The World’s Most Expensive Dollhouse: The $8.5 Million Astolat Dollhouse Castle

Imagine having a dollhouse that costs more than a fully-furnished condo in New York City! This insanely-detailed and extravagantly-furnished dollhouse comes with all sorts of accessories from luxurious furnishings, working fireplaces, stained glass windows, real oil painting, mirrors, and even miniature jewelry and fine rugs. This marvelous creation and its furnishings were meticulously handcrafted by artisans from all over the globe.

The Astolat Dollhouse Castle took thirteen years to create (from 1974 to 1987) and it’s the brainchild of Colorado-based miniaturist Elaine Diehl. She was inspired by a poem by Alfred Tennyson about the Lady of the Lake, and this incited her to create the astounding creation.

Here’s what the massive 9-foot tall dollhouse looks like from the outside.

The creation of the dollhouse was inspired by Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem called the Lady of the Lake, a character from the Arthurian legend.

The exteriors of the Astolat Dollhouse Castle are no more extravagant than its interiors.

Within the castle are up to 10,000 miniature pieces.

And each piece is intricately handmade by artisans from all over the world.

Even the artwork displayed in each room was made by hand.

Take a look at the intricate crochet work in the bed covers!

And of course, there's food for the inhabitants of the dollhouse, too.

The dollhouse even has an electrical lighting system.

And you can be sure that there are lights in every room of this massive 7-level dollhouse.

The Astolat Dollhouse Castle has 7 levels, from the Knight of Columbus room in the basement to the Wizard's tower on top.

The fifth floor has all the sleeping quarters for both residents and guests of the castle.

Here's a look at the basement kitchen. It's got more pots and pans than most modern kitchens!

Their toilets even have miniature rolls of toilet paper!

And the library contains hundreds of books, some of which are copies of centuries-old tomes!

To give you an idea of just how massive the Astolat Dollhouse Castle is, here is curator Dorothy Twining Globus from the New York Exhibition standing beside the 9-foot tall castle!

The Astolat Dollhouse was originally displayed in Diehl’s museum shop in Sedona, Arizona until 1996. It was then moved to the Nassau County Museum of Art when it was acquired by collector L. Freeman, who also did upgrades on the dollhouse’s interiors. There are about 30,000 miniature pieces in the Astolat Dollhouse Castle collection, which is rotated with only about 10,000 displayed at any one time.