A $19 million American palace with an indoor pool at its heart
New Jersey might not scream royalty to you, but real estate agent Michael Graves assures Yahoo! Homes that his listing in Saddle River, New Jersey, is truly a "palatial estate." (We'd add: at least of the William Randolph Hearst castle-owning variety.)
Appropriately enough given these pretensions to royalty, we first spotted the 25,000-square-foot Jersey estate on the website of the United Kingdom's Daily Mail.
The newspaper bills it as "The incredible $19 million New Jersey mansion with a swimming pool in the living room," and although Graves cautions that the Daily Mail exaggerates to claim the pool is in the living room -- because, after all, the house already has a living room -- it's certainly safe to say that the indoor watering hole is a focal point:
The tiled expanses on either side of the floor-to-ceiling window are two 24-foot "water walls" that send water cascading down into the pool. The inset infinity hot tub is heated by geothermal energy -- "in a way, it's like a hot spring," says Graves -- and spills warm water into the rest of the pool to help maintain a comfortable temperature. The home's grand entry hall opens onto the pool, and a balcony in the master bedroom suite overlooks it. (You can see floor plans and more pictures of the estate in our slideshow; click here or on the photo above to check it out.)
Is it too much of a reach that we see an ever-so-slight resemblance to the Roman Pool at Hearst Castle? See what you think:
To see more photos of the house and learn more about its lavish amenities -- such as a massive hand-carved cherry-wood kitchen, five spiral staircases and 2-ton marble pillars -- visit our slideshow.
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Note to readers: If money (and maybe taste) were no object, what dream feature would you want in your home? Yahoo! Homes readers, inspired by such fabulous real-life features as a penthouse slide, have told us about the secret rooms, video-equipped basketball courts and even foam play pits they fantasize about. Tell us about yours -- or if you're a designer or contractor, help us determine whether some of these dreams are really so far-fetched after all. Check out our blog post on dream features for ways to respond.
