Ever wondered what the luxury real estate market of the past looked like? From sprawling historic homes and Gilded Age estates to sumptuous 70s pads overflowing with mustard accessories, these amazing time-warp homes offer a fascinating window into the glamorous heydays of yesteryear. Expect untouched interiors complete with fine furniture, shag pile carpets and eye-watering wallpapers.

Click or scroll on to take a trip back in time...

German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer moved into the beautiful half-timbered sandstone house at the centre of this photo in 1509. Amazingly, the home has been open to the public since 1871 and English artist JMW Turner sketched it as far back as 1835.

Thankfully, it survived the Allied bombing of Nuremberg in 1945 and today it's much as it would have been when Dürer lived there. Let's take a tour...

The medieval townhouse was built in 1420 and renovated shortly before Dürer moved in with his mother and his wife Agnes. 

While this original hearth might look basic to the modern eye, it would have been pretty lavish compared to the average 16th-century kitchen. You can practically hear the crackle of the fire and smell the food cooking above it.

The Dürer’s home would have buzzed with visitors, from pupils and apprentices to more notable guests who may have been entertained in this sitting room. 

The furniture was added in 1880 to reflect how the room may have looked during Dürer’s time. The curator of the space may have used clues from the artist's 1514 engraving of Saint Jerome in His Study. The bullseye-glass window panes, window seating and timber ceiling that feature in the engraving are very similar to those seen in this room.

Dürer's second-floor workshop was also recreated in the 19th century. It's full of paint pigments, engraving and woodcutting tools, as well as a copperplate printing press, which was built based on one of Dürer's drawings.

Today, visitors are guided around the house by an actress playing Agnes Dürer. She dresses in a 16th-century housewife's bonnet with a heavy bunch of keys swinging from her belt and she gives us a real idea of life in medieval Germany – as well as a sneak peek at the lifestyle of one of its brightest stars.

In 1641, a 26-year-old politician named Nicolas Fouquet bought the manor of Vaux-le-Vicomte near Melun, France. A powerful advisor to King Louis XIV, his star was on the ascent.

Over the following 20 years, Fouquet employed some of the greatest creative minds of the 17th century to renovate the estate. Together, architect Louis Le Vau, interior designer Charles Le Brun and landscape gardener André Le Nôtre transformed the house and gardens into some of the most impressive in the country. 

The interiors, designed by Le Vau and Le Brun, are as impressive as they are elegant. This dining room, which is one of many, is laid out as if royal guests are expected at any moment.

 After showing off his skills at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Le Brun became Louis XIV’s head painter and later the Chancellor of the French Academy of Arts.

This richly furnished bedroom features a marble fireplace, a gilded mirror and elaborate floral wallpaper and it has been fitted out with furniture true to the 17th century.

Quite aside from Monsieur and Madame Fouquet's lavish apartments, the château hosted many high-profile guests, including Louis XIV himself, who attended a soirée here in August 1661.

Louis XIV was so impressed by Vaux-le-Vicomte that he requested the same trio of artists build the Château of Versailles. Sadly, Fouquet's outcome wasn't so happy.

The victim of palace scheming, he was arrested by D’Artagnan, one of the King's famous musketeers, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1661, just after his dream home was completed. The king confiscated all his lavish treasures, from tapestries and paintings to books and even orange trees, and it took a decade for Fouquet's wife to claim it all back.

Today, Vaux-le-Vicomte is open to the public looking to explore life as it was back in the 17th century.

Drayton Hall is the earliest example of Palladian architecture in America. Its history spans seven generations, starting with John Drayton, a wealthy plantation owner, who bought the estate in 1738. The mansion was just one of more than 100 plantations Drayton owned, along with thousands of enslaved people who were used to facilitate his vast wealth.

The delightful interiors belie the darker elements of the estate's past. Let's take a look...

When the home was acquired from the Drayton family in the 1970s, it proved impossible to decide which era to restore it to. As a result, the decision was made to stabilise the home as it was, which was quite a radical move for the time.

As a result, centuries of history are reflected in the interior – as we can see from the faded elegance of this beautiful entrance hall.

John's son Charles was the next Drayton to live in the plantation house. He moved in in 1784 after completing a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Charles' diaries mention skilled enslaved artisans living on the estate, many of whom will have worked on the house and whose uncredited artistry may still be in evidence there today.

