History Main / BigFancyHouse

** The White House does achieve an unusual level of fanciness in one regard: land value. Similarly to the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the White House has a lot of open space in the heart of a city with astronomical real estate prices, and even the part of the Residence reserved for the President's exclusive use, a "moderately-large three-bedroom penthouse", goes for a ludicrous amount in today's DC. As of March 2018, the going rate for a 3-bed, 3-bath apartment in Downtown DC is, on the low end, about $1.7 million to buy and $5000/month to rent--and that's ''without'' the 18-acre back yard (and prime location near Farragut West [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonMetro Metro station]]).

* In the ''VideoGame/Persona5'' fic ''Dreams of [=Discord=]'', Ren's childhood home in Momogahara is a traditional Japanese manor. While his parents are not rolling in cash, the property is a status symbol for his mother's lineage, a long line of respected Shinto priests and the town's local nobility. The splendour, it seems, was lost on Ren:
-->'''Ryuji:''' Why didn't you tell us you lived in some fancy-schmancy inn?!\\
'''Ren:''' Fancy? I always thought it was just old.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': When Sun follows Blake to Menagerie because she wanted to go back to her family, he asks which house is hers. Most of Menagerie consists of small homes about the size of Blake's room back at Beacon. She's therefore a bit embarrassed when she points out the mansion in the center of the village, clearly the biggest and most important house in Menagerie, as hers.

* Romania basically has one huge castle for every leading figure. Its Parliament's Palace brings this UpToEleven, being the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament biggest civilian building in the world.]]'' An American billionaire tried to buy it, offering ''$4 billion''. The Romanians were unimpressed. If that's not enough, rumours say that its underground space is ''twice as big as the above''. Try to imagine that size for a moment. The ''Series/TopGear'' presenters drove their cars inside the ''legal part of the underground'' to emphasise its size. And if even that's not enough, there are huge underground tunnels connecting the building to some handy escape places. ''Just to be on the safe side.'' All these Big Fancy Houses, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotroceni_Palace President's,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeta_Palace the Royal Family's,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Palace the PMs',]] the Senate's and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament Parliament's]] are all located in the historical center of the capital, occupying way too much space, judging by common sense. But at least it looks cool, right?

If a house is awe-inspiring for reasons other than size, it ''might'' be a CoolHouse, though there's certainly quite an overlap. Compare also to OldDarkHouse and BigFancyCastle. Contrast FriendsRentControl, where the home (or apartment) doesn't have to be all that large or luxurious objectively, but it's enough so for the location that there's no logical reason why the character should be able to afford it. Also the indication of wealth is not always solid if the home has [[HauntedHouse a dark history]] or was offered cheaply [[TheAllegedHouse for obvious reasons]]. This trope is the antithesis to HorribleHousing, which is small, cramped, and meant to emphasize the poverty of its inhabitants.

* After the Great Fire of [[AncientRome Rome]] in 64, the emperor Nero ordered the construction of a gigantic new palace, the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domus_Aurea Domus Aurea]]'' ("Golden House").[[note]]The name "house" was not an attempt at modesty; "''domus''" was specifically the Latin word for a rich family's townhouse, at least as applied to structures in Rome; a ''domus'' could be quite large even if it wasn't the Emperor's residence. Remember, the (ludicrously grand) core of Buckingham Palace was built as Buckingham ''House'' by the Dukes of Buckingham before being sold to the Crown, and nobody thought the duke was trying to undersell the grandeur of the place.[[/note]] If Suetonius is to be believed, the entrance hall alone was a mile long and had a 120-foot statue of Nero as a solar deity; there was a huge artificial lake, gardens and woods rife with plants and animals, petal- and perfume-sprinklers and a banqueting hall with a constantly revolving roof, and gold, jeweled and ivory decorations throughout. When it was finished, Nero is supposed to have said, "Good - now at last I can begin to live like a human being." No wonder people accused him of starting the fire (though most scholars believe that [[NotMeThisTime he probably didn't]]). As Nero was less than popular with the Roman establishment by the time he died and the palace was a gigantic reminder of him, most of it was later demolished. Of course, Nero's [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating profound unpopularity]] means that this description should be taken with a large grain of salt. That said, some elements are definitely true. Nero's giant statue, for example, survived the destruction of the palace, and later on the Flavian Amphitheatre was nicknamed Colosseum (yes, that one) because it stood next to the place and dwarfed the statue. The banquet hall with revolving floor has actually been found in an archeological dig, since it was simply buried instead of being wrecked, and it's considered a marvel of engineering.

