This historic home in Detroit's Arden Park neighborhood took its occupants and visitors on a trip around the world.
Designed by Louis Kamper for Charles W. Kotcher and his wife, Matilda, this home's exterior features a blend of Mediterranean and Italian Renaissance. Its exterior is of Indiana limestone.
It is a seven-bedroom mansion with five fireplaces and four full bathrooms and two half-baths. Matilda Kotcher decorated each room on the first floor in motifs of some of the countries that the couple had visited.
There is a triple vestibule entry leading into the a home full of African mahogany paneling and marble flooring. The ground floor is dominated by a 32-foot-by-17-foot grand hall, which features Bible scroll wainscotting and marble base cove. The 30-foot-by-19-foot music room was given a German motif, and was covered with a hand-knotted tapestry wall and featured a built-in pipe organ. Matilda Kotcher gave the solarium an Egyptian theme and measures 25 feet by 15 feet. This room featured novelties such as a sink closet that made watering plants a breeze, and exited onto the side courtyard and patio through double doors.
The formal dining room marked the Kotchers' visit to Rome through a Venetian design. The 15-by-21-foot room features an octagonal sculptured horse-hair plaster ceiling brushed in gold leaf, as well as wall coverings of silk damask and sconces from Rome.
The tea room took you to France. The 11-foot-by-12-foot space was reached through the grand hall and is across from the formal dining room. It featured fleur-de-lis plastered accents over the mirror, a rare pink-veined marble fireplace and ornate wall coverings.
The 15-foot-by-16-foot library was dedicated to England, and a nod to European tradition and elegance. Wrapped in English Olive oak and dotted with medieval shield carvings throughout the room, the library featured built-in bookcases, pewter light fixtures and plaster details.
Trips to the second floor via the grand staircase were assisted by an ornately carved banister, and the landing features a stained glass window. The master bedroom is 19 feet by 18 feet and features a fireplace, private bathroom and dressing room. The three other bedrooms - 17-by-17 feet; 17-by-13 feet and 12-by-16 feet, respectively - included slightly less grand appointments, but still were decorated with gold leaf and plaster.
The third floor was home to the house's ballroom, which took up most of that level. Decked out with inlayed parquet flooring, a domed ceiling, stained-glass skylights, a bar room and a number of storage and dressing rooms along the perimeter. French chandeliers provided a regal cherry on top.
The home also had a three-car garage and two-bedroom carriage house.