For $795,000, live out your ‘Lord of the Rings’ fantasies in this energy-efficient hobbit house
Lucky for him, this “Lord of the Rings” superfan is a civil engineer who works in construction, so when he had the urge to build his very own hobbit house in the Dutchess County town of Pawling, it wasn’t just a pipe dream. After spending more than six years constructing the residence, and even building it to Passive House standards, Jim Castigan has put the home on the market for $795,000, according to Gothamist. In addition to being built right into a hillside, the home shares other details with its Tolkien inspiration BagEnd, such as faux circular door and geometric patterns etched into the interior concrete.
Costigan’s first hobbit house attempt was 12 years ago when he built a backyard as a weekend project, which he documented on his blog. “I thought [BagEnd] was the coolest house I’d ever seen,” Costigan told Houzz. “Architecturally, I thought that that house in the movie was just really well-done, that it was really original. The curvatures, everything about it was unique.” He then set his sights on a larger model and started on the full house, which he’s dubbed Hobbit Hollow. On his site, he says, “I wanted to prove to myself that I could build something like that. I wanted it to be real and I wanted it to last.”
Originally he planned for it to take only a few years, but after committing to an energy-efficient approach, the timeline doubled. He added triple-pane thermal windows, a heat recovery ventilator, and a green roof with a bluestone patio. He also used thermal bridge-free construction to keep heat from being lost or gained through the insulation.
The 1.7 acre site is just as charming as the house; it’s adjacent to a stream with a waterfall and pond, as well as beautiful rock outcroppings.
Inside, there’s an electric fireplace, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms spread across 1,500 square feet. Most of the interior has been left unfinished so it can be customized by its new owner.
When the Pawling Record asked Costigan if he hopes the new owner will be a “Lord of the Rings” fan he said, “In the whole world, there are only a few people looking for a hobbit house. We know it’s going to be a special person who buys it.”
[Listing: 16 Wilkinson Hollow Road by Gillian Stewart for Gillian Stewart Real Estate]
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Listing images via Gillian Stewart Real Estate
