Ellington

“We’ve built at least seven homes, my wife and I. Every time we’d say, ‘What would we do differently?’” says Cort Dondero, owner of Greystone Manor, or Dondero Castle, along with his wife and childhood sweetheart, Helene. “We spent fifteen years in Florida and the architecture is very open with light colors, but it never really appealed to me, so I said, ‘I’d like to build one guy’s house, no more frou-frou.’”

His idea was the beginning of a journey that would last more than six years and end in 2003 with the couple moving into their very own castle on the shoreline of Chickamauga Lake.

Over a three-year period, Cort and Helene researched and designed their home plans, visiting castles across Europe and historic homes in the U.S. for inspiration. “If there’s an original idea here, I’d have to say that’s unlikely. It’s a blend of styles we found, but mostly Norman, Scottish and Irish,” he says.

After the design process, the construction of the home took three and a half years, not surprising given its meticulously fashioned 35 rooms and 20,000 square feet under roof. From the top of either of the castle’s two crenellated towers, 65 feet above the pristine grounds, is a magnificent 360-degree view taking in the water and the area’s lush scenery from Soddy-Daisy to Harrison and beyond.

While there is no moat or mound, the castle sits at the end of Eagle Bluff golf course community on almost three acres — five building lots — that slope gently into a small wood and more steeply toward the lake where the family has explored caves on the property.

On the front facade, a double-stone staircase with heavy balustrades ushers guests from the circular drive adorned with a fountain and statues to an arched Brazilian door fortified with iron fittings. “The compliment we get from people after they’ve seen the outside and then the inside is that they could not believe how warm and inviting the house is,” says Dondero.

Because of the home’s massive scale, dimensions inside are also larger than normal. Every interior door is an exterior door for the average home, measuring 8 feet by 3 feet. Ceilings are elevated, 36 feet in the great room and at least 12 feet elsewhere. These immense proportions echo the might of the exterior as do the many stone-lined arched doorways, but the abundance of dark wood and comfortable furnishings, not to mention 10 fireplaces, yield a more cheerful interior than one would expect from a medieval castle.

Two Irish setters, Riley and Rudy, greet visitors in the foyer, along with an impression of miles of elaborate woodwork, much of it fashioned from the property’s own oak trees. Twin staircases curve 10 feet to the landing of the second floor and create a circular niche below where an antique suit of armor stands guard. Mirror image Juliet balconies also look down on the foyer from the second floor while overhead, a stained-glass dome from the old Hixson Church of God building infuses the room with color.

Beyond the foyer, on the other side of the staircases, is the great room with three cozy vignettes — a bar with beer on tap and two sitting areas, one in front of a limestone fireplace Dondero designed and the other near the two-story window that provides a brilliant water view. On either side of the fireplace, two heavily carved wooden doors, originally created for a hacienda, are set into the wall. Above all this are custom made iron chandeliers and a dramatic row of trusses, 200-year-old beams geometrically arranged to emphasize the triangular vault of the ceiling. The floor is made of two-inch-thick limestone tiles salvaged from a mausoleum.

Many homes grasp at definitive styles with only an inspired exterior or a few main rooms, but Dondero affirms that the castle look is “a continuous theme throughout the house.” In the dining room, a Spanish chandelier hangs over a round table, and a butler’s pantry with antique silver cups and tankards segues to the kitchen, which has modern commercial appliances and a lovely woodburning fireplace raised to chest level. The casual dining table sits on a round platform, giving it a stunning scenic view over the adjacent atrium and outdoor patio. The courtyard seats more than 200 people with a backdrop of the water view.

Convenient off the kitchen is a media room with more than 4,000 movies. Also on the main floor is Cort’s study — his favorite room in the house — with a concealed bar and an immense antique fireplace. Helene designed her study, which features a hidden door that leads to the master suite. The Donderos had a full-length antique mirror converted into a second secret door, almost impossible to detect, leading from the second floor landing to the third floor and finally to the poured concrete floor of one of the two towers.

On the second floor, each sizeable bedroom suite is raised two feet from the landing and set off with its own recessed vestibule. Some have sitting rooms and private, covered patios that take in the view, but each has a private, luxury bathroom. Over the six-car garage is an extensive suite built with Cort’s parents in mind, which the builders named “the cottage” with its own kitchen, living area and elevator accessing three floors. Rooms on the second floor are studded with family photos, from the Donderos’ two daughters to Cort’s Irish grandmother, Catherine Shanley and great-grandfather, Patrick Shanley. The library houses an antique gun case with an array of special weaponry, namely the rifle used in Saipan by his uncle, who was awarded a Silver Star.

The basement level has a wine cellar, billiard room and rec room, kept open and fluid for party arrangements. Dondero built a vintage garage to match his gem, a mint condition 1960 Austin Healy 3000, exactly the kind of sports car you would expect to see leaving the gate of this particular home.

Parapets, turrets and battlements are old-fashioned terms for nearly obsolete elements of architecture, and authentically incorporating them into a modern American home is not easily done, but the Donderos got it right. Even the couple who has built and left behind seven previous homes find themselves satisfied. “This will be the last house we build,” says Cort with a smile.