Paradise Found: Top 10 Dreamiest Homes of 2014

Every year brings an array of dream homes to the market—some old and some new, but all spectacular in their own right. When you hear the words “dream home,” you might conjure up a vision of a place with fabulous views, a home with awesome architectural flourishes or a mansion where closet space is never a concern. We combed through the houses we’ve featured over the past year and found a mix of homes that cover all of the dream bases. To learn more about any of our top 10, simply click on the pictures below. Henman House — Malibu, CA Located high on a hill in the ultra-exclusive Malibu, the fascinating Henman House listed earlier this year for $9.2 million. Designed by architect Ed Niles, this one-of-a-kind home makes extensive use of glass to create an effect that brings the outdoors in. The home’s soaring ceilings and dramatic angles make the home look like the world’s coolest cathedral.

Hyperbolic Paraboloid — New Canaan, CT Just up the road from Philip Johnson’s revered Glass House, this New Canaan, CT, Mid-Century marvel shatters the mold of conventional rooflines. Built in 1960 and described by architect James Evans as a “hyperbolic paraboloid,” the home’s distinctive shape is made up of straight lines fooling the eye into seeing a curvy, swooping space that looks as if it’s ready to take flight. If you love the Mid-Century look of this place, you’re in luck: The home is still available for a cool $2 million.

Marc Bell Mansion — Boca Raton, FL Back in May, we asked if you were looking for the “greatest nerd space on earth.” That question remains applicable to this still-available Boca Raton, FL, mansion. While the over the top opulence is visible throughout the $35 million home, the Star Trek-themed wet bar is what cements this mansion’s spot among the most unique homes of the year. Other themed rooms in the sprawling 27,000-square-foot home include an fully stocked arcade, a Call of Duty-themed video game room and a home theater resembling the bridge from “Star Trek: Enterprise.”

Collins House — Hopewell, NJ Located in Hopewell, NJ, and designed by architect Philip Collins, this wide-open home with walls of windows also blends the indoors and outdoors—but with a twist: The home has no interior supporting walls, which means there’s total flexibility in terms of the home’s interior layout. How did they do that? Well, it’s post and beam construction that relies on a series of a stone pillars that ring the outside of the home. The listing price has dropped a bit and is now sitting at $1.6 million. Not bad for a light-filled architectural marvel …

Kentucky Castle — Versailles, KY For fantasy fanatics, this 50-room castle would prove ideal for staging re-enactments of battles of yore. Used primarily as an event facility, this ode to medieval times is smack-dab in the unlikely locale of Versailles, KY. Listed for $30 million in April, the 16-bedroom home is currently off the market—perhaps it found a prince who couldn’t resist.

Iowa’s Most Expensive Home — Urbandale, IA Speaking of unlikely locales, this innovative Iowa mansion might seem more at home on the coasts, but its appeal is universal. Located on six wooded acres just outside Des Moines, it’s the most expensive residential listing in the state. Still on the market for $4.9 million, the home’s interior woodwork and enormous outdoor decks have to be seen to be believed. And that’s not all: The home comes equipped with its own indoor greenhouse, indoor waterfall, built-in aquarium and private pond in the backyard.

Casa de Las Palmas — Rancho Santa Fe, CA In Rancho Santa Fe, CA, you’ll find the enchanting Casa de Las Palmas. Listed for $17.9 million, the sprawling estate offers the California dream on a large scale. The listing agent we spoke with in October said the Casa’s landscaping alone was worth millions of dollars. The 16,006-square-foot home even comes with a unique buyer’s perk: a $250,000 gift card for private jet travel.

Glencliff — Mount Kisco, NY The stately brick mansion known as Glencliff listed for $23 million in October. Just 45 minutes from Manhattan, this Mount Kisco, NY, manor has been totally revamped inside while preserving the historical significance of the home. Its blend of contemporary style inside with imposing old-school design outside works in spectacular fashion.

Wit’s End — Pebble Beach, CA Named Wit’s End, this stunning home sits right off the 13th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Course. Owned for years by billionaire mogul Richard Mellon Scaife, the marvelous Mediterranean estate listed in September for $31.25 million. In unsurprising news, the home sold for its asking price just one month later. The stunning views from this Pebble Beach palace were too beautiful to linger on the market for an extended period.

La Palais Royal — Hillsboro Beach, FL And finally, the former title holder for most expensive listing in the U.S. La Palais Royal listed in September for $139 million and the 11-bedroom, 17-bathroom mega mansion offers over 40,000 square feet of living space. And if you’re in the mood for a movie, it’s no mundane home theater for this palace. Of course, the home boasts its own IMAX screen. Since surpassed by the $195 million Palazzo di Amore in Beverly Hills, CA, we still have a special place in our heart for this extravagant Florida palais.

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