After the abolition of slavery in 1865, freedmen and women continued to live on the estate until 1960, keeping the old building and its grounds alive by farming, gardening and raising their families there for generations. 

In 1960, Drayton Hall was declared a National Historic Landmark and today it's open for the public to explore.

Born in 1753, Sir John Soane started life as the fourth son of a bricklayer. Thanks to a talent for drawing though, he trained as an architect and won the Royal Academy's Gold Medal for architecture. The prize was a Grand Tour of Europe, sponsored by King George III himself.

On his trip through Italy and Greece, Soane fell in love with Classical art and architecture and his home, which is now the Sir John Soane's Museum, is testament to his obsession.

Soane's house is made up of three separate buildings, which he bought over 30 years starting in 1792. Each room is a work of art, decorated with antique furniture, paintings and eye-catching architectural features. 

The architect frequently rearranged his collection to enhance the objects’ "poetic qualities through creative and inspiring juxtapositions", according to the Sir John Soane's Museum website.

In 1807, Soane bought the second of the three houses and built this amazing domed room, filling it with an incredible number of Classical sculptures. 

His most treasured possession was the sarcophagus of the Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I, which still rests in his home today. It was carved from a single block of alabaster and carved with ancient inscriptions. Soane bought it in 1824 for £2,000, which is about £186,000 ($236k) today.

By the end of his life, Soane had collected thousands of treasures and designed an extraordinary home. His art collection – a small part of which can be seen in this Regency-style drawing room – contains masterpieces by Hogarth, Canaletto and Turner. 

Upon his death in 1837, Soane requested that his home remain open and free to enter and his collection remain just as it was when he died. Generations later, the house is a museum and the objects Soane gathered continue to educate and inspire the 100,000 visitors who enter each year.

The Bergdoll Mansion stands proudly on a hill in the heart of Philadelphia's historic Fairmount neighbourhood. Built in 1856 for the prominent Kemble family, the brownstone was later snapped up by City Park Brewery founder Louis Bergdoll. 

The 14,000-square-foot (1,300sqm) Beauts Arts-style mansion has nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms and is packed with so many original architectural features it's easy to imagine life back in the 1850s. 

This grand sitting room feels much as it would have in the Victorian era. The ornate plasterwork, gilt mirrors, marble Corinthian columns and intricate wood trim appear almost untouched by time.

Elsewhere, stained glass, hand-laid mosaic tiling and incredibly ornate fireplaces have been perfectly preserved, while the extensive wood panelling has been complimented by beautiful period-appropriate wallpaper.

These days, the grand old mansion has been carefully divided into seven separate apartments, including a large 4-bedroom owner's suite on the lower levels that comes with its own large garden. 

On the upper floors, there's a two-bed apartment, four one-bed units and a spacious studio in what was once the home's library. There's also gated parking for nine cars, which gives an idea of exactly how large the plot is. 

While the mansion is firmly rooted in the 1850s, its surrounding streets are a vibrant mix of historic buildings, local shops, popular restaurants and lively entertainment.

Perfect for a history buff who appreciates the finer things in life, this timeless home was listed with The Mike McCann Team in October 2024 for $6.5 million (£5.1m). If we lived in Philly, we'd be sorely tempted to snap it up and travel back in time!

Built for millionaire map-maker Andrew McNally in the 1880s, this lavish Altadena mansion was a mystery to the public for a century.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, the almost 7,000-square-foot (650sqm) property includes nine bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The home's biggest surprise is the octagonal Turkish Room. Resplendent with Moorish-style touches, the room is decorated in Middle Eastern wood panelling and luxurious silken fabrics.

Measuring 24 feet (7.3m) in diameter, the canopied ceiling is a real showstopper with intricate paintwork. Arabic phrases, thought to be words from the Koran, are stencilled onto the upper walls. 

Originally spread over 12 acres (4.8ha), the three-storey home has been designed in a simplified Queen Anne style and features a striking round turret. Rich in original detail and largely untouched, the entrance hall has box-beam ceilings in sugar pine, Douglas Fir panelling and intricately carved balustrades.

We can imagine sitting on this elegant built-in bench in the master bedroom, sipping a hot drink by a roaring fire and being transported back to the late 19th century.

