Inside John Travolta's Stunning Home In Maine

When you think of celebrity homes, you usually picture them somewhere in California, with perhaps a vacation chateau in the south of France or maybe even a ranch in one of the nouveau-trendy areas like the Texas Hill Country or Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Maine, though? A little off the beaten path for Hollywood types. John Travolta, however, has been spending time holed up in a quaint little 20-bedroom cottage in Isleboro, Maine, (population 659, according to Census Reporter) for the past 30 years.

The way Travolta told it in a 1999 interview with Architectural Digest, Maine may not originally have been on his radar, either, but fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley had what he called "a big Kennedy-compound-style house on the water" in coastal Maine and she was wanting all of her co-religionists (well, at least the wealthy and famous ones) to gather round and form their own community. Alley helped Travolta with the house-hunting, and both he and wife Kelly Preston fell in insta-love with the "fairy-tale house" they were to occupy until death did them part.

The now-widowed John Travolta will be doing what many others in his situation also do, moving out of the home he shared with his late wife for so many years. In his case, this is likely not out of necessity but more from a desire to start a new life in a place where every nook and cranny does not remind him of his departed loved one. Sotheby's Legacy Properties is listing the home for $5 million dollars, but even at this price it almost seems like a bargain considering everything you'd be getting for the cost of a modestly priced Manhattan penthouse. (Zillow lists these at up to an astounding $90 million!)

In addition to those 20 bedrooms, the 10,830-square foot home has an additional 22 rooms for a total of 42, according to the New York Post. As far as bathrooms go, it's only got 7.5, but you know how it is with older homes. The property, which dates from 1904, is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places (via the National Archives), and it also has a suitably stately name: the Drexel Estate. Oh, and the property can also boast a pretty nice yard — all 448.13 acres of it, complete with private boat dock, woods, and of course an outdoor swimming pool.

The home's Tudor-style exterior is suitably imposing, although the NRHP listing (compiled six years before Travolta's purchase) describes the original interior woodwork as "quite plain." It does say the central staircase "suggests a medieval English estate" and also notes the impressive fieldstone fireplace. John Travolta told Architectural Digest that he and Preston retained and refurbished some of the English antiques that filled the house at the time they took occupancy, but they also hired designer Christopher B. Boshears to, in his own words, "bring to life the feeling of an English country house." Well, that he did... but maybe not the kind you picture from reading an Agatha Christie mystery. (No body in the library, for one thing.) It's warm, it's comfortable, but it's also really, really colorful as well as being charmingly fanciful.

Among the home's numerous amenities include what Sotheby's calls "a fantastic custom built bar area," as well as a kitchen complete with walk-in fridge and "fabulous pantry area." There's also an office and a laundry room on the 1st floor, while the 2nd floor master bedroom is actually an entire bedroom suite with a private sun porch. Its bathroom has the cutest clawfoot tub in addition to a separate shower and, best of all (as the photos reveal), a duck (statue). While it's not known whether the duck would be included in the sale, as soon as you scrape up that $5 mil, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

For anyone with children, grandchildren, or just a well-developed sense of whimsy, the pièce de résistance of the entire property has got to be the home's third floor. According to Sotheby's listing, this has been transformed in its entirety into "a magical children's space." It's got one of those scarce bathrooms, plus its own [body-free] library, schoolhouse and diner as well as plenty of play equipment. There's even a "built-in stage with props for endless entertainment," just perfect for budding thespians. The bedrooms are almost Disney resort-like: there are four of them, each with its own theme. Architectural Digest describes three of these, a princess room, a Peter Pan room, and an airplane room. The last theme was only to be expected considering Travolta's well-known affinity for flying.

Although John Travolta and Kelly Preston had just one child at the time they did their decorating, baby Jett would eventually be joined by siblings Ella and Benjamin. (Tragically, Jett never met his little brother, having passed away before his youngest sibling's birth). You can only imagine how much fun the kids had in what their dad once called a "children's fantasy-land!" While it's sad that the time has come for Travolta to move on, it's to be hoped that his magical Maine home will soon be enchanting a new generation of residents.