In the summer of 2011, a then 22-year-old British heiress to the Formula One fortune, Petra Ecclestone, paid $85 million to buy Candy Spelling’s enormous 73,500 square foot mansion, the largest home in LA County. It was the most expensive residential property listing in the entire US.

Candy Spelling is of course the widow of the late TV magnate, Aaron Spelling, and we know her as Tori Spelling’s mom. She oversaw construction on the monstrous mansion in the late 80s, and has said that she didn’t understand scaling and didn’t realize how huge it would become. The home boasted a bowling alley, barber shop, and various rooms to accommodate Candy’s hobbies like doll collecting, gift wrapping and flower cutting. After Petra bought the estate Candy was appalled to hear that Petra had redone most of Candy’s 90s decor, including painting the custom French fireplaces black. Well maybe Petra renovated with the purpose of flipping the home, because she’s selling it now for Candy’s original asking price, $150 million dollars.

Mother-of-one Petra, 25, bought the 110 room property from called The Manor from the late TV and film mogul Aaron Spelling and his wife Candace in July 2011 for $85million.

At the time, it was the biggest property in LA but the decor was not to the British heiress’s taste and she embarked on a huge redesign.

It took nine weeks and 500 workman to complete the monstrous project, the cost of which doubled her initial investment.

In an interview with W Magazine the following year, Petra who is married to entrepreneur James Stunt, said: ‘I need space,

‘I was living in an apartment before, in London, so it’s a change. That was 5,000 square feet. Then I moved into our other house in London, which was 20,000 square feet.’

She added: ‘I know that the house is huge, and yes, it really is quite overwhelming, but with the other houses we looked at that were a similar size to this, you felt like you were in a museum. ‘

Following the renovation, the master suite alone measured 7,000 square feet and has its own kitchen and living room.

On the second floor are six huge guest bedrooms, including the Prince Charles suite, where Charles and Diana once stayed.

Outside, she doesn’t have a garage. Instead, Mrs Stunt has a ‘motor court’ with space for 100 cars, including her white Ferrari and white Rolls-Royce Ghost, and Stunt’s black Lamborghini and black Rolls-Royce.
As well as its 14 bedrooms, the property has three hair salons, a massage room, a walk-in wardrobe so large it has a second level accessed by an internal staircase.

Then there is the house’s main sweeping double staircase, inspired by the one featured in Gone with the Wind.
For entertaining, the place also has its own nightclub, cinema, and bowling alley.
According to the LA Times the property, which is 1500 square feet bigger than the White House, is being shown privately to potential buyers.

[From Daily Mail]

I want to know if Petra bought the home thinking it would make for awesome parties and that she would love it there, and if she realized over time it that it was way too huge for her new family. (She’s 25 now and just had her first baby, with billionaire husband James Stunt, in February of last year.) Or did Petra buy the mansion with the intention of flipping it and making a profit? (She called it a good investment when she bought it.) If the Daily Mail is correct and she spent another $85 million on renovations (I don’t know if I believe that considering that they only lasted 9 weeks) then she’s taking a $20 million loss. It could be a tax break though.

As an aside, I love taking historical house tours and I’ve been to the Vanderbilt Biltmore mansion in Asheville, NC. (It was built by Gloria Vanderbilt’s uncle in the 1890s.) I was interested in comparing this estate, dubbed “The Manor,” to Biltmore. People Magazine claims that The Manor is 73,500 square feet. They may be including outdoor spaces because Wiki lists it at 56,500 square feet. Biltmore is a whopping 178,926 square feet. So Biltmore is about two to three times larger than The Manor. Maybe Candy knew exactly what she was doing when she planned that ostentatious home. After all, there are larger grand estates. I would love for The Manor to be turned into a house museum with period decor from the early 1990s. They could support the upkeep with tours and merchandise.

Here’s a link to a video with scenes from inside the mansion as Candy had it. These photos are from the original listing, with Candy’s decor.

photo credit: WENN.com and MLS real estate listing