Champ d ‘Or For Sale

Are you having a good week so far? I was dragging yesterday, today though I know will be a better day because  I am taking a break to get my highlights touched up ( OK I am getting the grey covered up) and thinking of a new style but will have to decide in the moment. That always lifts my spirits! What about you, does a trip to the salon give your spirit a life?

Many of my blog friends or blogs that I read are having a tough time selling their homes. I know their pain because in 2006 before the market crash we put our house on the market in Florida, 18 months later we were still waiting for it to sell and were living in our new place. I won’t go into the details and tell you about the stress but I will tell you that I had a lot less stress than the owners of the Champ d’Or.

Have you seen or heard about Champ d’Or? I have seen this house in a few newspapers lately,  it is going up for auction soon because it has been up for sale for a eight  years and they have not had any luck selling it. Personally, I am not sure they can just blame the economy.

The house was inspired by the Vaux le Vicomte, if you know it, Vaux le Vicomte was built for Nicholas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances for Louis XIV, outside of Paris and was the inspiration for Versailles.  Having visited Vaux  le Vicomte I really do not see the similarities but perhaps the architect took some creative licenses.

Champ d’Or is a 34,000 square foot house that is definitely one of a kind; it is located in Hickory Creek about 15 minutes from the Dallas Fort Worth Airport on roughly 112 acres.  The owners spent five years building their dream home, making each room to their specifications:  a two story master closet that is designed to look like the Chanel boutique in Paris, including a replica of Coco Chanel’s famous staircase; a hall of mirrors ball room inspired by Versailles; and a tea room designed after New York City’s Tavern on the Green to name just a few. Oddly before the last workman left the site the owners decided the house was too big for them and the put it on the market.

  

It has been on the market for the last eight years from $78-$38 million. The owners are tired of waiting for the house to sell so they listed  the house with Concierge Auctions and the bidding starts with a reserve of $10.3 million!

Chanel Boutique inspired closet

Ball room inspired by The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

What do you think of this house? Personally, I think it is a little over the top but hey, “to each his own”. I do think that the new owners who ever they are better have a lot of extra cash because it has been mentioned that this house requires a full time staff of four, and the taxes are quite high, not to mention the utilities!  But I guess if you have to ask about those things than you cannot afford it. I hope the house finally sells for the owners, it is very stressful to have a house on the market for so long, especially one that has been referred to as, “the best little teardown in Texas.”

I hope you have a great Tuesday! I know I will!

ALL IMAGES FROM CHAMP D’OR