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John Travolta designed this Maine home in 1991 with his new wife, Kelly Preston, who died last year. And yesterday he listed the property for $ 5 million.
With chintzy flower-patterned wallpaper and eclectic plush sofas, the 22-bedroom mansion looks more like what you’d expect from your great-aunt than the great John Travolta – but the whimsical and cozy home is just endearing.
Now 67, Travolta and Preston, the stars of “Grease”, who died of cancer at the age of 57 in July, have transformed the historic house “spooky”, “dark” and “gloomy” into an ultimate vacation spot, a place to welcome their 55 members. family, the couple told Architectural Digest in 1999.
A 60-day marathon of redecoration
From the wedding and closing the house in September to hosting the family Christmas a few months later, it was a “60-day marathon” of redecoration, Travolta told AD.
They completely redesigned the 42-room, 11,000-square-foot cottage-style home, which exudes magic from its crisscrossing window jambs to its expansive fairytale-themed playrooms.
“While we both have strong ideas, we will make every compromise and work together on every aspect until it’s right,” said Preston, known for her roles in “Jerry Maguire” and “For Love of the Game, ”said of his house to AD, who compared their project to their solid marriage.
Children and family were central to the design – Preston was pregnant with their first child, Jett, at the time. (He tragically died at 16 from a seizure in 2009.) They turned the entire third floor into a “magical space for children” with a princess bedroom, an airplane room, a Peter Pan room, a school, library, restaurant and stage with props.
They redone the kitchen, renovated the antique English furniture, installed a hotel-sized oven and handpicked furniture.
“It was crazy – but so much fun,” Preston told AD. After the first Christmas, they brought in interior designer Christopher B. Boshears to make the mansion more intimate.
The couple met on the set of the 1989 film “The Experts” and had three children together.
Scientologist Kirstie Alley first showed them the property.
The couple kept Preston’s two-year battle with cancer private until his death. Preston’s unique flair throughout the property makes it easy to see why the “Pulp Fiction” star would sell the house after the death of his beloved wife for nearly three decades.
Travolta was recently seen dancing with her 20-year-old daughter Ella in a Miracle-Gro Super Bowl commercial. Travolta also has a 10 year old son, Benjamin. Travolta’s most recent appearances include the 2018 Mafia drama “Gotti” and the 2016 FX TV show “American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson ”.
A historic house on the cliffs
The enclosed house, known as the Drexel Estate, has a square tower with a steeply pitched roof. It is unique in its juxtaposition of Tudor and pebble styles, according to the National Register of Historic Places.
The house includes a living room with a custom-made fireplace and bar, a dining room with an original rustic fieldstone fireplace, a chef’s kitchen with a walk-in refrigerator, a desk and a utility room. The owner’s suite has its own veranda, a full bathroom with a claw-foot tub, and a separate shower, as listed.
The rolling 50-acre estate at one of the island’s highest points sits on the cliffs, where a dock provides access to boats. There are open fields, gardens, woods and a large rear terrace overlooking a swimming pool.
There is also a small farm on the property where the couple stayed while they were remodeling the house.
The house was built in 1903 by Peabody and Stearns for Philadelphia banker and high-speed boat engineer George WC Drexel, according to records.
Drexel died in 1944, and although property records are patchy, John Colaprete of Virginia and Robert Longi of Hawaii owned the property when it was registered as a historic monument in 1985. They may have sold the property. property in Travolta when he bought it in September 1991..
Travolta also owns a $ 3 million property near Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, a house near Jumbolair’s private airport in Ocala, Florida, and a $ 2.7 million mansion in Calabasas, in California. He also recently sold his Brentwood mansion for $ 18 million to Scooter Braun.
Sotheby’s International Realty listing broker Brian Wickenden did not respond to a request for comment.
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