Thanks to Susan Pickering Photography we can now see inside the historic estate, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Susan captured the hidden interior of the historic home when it was listed with real estate agent Teresa Fuller in 2020. It sold in 2021 for $3,000,000 (£2.4m).

Built between 1887 and 1893, this remarkable manor house was designed in an 'Old English' style by architect Edward Ould for Theodore and Flora Mander. 

In 1937, their son – the Liberal MP Sir Geoffrey Mander – gave the house to the National Trust for the nation to enjoy, despite the fact it was just 50 years old and much younger than anything the Trust would usually take on.

Wightwick's interior architecture and décor are pure Arts and Crafts in style. Theodore and Flora were heavily influenced by Irish poet Oscar Wilde's ideal of 'art for art's sake', which is particularly noticeable in the clashing and colourful William Morris prints found in almost every room. 

With its polished parquet floor and gleaming copper chimney breast, walking through this grand hallway is like stepping back in time.

The Great Parlour, a two-storey living hall, is the eye-catching heart of the home. It features an enormous tiled fireplace set into a wood-panelled recess with built-in seating, a minstrel's gallery and Jacobean oak panelling. The soaring arched ceiling was closely modelled on a medieval hall, while the painted stained glass windows were designed by Pre-Raphaelite designer Charles Kempe.

Its joyful design follows the principle: "Do not use anything which you do not know to be useful or think to be beautiful." Edward Mander wrote this in his handwritten notes from a speech delivered by Oscar Wilde on 'The House Beautiful' in 1884.

This extraordinary dining room is panelled in unpolished oak, but its stand-out feature is the plaster frieze and strap-work ceiling with moulded ribbed pendants, which hang down like blobs of white meringue. 

Geoffrey and his wife Rosalie remained in the manor even after they donated it to the National Trust and were responsible for Wightwick's collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. It includes 11 important paintings by women and forms one of the largest public collections of work by female artists in Britain.

Built for shipping heir George Vanderbilt, the construction of Biltmore House began in 1889. Over the following six years, it grew into America's largest home.

The 250-room French Renaissance style château has 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces and four acres (1.6ha) of floor space – that's about four football fields! So pull on your walking boots and we'll take a look around...

George moved into Biltmore in 1895 and hosted his family and friends there for Christmas that year. We can imagine this glorious tapestry gallery decked out for the festivities. 

The gallery is the longest room in the house at 90 feet (27m). The limestone chimney breasts are painted in Art Nouveau-style motifs and split the room into thirds, with each section covered in a silk and wool tapestry made in Belgium in the early 16th century.

Dinner in the magnificent banquet hall (left) was a highlight of a stay at Biltmore. The meal would have between six and ten courses, served on porcelain plates with silver cutlery and crystal glassware. One inventory shows the house stocked 1,139 handmade linen napkins and 111 tablecloths, most monogrammed by a famous needleworker in Paris, France.

The octagonal winter garden (right) has a ceiling of sculpted wood and glass, which soars over a central marble and bronze fountain, as well as tropical palms. A hidden trap door would have allowed gardeners to move plants to and from the nearby conservatory without disturbing the Vanderbilts.

This beautiful full-sized swimming pool is tucked away in the basement. It holds 70,000 gallons of water and is illuminated by underwater electric lights, which was innovative at a time when most homes still relied on candles and gas lamps.

After marrying in 1898 and welcoming a daughter in 1900, George died suddenly in 1914 aged just 41. The estate opened to the public in 1930 but stayed in the Vanderbilt family and today George's grandchildren, Diana and Bill, run the historic home. 

A true testament to the Gilded Age, the James D. Lanier house is a Beaux-Arts masterpiece that still reflects all the glitz and glamour of a bygone era. The mansion stands in the heart of historic Manhattan, located between Park and Lexington Avenues, overlooking Central Park.

With 11,600 square feet (1,077sqm) of palatial living space across eight levels, this spectacular estate remains one of the largest single-family homes in the city.

James D. Lanier was born into a prestigious banking legacy, and he and his wife Harriet were prominent figures in New York City’s social scene.

