Casey Abby Blog's: ‘Star Wars’ Fans Flock To See Houston’s Darth Vader House

Monday 7 June 2021

‘Star Wars’ Fans Flock To See Houston’s Darth Vader House

This Houston home is popularly known as the Darth Vader House because of its resemblance to the Dark Lord of the Sith’s helmet. But that wasn’t the inspiration behind this one-of-a-kind residence on the market for for $4.3 million.

The exterior of the contemporary home features narrow openings and sharp angles reminiscent of Darth Vader’s face-shielding helmet. But the owner was actually aiming for an aviation-inspired design.

He “asked for it to be dark and mysterious. He wanted the inspiration around the house to be the stealth fighter, the aircraft,” explains Nadia Carron, who is the listing agent along with Wade Knight of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty.

“But it does look like the Darth Vader helmet, and it is known around the world as the Darth Vader House,” she adds.

Backside of house
TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

Interior
TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

“He just thinks out of the box, and he didn’t want something that you would see in every home,” Carron says of the owner who commissioned the home, which was completed in 1992.

In a fitting twist, the imposing 7,040-square-foot residence possesses a bit of a split personality. Darth Vader himself grappled with his transition from Jedi Knight to Sith Lord.

“You get the dark and mysterious on the front side of the house, and then you get the wide-open and oversized second-story windows” on the backside, she says.

“We were pleasantly surprised [when we walked in], because from the exterior, you would think it would be dark, but it’s the complete opposite,” Carron says. “The house is full of light.”

Kitchen
TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

Bathroom
TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

Inside, the home features a space age-meets-high tech theme, which includes a grand staircase near the front door and soaring ceilings.

“A lot of times when people drove by it, they thought it was a museum. It’s the perfect house for entertaining, and it’s a perfect house for living,” Carron says.

The floors are made of concrete and stone, which were were hand-cut, hand-painted, and hand-sealed. The walls were painted to resemble granite or marble.

“It’s just very unique. From the floors, to the ceiling, to the type of paint that he used, he was really ahead of [his] time—and I really don’t think that anyone has caught up with him when you look at the details of the property,” Carron says.

A centerpiece of the home is the sunken conversation pit, complete with lights and water features.

“It’s very 1980s-ish, but I’m starting to see a lot of builders implement that sort of concept into their new builds,” she says of the conversation pit.

Four bedrooms, including the master suite, are on the main level. Three more are on the second floor. The en suite bathrooms all feature stone countertops with raw edges.

The stone design carries over into the kitchen, which is equipped with two islands and top-of-line appliances.

“It’s not your normal round or square-cut edge. The stone was brought in and hand-carved,” Carron explains.

Office
TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

Though it wasn’t the original inspiration for the home, the Darth Vader resemblance has certainly been a draw.

“People flew in to see the property,” Carron says. “We had a ton of brokers and a ton of ‘Star Wars’ fans. It blew our mind to see how much people were attracted to this house just because of what it resembles.

“We could definitely see someone being interested just because [they’re] a huge ‘Star Wars’ fan,” she adds. “We could see somebody coming in and buying it for that reason only.”