This gated oceanfront mansion is located at 5 Ocean Place in the exclusive Ocean Place Estates section of Highland Beach, FL. Listed at $8,299,000, this spectacular mansion boasts over 12,000 square feet of living space with 6 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, a large great room that flows into the formal dining room, a gourmet kitchen with breakfast nook, a library, a gym, a swimming pool, and an amazing 13-seat, state-of-the-art home theater. Now that’s what a home theater should look like!! I love the use of the colors red and gold in home theaters (like Le Reve’s 27-seat home theater), because it gives it a much more elaborate and grand feel to it. What do you think?

HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE HOME’S OWNERSHIP:

Bernard Spain and wife, Joan, sold their six-bedroom, eight bath at 5 Ocean Place in Highland Beach for $5.5 million to Richard and Karen Shusterman on June 13, 2008.

The Spains paid $6,358,698 for the 7,279 square foot house in Jan. 2002. It is one of eleven properties in the Ocean Place Estates.

Mr. Spain is the co-founder of the Spain’s Card and Gift and Dollar Express stores. He and his brother, Bernard, opened their first Dollar Express store in the 1980s. They sold their company to Dollar Tree for $500 million in 2000.  The brothers were two of the first people to mass market the “smiley face”. They also started several housewares and athletics store chains.

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This brand new Mediterranean villa is located at 4349 Clear Valley Drive in Encino, CA. Listed at $6,500,000, this striking residence is the 3rd most expensive home on the market in the area. The 10,800 square foot mansion boasts great curb appeal with a charming fence that surrounds the property, a 2-story foyer with double staircase, formal living and dining rooms, a library with coffered ceiling, a gorgeous gourmet kitchen with rich dark wooden cabinets, outdoor pavilion with kitchen, and an infinity-edge swimming pool with spa and waterfall.

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This country colonial was built by award winning Lecher Development. It is located at 64 Woodridge Drive in New Canaan, CT and boasts 10,000 square feet of living space. From the beautiful stonework on the exterior to the amazing trim and Brazilian cherry wood floors on the inside, this home was built with superb craftsmanship. It boasts 5 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, formal living and dining rooms, gourmet kitchen, mud room, wood paneled library with coffered ceiling, wrap-around upper balcony, a closed-in bonus room on the 2nd floor, 7 fireplaces, finished 3rd floor, mahogany wine cellar, and a home theater. It is listed at $5,695,000. The layout of the home is great, but one thing I would like to see would be a 2-story great room beyond the foyer. Instead, it just has a door to the backyard (which many homes in the Greenwich and New Canaan areas seem to have). I also LOVE the archways and the ample wainscoting. They add such character to the home. What do you think?

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Superstar songstress Celine Dion has finished construction on her very own backyard “water park”. If you don’t know already, Celine’s management company, Renlec Management, paid $12.5 million back in June of 2005 for the property in the 200 block of South Beach Road on Jupiter Island in Florida. It already boasted a 2-story home that was demolished to make way for Celine’s new 3.7 acre compound. The main residence boasts 9,825 square feet of living space and has six bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, an elevator and a basement for laundry and staff living quarters. On the first floor, the octagon includes a living room facing the ocean and separates north and south wings containing bedrooms and a sound-proof TV room. On the second floor, an elevator and staircase lead into a playroom and children’s rooms on the west side and an octagonal-shaped adjacent master suite on the east side. The master suite includes an outdoor spa, wide balconies and three fireplaces, and a 460-square-foot master closet.

The entrance for the estate is on an adjacent 2-acre lot to the north that Renlec purchased in January of 2008 for $7 million. The property also features an 8 bedroom, 2,621-square-foot guesthouse, tennis court, and an underground garage. However the most impressive feature definitely has to be the mini “water park” in the front yard. It boasts two swimming pool (one for guests), a lazy river, a pavilion, and a tower that holds an enclosed water slide. All in all, Celine’s compound, which took nearly 5 years to complete, boasts a total of 17,868 square feet, 15 bedrooms, and 14 full and 6 half baths.

*It was reported in 2008 that Celine’s estate guzzles about 6.5 million gallons of water each year and it costs her nearly $10,000 a month for her water bill!! I’m pretty sure that number is going to sky rocket considering she just built a mini “water park” the size of 2 Olympic sized swimming pools!! (thanks to Marie for the tip!)

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This gorgeous French country mansion is located at 4711 N Lindhurst Avenue in Dallas, TX. It was built by renowned luxury home buidlers Sharif & Munir. The 12,939 square foot home boasts a porte cochere, 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a huge hearth room (can double as a small ballroom in my opinion), 5 fireplaces, a home theater on the 1st floor, large gourmet kitchen, master suite with sitting room and his-and-hers baths, billiards room, a TV/Card room, gym, game room, dance room, 2 laundry rooms, veranda with outdoor sitting area, swimming pool, and a 5-car garage. It is listed at $6,995,000 and is situated on 1 acre of land.

The interior is absolutely beautiful. You can tell that it was built with the highest quality materials around. From the beautiful hardwood floors to the hand carved stone fireplaces, this home is definitely a showstopper compared to other homes in it’s price point. What do you think?

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