As members of the famous Four Hundred – a list of the city’s elite compiled by social arbiter Ward McAllister for the legendary society doyenne, Mrs. Astor – the Laniers required an estate befitting their position and capable of hosting their many elegant friends. The couple commissioned this Beaux-Arts mansion from the architectural firm Hoppin & Koen in 1901.

Designed for entertaining their high-society circle, the home was exquisitely appointed to reflect the family's taste and wealth. Guests would ascend the stone steps, pass through the tiger oak double doors and enter the spectacular arched marble entry hall adorned with classical statues, monumental carved-stone urns and an exquisite crystal chandelier.

From the entrance hall, they might wander into the club room and from there on to the dining room, which can comfortably hold service for 16 people.

The Lanier home is as grand today as it was a century ago, with gilded sconces, rich tapestries, ornate marble fireplaces and original parquet floors. In addition to its opulent staterooms, there are nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a modern chef’s kitchen, a fitness centre, two offices, an inner courtyard and a rooftop garden overlooking the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings.

Listed for $19.5 million (£15.3m) with the Modlin Group as of December 2024, the home is a unique piece of living Gilded Age history, which revels in the luxury of the past. 

Casa Batlló is one of the most unusual buildings in Barcelona. In 1903, a textile factory owner named Josep Batlló gave Spain's most famous architect Antoni Gaudí free rein to renovate the 1877 building. Gaudí began work in 1904 completely transforming the home inside and out over two years in his eccentric signature style.

The building's exterior evokes the tale of St George and the Dragon, with scaly-roof tiles and a chimney shaped like a knight's lance. Enter and it's like stepping inside the dragon's mouth...

Inside, freeform archways, pillars and windows act as the house's 'bones', framing the view through glittering scale-like stained glass. The walls and ceilings undulate like dragon skin while an ombre tile effect in the central lightwell is reminiscent of the creature's scaly hide.

Experienced together, Gaudí's whimsical design creates an eerie illusion that the building is alive.

The fifth-floor attics were designed for storage and as a space for servants to use but even these have look remarkable. Made up of a succession of 60 bone-coloured catenary arches, visitors feel as if they've wandered into the belly of the dragon.

Today, the extraordinary space along with the roof terrace – known as the dragon's back –  is rented out for weddings and other events.

Casa Batlló is heavily influenced by Art Nouveau, which Gaudi is credited with introducing to Spain. 

His creations are dotted throughout Barcelona, the most famous being La Sagrada Família. Gaudí began work on the basilica in 1883 and was involved with the project right up until his death in 1926. Incredibly, the landmark's sixth and final tower won't be completed until 2026.

Around the time that Gaudí completed Casa Batlló, Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann began work on the Stoclet Palace in Brussels. He'd been commissioned by banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet, who gave him full creative control. "Hoffmann even designed a dress for my grandmother, so she wouldn’t clash with the decor," said surviving heir Philippe R. Stoclet, in an interview with the auction house Bonhams.

The result was an Austrian interpretation of Art Nouveau, which heavily influenced the birth of Art Deco, according to UNESCO, who listed the home as a World Heritage Site in 2009. 

Curiously for a UNESCO site, the public has never been allowed inside the palace and it's still privately owned by the Stoclet family. Luckily, these photos give us a sense of the truly original interior.

This dining room contains artwork by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, who is perhaps best known for his painting 'The Kiss'. Known as 'The Stoclet Frieze', it is a series of three mosaic panels created during Klimt's Golden Phase, when he regularly embellished his creations with gold leaf. At Stoclet, he also incorporated pearls and marble. Perhaps understandably, the family only used this dining room at Christmas and for very special events.

This double-height entrance hall features grey marble walls, with yellow and grey-veined marble pillars that match the tan leather sofa and armchairs. The building was the pinnacle of modernist luxury, groundbreaking for its time, yet still retained an austere grandeur found in older stately homes.

In 2023, the public was allowed to see inside the palace for the first time thanks to a digital 3D reconstruction to celebrate Brussels' Year of Art Nouveau. The Stoclet family "hotly contested" the project, according to Belgian newspaper, The Brussels Times but an MP and former State Secretary for Heritage Pascal Smet said on social media: "World heritage belongs to everyone." 

The bathroom walls are adorned with mosaic fish and the bathtub, made from a single hollowed-out block of marble, stands on a raised platform in the middle of the room. Adolphe and his wife Suzanne reportedly entertained their grandchildren here during bathtime. 

