Is this NJ mansion for sale as ugly as I think it is?

You can have all the money in the world, and it doesn’t buy good taste. That’s an old saying.

And more and more with New Jersey architecture, it’s turning out to be a truism.

Sometimes too much money can be a detriment to what could’ve been an otherwise beautiful construction because what starts to just be a home ends up, in some cases, being an architectural celebration in spending.

SEE MORE: NJ’s favorite retro arcade has a new location you will love

I think that is the case when it comes to this home in Margate.

I don’t think the sellers of this mansion will be upset with me for pointing out just how ugly it is since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, in my calling attention to it, somebody who may disagree with me could see this listing and snap it up. If that’s the case, you’re welcome.

The problem, which is a problem for a lot of homes in New Jersey, is that there are just too many architectural ideas going on at once. Amazingly, the home was built by a custom builder, whose other homes seem very, very attractive and almost conventional in their beauty.

It leads me to wonder what was going on during the design of this home.

The architecture does nothing to reflect the light and breezy seashore vibe of this beautiful town, only adding to the tragedy.

Even the inside is mind-boggling. The commitment to the Tuscan theme is definitely evident but with so much of it going on, it starts to almost look like a caricature.

With some curved archways even morphing into vaguely Spanish looking, appearing mismatched next to details like entryways flanked with Tuscan columns.

Again, commitment to Tuscany? 100%.
Aesthetic appeal? 45 to 55%.

What’s worse, it’s way too overwhelming to be crammed into the lot that it sits on. Give it a couple hundred acres in Tuscany and maybe it would make more sense?

The good news is the appeal of this home, as is the case with everything appealing in life, is subjective. And there’s no doubt that someone could easily snap this mansion up for its $3 million asking price.. who knows… in this market…maybe for even more.

After all, one man’s dark, somber mansion is another guy’s breezy Jersey Shore mansion, ya know?

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

Report a correction 👈