Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
Homes as magnificent as the castle on Riverside Drive are few and far between in central Ohio.
The owner of the castle at 5622 Riverside Dr., David Baddour, says he didn’t acquire the home by accident. While he was in dental school, he says, he would park his car in front of the gates at the end of the winding driveway just to watch construction.
“One day,” he told himself, “I’ll live there.”
He’s lived in the home for more than nine years, but Baddour says he sometimes still pinches himself when he walks through the front door. His passion for the home is made obvious when you simply look at the details; each way you turn offers a feast for the eyes. Every corner of the home – and in 15,000 square feet, there are many corners – features something new to stop and admire. Patterned sconces cast intricate shadows, wood paneling is carved fantastically and stonework is reminiscent of fortresses pulled straight from the pages of The Lord of the Rings.
However, if you’re paying close attention, you’ll notice the home isn’t the result of just throwing textures together. It’s the product of someone who loved the home not only during construction, but foreclosure and, now, in its prime.
Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
If you a walk few steps down after coming through the front door and turn to the left, you’ll find yourself in a hallway lined by windows and columns. The dark, glittering tiles that adorn the columns can be found throughout the castle in various patterns and colors. There is so much to look at in the kitchen to the right that it can be easy to miss some of its sheer beauty. Similar tiles are pulled from the hallway columns onto the kitchen ceiling, mirroring the two fabulous chandeliers and contrasting the brilliant orange hammered copper sink.
Everything in the home is by design, including the kitchen island, which was built to the dimensions and scale of a grand piano. Head down into the movie theater and you’ll see a similar tile on both the columns that flank the movie screen and make up the backsplash of the bar and candy counter.
Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
Photo courtesy of Dale Clark - Arc Photography
As any castle should, the home features a variety of detailed and interesting sconces, complementing the mysterious nature of the home by casting light across textured stone, wood and drywall. In the long, naturally-lit hallway next to the living room, sconces are a warmer light glowing against dark tiled columns. In the master bedroom nook, complete with a fireplace, sconces arc over and cast light for late-night reading by the fire. Ornate sconces supplement the relaxed, calming atmosphere in the lower level spa room. No matter what room you stumble into in the castle, tiny details can be found in the walls, floor, ceiling and even in the furniture, most of which was bought specifically after Baddour bought the home.
It can be hard to process a house of such a scale, but it becomes an even greater obstacle when that house is renovated with minute detail in mind. One thing can be sure; the castle that sits at 5622 Riverside Dr. is like no other Columbus house.
Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
