The coronavirus pandemic has provided something of a reckoning for homeowners who suddenly realized their houses lack the very best features and amenities.
And for all those folks out there who have concluded they need a tropical island, a castle and a command center reminiscent of the Starship Enterprise, Pittsburgh has the house for them.
The 1960s-era property sits about 20 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh in Holiday Park and looks conventional enough from the outside. Its red brick facade and yellow shutters fit right in with the rest of the single-family neighborhood.
The front of the home. Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
But the property takes a hard left turn toward the fanciful on the other side of the front door.
According to the listing description, the door leads to a “13th Century castle décor sunken living” room that includes an oak beamed ceiling and a ladder to an elevated library. The listing photos show an abundance of wood and renaissance-style art.
The home’s castle-themed living room. Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
What if castles aren’t your thing? No problem.
Moving on from the living, the space then lets visitors “time travel at Warp Speed to the 25th Century Starship.” Perhaps most intriguingly, a “talking space alien greets you as you walk toward the floor to ceiling outer space wall mural.”
An alien greets visitors to the command center. Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
However, if you’re more in the mood for work than conversation, the dining room has been set up as a “command center” in which James T. Kirk would likely feel at home. The dining room also adjoins a “main bridge” decorated with the control interface from an Apache helicopter.
The command center-dining room with the main bridge in the background. Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
The bedrooms bring the theme back down to earth — more or less. One is designed as a “1970 hippie crash pad bedroom,” while the other looks like a beach, complete with what in the listing photos appears to be real sand.
A tropical-themed bedroom. Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
Not every space is quite so wild.
The listing describes the kitchen as “functional” — though it does include a ship-like hatch on one door — and the backyard has a swimming pool shaded by a wisteria-draped pergola.
Credit: Sam Pace and Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty
Now look, obviously this home is not going to appeal to everyone. But if these crazy times have shown us anything, it’s that we have but one life to live and there’s little sense spending it in a house that doesn’t maximize awesomeness. You only live once.
The listing is currently held by Samuel Pace of Berkshire Hathaway the Preferred Realty. Pace didn’t immediately respond to Inman’s request for comment, but the house is asking $159,900.
The home just hit the market on Saturday.