This French Country mansion is located at 5104 Moorland Lane in Bethesda, MD and situated on a half acre lot. It was designed by Glenn Chen Fong, AIA, and built in 2008 by Sandy Spring Builders. It boasts over 16,000 square feet of living space on 5 floors with 9 bedrooms, 9 full and 2 half bathrooms, 7 fireplaces, formal living and dining rooms, large gourmet kitchen, family room, morning room, 2nd and 3rd level common rooms, 4 season sunroom, recreation room with antique French bar and billiards table, home theater, wine cellar, lower level lounge, indoor basket ball court, 4-car garage and more. Outdoor areas include a glass-enclosed rear veranda, covered terrace, heated smokers porch, formal gardens, outdoor kitchen and a swimming pool with spa. It is listed at a very high $9,500,000. Yes, the interior is quite nice and there’s almost every amenity imaginable, however it doesn’t warrant a nearly $10 million asking price! For that kind of money you should be getting a house on a MUCH larger lot and in a more prestigious area.
Tags: basketball court, billiards room, gym, home theater, maryland, swimming pool, wine cellar
16,000 sq ft in downtown bethesda is actually a big deal. its a really solid location, about a 10 minute drive into DC. no houses in that part of bethesda have any sort of lot or acreage (unlike in potomac where everything has at least 2 acres) since its basically the border of suburban MD and the urban DC. I’m from the potomac/bethesda border so I might be biased, but that is a very desirable city/location (arguably also considered “prestigious” since bethesda is almost all politicians and other major DC professionals)
I don’t know what it should be priced at, but I am very impressed with how they were able to fit 16,000 sq ft into such a quaint looking house (which will blend nicely into bethesda rather than being obnoxious)
Thanks for the insight
I agree with ALL of your assertions, except for the part about blending in. I thought it looked very quaint from the front at first too, but if you check this home out on birds eye view, it’s actually VERY obnoxious when put into the context of the surrounding lots/homes. I would hate to be the owner of the established home on either side of this thing.
I should add that I too am biased, being from this area (and being the one who sent Kenny the tip on this listing, *HINT HINT*), but it just sticks out like a sore thumb to my eyes.
I guess they had to fit that 16,000 sq ft somewhere haha. most houses in that area are definitely under 5000 sq ft
From the outside, this does not look like a 16,000 square foot house, although a good amount of that is dedicated to the basketball court. It’s quaint from the front, but looks like so many other suburban houses. The lot is way too small for a house this size, and it’s too large for the neighborhood. The price seems way too optimistic as well.
All that said, I like the interior. OK, I don’t like the furnishings, and some of the paint treatments are not good. But, getting rid of that and I like the bones and the spaces look like they’re well-proportioned. There are definitely some changes I’d make, like replacing what looks to be ceramic tile with limestone tile, but it could be quite nice.
Still, almost $10 million?
I agree with Nalin, Bethesda is a very prestigious area. Maybe the house doesn’t quite fit in with the neighborhood, but many cities within the DC area are a hodgepodge of larger homes next to smaller homes.
Looks like something a wretched old woman would live in.
HAHAHA oh Daniel =P
I’m very conflicted on this one. I brought the home to Kenny’s attention because I was curious about other people’s opinions, and from what I can tell, others are conflicted too.
I really love the interior. It looks comfortable and elegant without trying too hard. I love the untreated wood beams and rich earthy colors throughout, and there are a LOT of spaces in this home. The common rooms create a lot of space for kids as well as adults, and the place is jam-packed with amenities for being within spitting distance of the District.
The exterior also manages to look very quaint, but it all falls apart when you look at the home in the context of the neighborhood. The home is shoe-horned onto a lot several sizes too small for it, and absolutely TOWERS over and muscles between the older, more established homes immediately surrounding it. As Nalin said above, 16,000 sf is almost unheard of for Bethesda, and definitely should warrant a high price, but $10 million is outrageous. I would say $6 million tops. Ideally this home would be more suited to the aforementioned space of Potomac, but as is, I think the size and placement of this home was badly judged.