* In the ''VideoGame/Persona5'' fic ''Dreams of [=DIScord=]'', Ren's childhood home in Momogahara is a traditional Japanese manor. While his parents are not rolling in cash, the property is a status symbol for his mother's lineage, a long line of respected Shinto priests and the town's local nobility. The splendour, it seems, was lost on Ren:

If a house is awe-inspiring for reasons other than size, it ''might'' be a CoolHouse. Compare also to OldDarkHouse and BigFancyCastle. Contrast FriendsRentControl, where the home (or apartment) doesn't have to be all that large or luxurious objectively, but it's enough so for the location that there's no logical reason why the character should be able to afford it. Also the indication of wealth is not always solid if the home has [[HauntedHouse a dark history]] or was offered cheaply [[TheAllegedHouse for obvious reasons]]. This trope is the antithesis to HorribleHousing, which is small, cramped, and meant to emphasize the poverty of its inhabitants.

* Bill Gates, founder and CEO of Microsoft, lives in a mansion that is 66,000 square feet.

** The Prime Minister's official residence, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Sussex_Drive 24 Sussex Drive]], is actually a subversion. It's the architectural equivalent of a MasterOfNone - too big for a residence, but too small to use for work or official functions. It's also run down, long overdue for a renovation, and filled with dated decor[[note]]Consider that it was already uncomfortable to live in when Justin Trudeau was a child. He hated the experience so much that he took residence on the grounds of Rideau Hall instead when he became PM decades later.[[/note]]. There's some debate on whether it would be more economical to tear it down and start over. The PM also gets a summer cottage at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrington_Lake Harrington Lake]]
** The Leader of the Opposition gets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stornoway_(residence) Stornoway.]]
** The Speaker of the House of Commons lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farm_(Canada) The Farm.]]
** The Secretary to the Governor-General lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Cottage Rideau Cottage.]][[note]]Though it is currently occupied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.[[/note]]
* In Newport, Rhode Island, there are the famous [[http://www.newportmansions.org Newport Mansions.]] These were built mostly in the late 1800s, by very wealthy people during TheGildedAge. Several movies have filmed scenes at the various mansions.

* After the Great Fire of [[AncientRome Rome]] in 64, the emperor Nero ordered the construction of a gigantic new palace, the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domus_Aurea Domus Aurea]]'' ("Golden House").[[note]]The name "house" was not an attempt at modesty; "''domus''" was specifically the Latin word for a rich family's townhouse, at least as applied to structures in Rome; a ''domus'' could be quite large even if it wasn't the Emperor's residence. Remember, the (ludicrously grand) core of Buckingham Palace was built as Buckingham ''House'' by the Dukes of Buckingham before being sold to the Crown, and nobody thought the duke was trying to undersell the grandeur of the place.[[/note]] If Suetonius is to be believed, the entrance hall alone was a mile long and had a 120-foot statue of Nero; there was a huge artificial lake, gardens and woods rife with plants and animals, petal- and perfume-sprinklers and a banqueting hall with a constantly revolving roof, and gold, jewelled and ivory decorations throughout. When it was finished, Nero is supposed to have said, "Good - now at last I can begin to live like a human being." No wonder people accused him of starting the fire (though it's now generally agreed that he didn't). As Nero was less than popular with the Roman establishment by the time he died and the palace was a gigantic reminder of him, most of it was later demolished.
** Of course, Nero's [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating profound unpopularity]] means that this description should be taken with a large grain of salt. That said, some elements are definitely true. Nero's giant statue, for example, survived the destruction of the palace, and later on the Flavian Amphitheatre was nicknamed Colosseum (yes, that one) because it stood next to the place and dwarfed the statue. The banquet hall with revolving floor has actually been found in an archeological dig, since it was simply buried instead of being wrecked, and it's considered a marvel of engineering.

* Antilia, home of Indian bussinessman Mokesh Ambani in South Mumbai maybe the world's largest non-royal private residence. It is a tall skyscraper-like house with over 400,000 square feet of interior space on 25 floors. It’s also widely considered an eyesore and architectural disaster that looks like it’s always about to fall over, and also absurdly ostentatious in a city with such deep poverty.

** The Secretary to the Governor-General lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Cottage Rideau Cottage.]]

* Canadian Governors-General (and the Canadian monarch, whenever he/she visits) are lodged at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Hall Rideau Hall]], a superb manor in Ottawa where the GG holds receptions and diplomatic events, though the vast majority of it is working offices for various Crown functions. Another official residence is maintained at La Citadelle, in Quebec City. In some provinces, the Lieutenant Governors (who fulfill the Governor General's role at the provincial level) also have their own official residences.

