$3.7M Bloomfield Township castle is dripping with lavish touches

We have seen this castle before — five years back when the longtime owners put it up for sale after coddling it for four decades.

Built near the end of the 1920s, the castle is now 93 years old — and not to be confused with the 30-year-old “Game of Thrones”-like castle in Rochester that was recently in the news. This castle had been the trophy home of a successful developer who lost it after the 1929 stock market crash.

Thanks to his vision and that of the 40-year owners who followed, the home’s interior drips with lavish finishes.     

These owners filled the house with lavish effects like trompe l’oeil — that painting technique that makes scenes eerily real by painting them in 3D. Other luxuriant walls and ceilings have faux-finish glazing, murals and a small fortune in silver and gold leaf.

Its construction includes complex arches, elaborate carved plaster, huge architectural antiques, antique fireplaces and a spectacular women’s bathroom where the art deco design combines 10 or 12 different vintage art tiles.  

The morning room, which faces east, absolutely dazzles. The walls, ceiling, arches and floors are completely painted with scenes, geometric designs, gold leaf patterns, faux marble, real marble, carved wood and tiles. Images and patterns overlap and all of it glitters with gold  and silver leaf. Current owners call this the Italian room. 

The formal dining room is equally arresting with a black and white marble floor. Its deep-stacked carved woodwork and plaster is emphasized with glazes of blue, green and gold leaf. This glitters with light from two large crystal chandeliers and five crystal wall sconces. 

The lower level has a stunning vintage ballroom full of trompe l’oeiland special effects. A breezeway attaches a carriage house to the main house. There’s a swimming pool and a 10,000-gallon natural pool for koi.

Now after five years, the coddled castle is back in public view — refreshed and relandscaped. That includes a large outdoor basketball and sports court, colored the vivid University of Michigan maize and blue.

To the lavishly trimmed existing house, the current owners added more embellishment. Barely possible, you might say? It’s possible. 

They invited Pjeter Frroku, an artist based in Sterling Heights, into the house and gave him free rein.   

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Down a second-floor hall Frroku painted lake scenes, framed with trompe l’oeil stone arches. In the lower-level billiards room, he painted a trompe l’oeil bay window with an ocean outside and four dogs playing pool.

Using paint splotches, he changed the entrance to the lower-level entertainment area into a cave-like area. Around some doors, he painted faux stone and marble.

Meanwhile, these owners lightened up the interior by taking down window coverings. They pulled up all the second-floor carpet and finished the beautiful inlaid two-tone wood floors. The effect feels more fresh. 

They replaced banks of leaky windows, but left all the overhead arches of stained or leaded glass.      

They remodeled the kitchen and more with stone and stone tile. The two-part kitchen is completely new, including stone floors and stone tile up the walls and across the ceiling. 

They did a full remodeling of the carriage house apartment — a new kitchen, new bath and floors of gray-streaked ceramic tile made to look like wood. There is garage space for seven cars. 

They especially redid the landscape and the brick patios, drives and walks. They regraded the land to end drainage issues. They installed central air conditioning. 

Back in the ’20s, this land near Adams Road and 16 Mile was far out in the country. This street did not even have a name. It has ended up named for its most famous structure. This is Adams Castle Drive. 

Lavish landmark home

Where: 900 Adams Castle Drive, Bloomfield Township

How much: $3,699,000

Bedrooms: 7 

Bathrooms:  8 full, 5 half 

Square feet: 10,462 in the two main floors, plus 4,813 in the ballroom lower level.

Key features: A landmark home — 1920s castle is lavishly finished with trompe l’oeil, carvings, murals, silver and gold leaf, architectural antiques, leaded glass, fine art glazes, extravagant art tile.  Ballroom, carriage house with remodeled apartment, seven cars parking, swimming pool, koi pool. 

Interesting fact: Between the first owner and the 40-year owners, this castle  became a home for well-off bachelors. They dined together, shared its comforts and had staff to attend their needs. 

Contact: Dan Gutfreund, Signature Sotheby’s, 248-978-5774 .