Castle Wire: Sure, there are the expected smattering...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, January 18, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

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House of the Day: A Country Castle Gone Grotesque in an Arkansas Spa Town

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, September 21, 2011, by Rob Bear

Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.

Location: Hot Springs, Ark.
Price: $4,899,000
The Skinny: Neighbors probably needed the soothing baths of Hot Springs, Ark., more than ever after this less than winsome castle went up in their neighborhood in 2009. Built for a "Little Rock tycoon," the 7,900-square-foot architectural muddle fronts on Lake Hamilton, an artificial lake created by the 1932 damming of the Ouachita River. Thankfully, the lake is far less artificial than this Old World-inspired spread, which attempts to pack all the architectural characteristics of an actual European castle onto a small lot. That lake may, in fact, be the saving grace, as the best part of this $4.9M estate is the tiny lakefront dock.
· 101 Lakesouth Terrace [Trulia]

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On the Market: Dark 'n' Stormy Texan Castle Has Glowing Bath of Wonderment

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, May 11, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

$13.25M, folks! $13.25M is all it takes to bathe among the fish in this new-to-market Dallas monster, sharply spotted by our friends over at Homes of the Rich. Kudos to whomever built this house in 2000 (or, say, the people who've since renovated it), for so aptly predicting that at-home aquariums would become a fast-moving design trend toward the end of the first decade of the millennium. As for the rest of the house, it's—oh, wait, never mind. So not as interesting as that bathroom above.

· 9727 Audubon Palace, Dallas [Ebby via Homes of the Rich]
· Aquariums at Home; Small Iron Creatures Holding Lightbulbs [Curbed National]

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House of the Day: Copper-Clad Castle Channels the Renaissance in the PNW

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, May 3, 2011, by Rob Bear

Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.

Location: Preston, Wash.
Price: $450,000
The Skinny: At the end of a remote driveway 30 miles from downtown Seattle, this fortress of a house has all the turrets and high walls of a castle, but without the staid stone facade. Instead, copper panels line the exterior and tiny slit windows are replaced by broad swaths of glass. It should be easy to feel like a king of the land in this place, with 4,000 square feet, towering ceilings, a chef's kitchen, raw timber structural supports, and green construction for the relative bargain of $450K. Still, our cousins over at Curbed Seattle couldn't help but notice that the daily commute into the city is trying at best. No worries, just send one of your knaves out to clear a path.
· 31135 SE 60th Street [Redfin]
· Eastside Copper Castle for Sale [Curbed Seattle]

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Globe Trotting: Embrace the Turreted Life: Rent a Room in an Irish Castle!

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, March 7, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

Hotels? So plebe. Anyone who's anyone is now lodging at an Irish castle. Take this, Clontarf Castle in Dublin—perhaps you'd consider naming your first born Clontarf. No? Anyway, rooms start at $225 a night, which is actually cheaper than staying a Marriott in midtown Manhattan. Plus, you've got history (the place was built in 1172), a bucolic setting, and a $13.9M renovation that's yielded some pretty sweet modern interiors. Design Crave's got plenty of other options this castle just doesn't have you at hello.

· Top O' the Morning: 10 Irish Castles to Spend the Night [Design Crave]
· Accommodation [Clontarf Castle Hotel]

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