in the Hamptons was listed with Corcoran for $8.95 million last year. I originally showed some of these photos on my other, now-abandoned Beach Cottage Love blog, so if they look familiar to you, that could be why!

Planning a remodel? Call on CalFinder to find reliable contractors in your area. They’ve got some great photos on their website to inspire you, too!

One of my favorite real estate games is called “One of These Rooms Is Not Like the Others.” You know, like the one they play on “Sesame Street,” where they show a group of objects and sing: “One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong! Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?”

When I see a house like this, that song starts playing in my head. You’ll be going along through the rooms and then suddenly, BAM. It looks like the real estate agent stuck a photo in from an entirely different listing. See if you can spot the one that doesn’t seem to belong:

This is a Victorian-style home built in 1900. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and is on the market for $639,000.

Did you guess which room was not like the others? Did you guess what doesn’t belong? Could you tell which room was not like the others by the time I finished my song?

I know you think I added that bedroom from another listing, but I swear it really is in the same house! If you like playing this game, check out my other One of These Rooms… posts. If you get a kick out of bad MLS photos in general, you can see more under Rooms That Need Rehab.

]]> http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/08/12/one-room-in-this-victorian-is-not-like-the-others/feed/ 43 http://hookedonhouses.net/2008/11/07/which-room-doesnt-belong-in-this-craftsman-bungalow/ http://hookedonhouses.net/2008/11/07/which-room-doesnt-belong-in-this-craftsman-bungalow/#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:36:23 +0000 hookedonhouses http://hookedonhouses.net/?p=2703

It’s time to play one of our favorite games here at Hooked on Houses, called “One of These Rooms Is Not Like the Others…” It’s taken from the song on Sesame Street that goes like this:

“One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong! Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?”

This beautiful Arts & Crafts Bungalow was built in 1915. It’s on the market near Columbus, Ohio, for $549,900. Take a look around and see if you can spot the room (or rooms) that tend to, well, stand out from the others.

Did you see any rooms that stood out a little from the others? Did you see any renovations that didn’t belong?

(Insert my usual ranting against real estate agents who post dark, fuzzy photos of houses that we have to squint to see.  Ugh.)

Thanks to Marla who sent me the link to this house and questioned whether someone made a mistake when they stuck those photos of the master bedroom and bath in.

If You’re Hooked on Odd MLS Photos:

• One of These Rooms Is Not Like the Other
• Bad MLS Photos
• Rooms That Need Rehab

By JULIA @ HOOKEDONHOUSES.NET

I hope you enjoyed last week’s Fantasy Open House series as much as I did! So far House #4 is winning in the poll and House #2 is coming in second. Click here to cast your vote for the house you’d most like to live in if you haven’t already.

A few days before the Terrace Park Home Tour, that nasty wind storm swept through the Cincinnati area, courtesy Hurricane Ike. Lots of houses were damaged by falling trees, including one that was supposed to be on the tour. At the last minute they added a new home to the tour that is empty and on the market.

It had been so thoroughly remodeled from top to bottom that it was a little disorienting to walk around in rooms like this kitchen. It didn’t seem to belong to the same house we had seen from the curb. Just for fun, I thought I’d see if you can guess which house it belongs to.

Does this kitchen belong to House #1:

House #2:

House #3:

Or House #4:

This isn’t as bad as the house I showed you in the post When Bad Remodels Happen to Good Houses, but it still just didn’t feel right.

After you think you know which house it is, check the comments. I’ll put the answer there. And let me know if you think I’m being too harsh about this remodel. It just sort of rubbed me the wrong way when we walked in and found no traces of the original house left beyond the front door.

P.S. Over the weekend I went on another house tour–this time in the historic neighborhood of Columbia Tusculum (remember the drive by and the charming yellow house I showed you before?). The area is famous for its rows of beautiful Victorian painted ladies. I had a great time and took lots of photos that I’ll be showing you in the weeks to come!

Take a look at this old red brick house on the market for $249,000 in Ohio. It was built in 1898 and has four bedrooms and two baths. It’s been “completely renovated,” which sounds good. Sure. But wait until you see the “improvements” they made. I’m not sure they took things in the right direction.

Are you as puzzled by the two-story living room as I am? Besides the fact that a contemporary loft-like space just doesn’t belong in this type of house, the room itself is too small to be two stories tall. The scale is all wrong. I’d feel like I was sitting at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

Or do you think I’m being too critical? Do you like the changes they made? What do you think?

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If You’re Hooked on Fixer Uppers:

• What 5 Changes Would You Make to This Old House?
• Stuck in the ’80s: How Would You Update This House?
• Can This Old House Be Saved?
• See All Bad MLS Posts

This was one of the houses we walked by on the house tour through North Avondale. This three-story home was built in 1908 and has 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths, with a total of 6,500 square feet. It’s currently on the market for $860,000, so I looked up the interior photos to show you (see the MLS listing here).

It’s a lovely old home, but as I looked through the rooms, one of them stuck out like a sore thumb. It made me think of that game we played with the Telford Mansion recently:

“One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong.”

Take a look and see if you agree that this particular remodel left one room looking like it was grafted on from another house altogether.

See what I mean? The remodeled kitchen definitely wakes you up and makes you go “whoa.” Whether that’s a good thing or not, I’m not sure. What do you think?

Stay tuned for more Rose Hill mansions. I’m downloading the photos as fast as I can!

If You’re Hooked on Old Houses:

• Walking and Gawking in Historic North Avondale
• The Telford Mansion
• The Spite House
• Cobble Court
• Stokesay Court

I spent my childhood in Clifton, Ohio, near the University of Cincinnati where my dad worked at the time. (You can see the photo of my first love house on the About page.) The area is well known for ginormous old mansions like the one shown here (note: we did not live in one of them!).

Unfortunately, the neighborhood has changed since they were built, and now a lot of the old beauties have been turned into frat houses or apartment buildings. In this case, they have apartment buildings as neighbors, as you can see in the background.

I frequently check the MLS listings for Clifton to scope out the fabulous older homes on the market. Today I ran across this new listing for the “Telford Mansion.” As I was scrolling through the photos, I suddenly hit one room that stopped me in my tracks. Whoa. Where did that come from? It didn’t look like it belonged in the same house.

There’s a game they play on “Sesame Street,” where they show four photos to a child and then sing:

“One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong! Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?”

Just for fun, why don’t you take a look for yourself and see if you can tell which of these rooms is not like the other. Which of these rooms just doesn’t belong….

According to the MLS listing, there are 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and the home is selling for $449,900. Here’s the entry–hard to believe they painted over all that original woodwork!

Here’s a close-up of that fireplace beside the stairs:

And the view going up the stairs:

The living room:

Master bedroom in the turret has round walls:

Playroom in the finished lower level:

At the third-floor landing:

Kitchen:

Back door:

Back porch:

“Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn’t belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you’re absolutely…right!”

The oddly contemporary, IKEA-like kitchen aside, what do you think of this house? Do you like the white-painted woodwork because it lightens everything up and makes it look more modern, or does it make you cringe to see the original wood painted over?