Your home is your castle, right? Well, it really could be if you snap up a house that’s for sale in Northwest Austin.
The Austin Castle House, as it’s known, is on the market for $499,900. (You can also lease it for $3,500 a month.) But before you get too excited about the prospect of living in a castle, this house doesn’t actually fit the definition of an authentic castle like the kind you’d marvel at in Germany or Scotland.
Built in 1975, the house started as a pretty generic one-story abode. After buying the home in mid-1990s, Steve Miller gradually converted it into a “castle” through additions and remodels. The house now stands out as a quirky anomaly in a suburban-esque neighborhood near the Balcones Country Club.
Who would buy such an unusual home?
“We envisioned someone that had the eccentricity to live in something this unique,” said Kasey Jorgenson, one of two local Realtors marketing the house. “The castle is very functional and served the owner’s family very well. Their children always had friends coming over, and it was always a talking point in local conversations.”
Today, the exterior of the house undoubtedly resembles a medieval castle, complete with gargoyles, two turrets and a moat-style walkway. The interior certainly contains elements of a castle — such as two suits of armor in the entryway — but it’s not nearly as in your face as the exterior is.
Features of the 4,333-square-foot house include:
- Six bedrooms
- Five bathrooms
- One guest suite with a kitchenette
- Kitchen appliances that were updated in 2008
- Waterfalls and fishponds
- Gazebo
- Foyer with 40-foot ceilings
- Party/game room
“I personally love the game room,” Jorgenson said. “It has a retractable roof, dance floor, party lights and disco balls, pool tables, foosball tables and professional sound systems.”
The owner put the house on the market last February because of a job relocation. Jorgenson said the house — which has been profiled on HGTV’s “What’s With That House?” and in The National Enquirer — has attracted “very consistent traffic” from prospective buyers.
“We have required [mortgage] preapproval information prior to any showings,” Jorgenson said, “so that has eliminated a lot of people just hoping to take a look at it for fun.”
The Austin Castle House is on the market for $499,900.
The estate is a private and peaceful oasis.Photo courtesy of Peyton Skinner
The spacious executive lodge also comes with a kitchenette, making it suitable for hosting guests or using as an office.Photo courtesy of Peyton Skinner