While the Stoclet family has resisted calls to open up the grand home, in April 2024 the Brussels Parliament voted to open the building to the public regardless. Now, the secretive family will have to grant access for up to 15 days each year.

Beautiful Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California is a mansion like no other – it's definitely a castle we'd like to live in. The impressive architectural feat was originally called La Cuesta Encantada ("The Enchanted Hill" in Spanish).

Dreamt up by media mogul William Randolph Hearst, it was a cherished project that was inspired by his childhood travels in Europe.

Hearst teamed up with architect Julia Morgan in 1919, and the pair would spend almost three decades toiling away on the castle. Ill health meant Hearst never saw it completed to his specifications but even in its unfinished state the castle contained some 165 rooms and more than 100 acres (40ha) of gardens.

In this lavish bedroom, Hearst's taste for opulence is clear to see from the dramatic frescoed ceiling to the walls hung with expensive damask silk.

Hearst was an art lover, too, with paintings and sculptures displayed all across the property – a highlight is Venus Italica, a sculpture of Venus by Antonio Canova.

Today, the home is open to the public, with tours themed around art and even Hollywood available; Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant were among the glittering parade of guests to visit the castle.

No expense was spared when it came to the luxurious facilities at Hearst Castle, either. The outdoor Neptune pool features Grecian pavilions and a parade of sculptural water fountains.

Inside, the tiled Roman pool is decorated in gold and adorned with sumptuous mosaics that depict sea creatures and other mythical beasts. Talk about taking a dip in style...

In the 1920s, the International Style of architecture was taking over in Europe and by 1930 one of its finest examples had been born in what was then called Czechoslovakia (now Czechia, formerly the Czech Republic). The Villa Tugendhat, including its furniture and gardens, were designed by German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for a pair of wealthy local newlyweds. 

As we shall see, Mies van der Rohe created the home using a steel skeleton, eliminating the need for load-bearing walls inside and allowing free-flowing, light-filled spaces to emerge. It was the birth of what we now call open-plan design.

In keeping with the International Style, the three-storey villa reflects the minimalist style born after the First World War. Described as "architecture of the machine age", the approach dictated that form followed function.

Its unadorned steel, concrete and glass structure is typical of the movement, as is the blurring of the inside and outside, via large retractable window panes, climbing greenery and the "emphasised emptiness" of the garden.

Despite the lack of art or decoration, the villa's materials – such as tropical woods from Southeast Asia, gleaming brass, velvety plaster and white travertine – shine in their natural beauty.

This sitting room is dominated by the natural patterns in the onyx wall and the wraparound view of the gardens.

The Tugendhats left their beloved home in May 1938, all too aware that to remain in Brno would amount to a death sentence once the Nazis arrived. Just over a year later, the Gestapo moved in and in 1942 the villa officially became German property.

Changes were made inside and out, including the bricking up of this glazed milk glass wall. It fared even worse under the liberating Russian forces, who used the "social rooms" to stable their horses, according to one eyewitness account. Thankfully the villa underwent a major restoration in the early 1980s and today it's open for the public to explore.

Eltham Palace was once a medieval palace fit for a king. Initially owned by the half-brother of William the Conqueror, it was gifted to Edward II in 1305 and subsequently passed from monarch to monarch. Henry VIII spent stretches of his childhood at Eltham, but neither he nor his daughter Elizabeth I spent much time there as adults. Gradually Eltham fell into decay and Charles I was the last monarch to visit before many of its buildings were demolished.

Then, in 1933, millionaire couple Stephen and Virginia Courtauld leased Eltham and gave it an eccentric and very modern revamp...

Whatever you were expecting to see inside a medieval palace, we bet it wasn't this! The Courtaulds hired John Seely and Paul Paget to transform their new home into an Art Deco mansion. While the original medieval hall remained, their designs for new extensions caused controversy. Ultimately the duo succeeded in creating a home that is widely hailed today as an Art Deco masterpiece.

However, Seely and Paget didn't design every space. This entrance hall was dreamt up by Swedish architect Rolf Engströmer. The walls are covered in Australian black bean veneer and adorned with images of the Courtaulds' favourite buildings. 

