Big Fat Deal: $47 Million to Live Like a Lord

Each week, BCLiving takes you inside one of the most outrageously upmarket real estate offerings in the province

Address: 1238 Tecumseh Avenue, Vancouver

Price: $46,800,000

MLS: R2138016

The skinny: Five-bedroom, four-bathroom, 10,000-square-foot house on a 20,000-square-foot lot in Shaughnessy.

The bling: Forget all that nouveau, ultraluxe, new-build nonsense. The real sign you are not simply richer than Croesus but come from old money proper is your unwavering commitment to tradition and heritage. Take the English aristocracy, for example. No surer sign of centuries-old power and privilege exists than the Earl of Wotshecalled barrelling around in the ancient family pile, crumbling plaster and drafts to rival a severe nor’westerly notwithstanding. Of course, you don’t really want to live like a lord if it means freezing your tender behind off. And why should you, in this age of renovation and rewiring? Here’s a slice of Vancouver history (these things are relative, we know)—a hundred-year-old house fully reconditioned with all the mod cons and decent plumbing. Situated in the toniest of tony neighbourhoods, and listed at an eye-wateringly immodest price, this is your ticket into total respectability. Shooting stick and tweed suits optional.

The hidden extras: All the traditional touches: stained-glass windows, wood panelling, oversize fireplaces, mahogany this way and that and, naturally, a generous porte cochère. Carriages at midnight, what-ho!