Maison des Jardins (which translates to house of gardens), a palatial house on Long Island, New York, that’s modeled after the Palace of Versailles in France, hit the market Thursday with an eye-popping price tag of $60 million.
Owner Raphael Yakoby, an entrepreneur who created popular blue-color liqueur Hpnotiq and pink vodka Nuvo, developed a love for everything French when he started his business there, according to Eloise Halpern of Douglas Elliman, who’s handling the sale with colleague Patricia Bischoff.
"It was always his dream to build a house like Versailles," Ms. Halpern told Mansion Global. When he made his fortune after selling Hpnotiq for a reported $50 million in 2003, he forked out $3.25 million for a 8.4-acre land in Old Brookville in 2010 and began to build his dream house two years later, she said.
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The estate’s resemblance to Versailles starts at the 22-foot-high iron gates, flanked by limestone piers open to an allée of flowering pear trees. A quarter-mile driveway leads to the cobble-lined forecourt and gardens.
"There is an anticipation as you go down the driveway, and when you see ‘the castle’, it’s really awe-inspiring," Ms. Halpern said.
The 160-foot-long, limestone residence features a front door with wrought-iron metalwork, a scaled-down replica of a door found at Versailles. Inside, the cast-iron and gold-leaf banister on the grand staircase is a replica of one found at Le Petit Trianon, the retreat of the last French queen, Marie Antoinette.
"When you walk inside, you are immediately transported to another era, it is really something out of a historic book," Ms. Halpern said.
The home has eight bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a grand ballroom, several other entertaining spaces and staff quarters. The 22,000 square feet of living space is decorated with Baccarat crystal chandeliers worth $2.5 million, six 19-century marble fireplaces, imported furnitures, fixtures and fabrics.
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The $60-million asking price includes all the furnishings, Ms. Halpern said, adding that the total building cost adds up to tens of millions of dollars.
"It’s years of labor," she said. "Almost everything, down to the silk flowers, is imported. The tremendous undertaking justifies the price."
Mr. Yakoby and his family moved into the home a few months ago, according to Ms. Halpern, but he is open to the idea of creating a new project, which is why he’s putting the home on the market.
"He’s very creative and has a natural knack for colors, as you can see from the interior design of the home," Ms. Halpern said.
To test the market, the mansion was temporarily shopped for $100 million last summer before it was completed. Now only a planned fitness center and movie theater have yet to be completed, according to Ms. Halpern.
Mr. Yakoby wasn’t immediately available to comment.