** The Prime Minister's official residence, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Sussex_Drive 24 Sussex Drive]], is actually a subversion. It's big, but run down, long overdue for a renovation, and filled with dated decor. There's some debate on whether it would be more economical to tear it down and start over. and also gets a summer cottage at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrington_Lake Harrington Lake]]

** The Prime Minister's official residence is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Sussex_Drive 24 Sussex Drive]], which is actually a subversion. It's big, but run down, long overdue for a renovation, and filled with dated decor. There's some debate on whether it would be more economical to tear it down and start over. and also gets a summer cottage at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrington_Lake Harrington Lake]]

** The Prime Minister lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Sussex_Drive 24 Sussex Drive]] and also gets a summer cottage at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrington_Lake Harrington Lake]]

* Romania basically has one huge castle for every leading figure. Its Parliament's Palace basically brings this ''Main/UpToEleven'', being the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament biggest civilian building. In the world.]]'' An American Billionaire tried to buy it, offering ''4 billion $''. The Romanians were unimpressed. If that's not enough, rumours say that its underground space is ''twice as big as the above''. Try to imagine that size for a moment. Top Gear presenters drove their cars inside the ''legal part of the underground'' to empathise its size. And if even that's not enough, there are huge underground tunnels connecting the building to some handy escape places. ''Just to be on the safe part.''
** All these Big Fancy Houses, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotroceni_Palace President's,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeta_Palace the Royal Family's,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Palace the PMs',]] the Senate's and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament Parliament's]] are all located in the historical center of the capital, occupying way too much space, judging by common sense. But at least it looks cool, right?

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Imperial_Palace The residence of the Emperor of Japan]]. A palace, ''several'' Big Fancy Houses and ''several square kilometres of open parkland''. In '''central Tokyo'''. One estimate of its "market value" (if a market for it existed) is that the palace and grounds is worth, roughly, California[[note]]That is, California's GDP--the sum of economic activity for one year--not the combined value of all California's land. Even at sky-high Tokyo prices, it would probably cost less to buy the Imperial Palace than it would to buy, say, every lot in San Francisco. Also, that estimate was made during the '90s Japanese real-estate bubble, so the Imperial Palace is probably worth less now. But still really expensive.[[/note]]. There are bigger, fancier palaces out there for heads of state, but none anywhere in the world on more valuable real estate than this one.

** The Leader of the Opposition gets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stornoway_(residence) Stornoway ]].
** The Speaker of the House of Commons lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farm_(Canada) The Farm]]
** The Secretary to the Governor-General lives at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Cottage Rideau Cottage]]
* In Newport, Rhode Island, there are the famous [[http://www.newportmansions.org Newport Mansions]]. These were built mostly in the late 1800s, by very wealthy people during TheGildedAge. Several movies have filmed scenes at the various mansions.

* The Ottoman Empire's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkapı_Palace Topkapi Palace]], which functioned as a seat of government as well as the personal residence of rulers, and as a result was a huge complex of buildings.
* Romania basically has one huge castle for every leading figure. Its Parliament's Palace basically brings this ''Main/UpToEleven'', being the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament biggest civilian building. In the world.]]''. An American Billionaire tried to buy it, offering ''4 billion $''. The Romanians were unimpressed. If that's not enough, rumours say that its underground space is ''twice as big as the above''. Try to imagine that size for a moment. Top Gear presenters drove their cars inside the ''legal part of the underground'' to empathise its size. And if even that's not enough, there are huge underground tunnels connecting the building to some handy escape places. ''Just to be on the safe part.''
** All these Big Fancy Houses, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotroceni_Palace President's]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeta_Palace the Royal Family's]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Palace the PMs']], the Senate's and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament Parliament's]] are all located in the historical center of the capital, occupying way too much space, judging by common sense. But at least it looks cool, right?

* While many [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2012/05/21/homes-of-the-worlds-most-powerful-celebrities/ celebrity homes]] certainly fit this trope, Creator/StephenKing owns a [[http://www.cjnews.com/travel/touring-famous-stephen-king-landmarks-bangor-maine distinctive one]], complete with a custom wrought-iron spiked fence, asymmetrical towers, indoor pool and special writing studio.

* Wayne Manor from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is a multi-level sprawling historical estate where there was never any concern about finding bedrooms for his many children (prior to Flashpoint his kids included [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]], [[Comicbook/RedHoodTheLostDays Jason]], [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]], [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra]] and Damian), at least two kitchens, a ballroom, an extensive library, a conservatory and numerous outbuildings, such as the old carriage building which was converted into a guest house.

* Averted with Creator/GeorgeLucas and his Skywalker Ranch. George built it as a self-contained movie ranch and while he has his offices there, it is not his residence. Unfortunately, while he built it provide facilities to struggle independent film makers, it is too remote and fancy for most artists of that level to use that much, although some have like Creator/KevinSmith.

If a house is awe-inspiring for reasons other than size, it ''might'' be a CoolHouse. Compare also to OldDarkHouse and BigFancyCastle. Contrast FriendsRentControl, where the home (or apartment) doesn't have to be all that large or luxurious objectively, but it's enough so for the location that there's no logical reason why the character should be able to afford it. Also the indication of wealth is not always solid if the home has [[HauntedHouse a dark history]] or was offered cheaply [[TheAllegedHouse for obvious reasons]].