The couple existed at the centre of the London social scene and even hosted royalty at their unusual home; Queen Mary visited twice and the then Duchess of York (better known as the Queen Mother) visited in 1936. She reportedly "liked the Courtaulds very much" and thought the modern part of the house was very interesting although "a little overdone".

It's very likely she ate in this panelled formal dining room, which is packed full of geometric shapes and stylised features. 

Virginia's circular bedroom is the work of the Italian designer, aristocrat and dashing cavalry officer Piero Malacrida de Saint-August. He also designed her adjoining bathroom, which has onyx walls, a vaulted ceiling and a gold mosaic bath niche housing a statue of the goddess Psyche. Virginia's pet ring-tailed lemur Mah-Jong also had his own purpose-built, centrally-heated bedroom.

Stephen and Virginia left Eltham in 1944, after the palace took several hits from German bombs. It then served as the base of the Royal Army Educational Corps until 1992, after which English Heritage took over Eltham, restoring it and opening it to the public.

Known as The Reicher House, this four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles is a beautiful example of Mid-century Modernism. Built in 1956, it was designed by architect A. Quincy Jones for Norman Reicher, who wanted a "forward-thinking, functional" home and admired Jones's vision, according to Reicher's daughter. 

Jones found fame for building glamorous homes for Los Angeles's high society but he was also passionate about creating homes for the emerging middle-classes. He designed more than 5,000 buildings in the state, including churches, restaurants and private homes, with his clean stye coming to define the mid-century Californian aesthetic.

In November 2024, the home hit the market for the first time since it was built for $3.5 million (£2.8m). Perfectly preserved, it's a "time capsule in original form", according to listing agent Joseph Cilic of Sotheby’s International Realty. 

The open-plan living room features built-in seating, a striking fireplace beneath a large skylight and double-height wraparound windows that flood the entire space with light.

The kitchen is sleek and functional but packed full of original character and a hint of 1950s Americana, with Formica countertops, clerestory windows and a serving hatch.

Elsewhere there are three guest bedrooms and a large master suite, which features a series of striking windows with custom shutters.

Outside, the 9,200-square-foot (855sqm) lot has a sheltered dining area and a large swimming pool. Thanks to Jones's thoughtful design, many of the bathrooms can be accessed from the pool area, which makes changing for a swim a cinch. 

Blending indoor and outdoor spaces was a signature for Jones, who believed that fresh air and common green areas should be accessible to all. He was also a pioneer of 'greenbelt' planning and 'green' design, incorporating shared outdoor spaces into housing developments that are still flourishing today.

Built in 1962, this hilltop home was designed by Richard Neutra's protégé Stanley S. Kogan and every inch of the 3,000-square-foot (278sqm) mansion screams 1960s party pad. But don't take our word for it, let's look inside...

With its clashing colours, loud patterns and iridescent ceiling panels, we're guessing (or maybe hoping) that this room was originally an entertaining space and not a bedroom. 

Check out the sliver of seriously groovy purple and orange wallpaper you can just about spy in the adjoining room.

If your home boasted views that stretched all the way from Laurel Canyon to Downtown LA and way out to Catalina Island, you might be forgiven for overlooking your immediate surroundings – but this isn't your average home. The brown granite countertops, stripey ceiling and yellow and brown sunflower wallpaper are hard to miss! 

Its warm, friendly vibe is captured perfectly by architectural and interior photographer Brian Covington.

The master suite exudes pure old-school romance, with red flock wallpaper, a matching carpet, floor-to-ceiling mirrored panels and a raised bed platform, as well as this matching ensuite bathroom and a walk-in dressing area.

The time capsule home was listed with Beverly Hartley of Your Home Seekers Realty for $10 million (£8m) in March 2024, before the price was lowered to $8 million (£6.4m) as of December 2024.

From the outside, this long and low home doesn't immediately stand out as a time-capsule home. However, step inside and you'll be transported straight back to 1968, the year Nixon became president, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated and Apollo 8 orbited the moon.

So don your spacesuit and step inside...

The suspended fireplace in this open-plan living room looks like something you might find on the Starship Enterprise. In fact, the entire home is packed full of jaw-dropping features, like mirrored walls, cork panelling, fur-covered shelving and deep shagpile carpets.

“It’s as if Zsa Zsa Gabor, Elizabeth Taylor and the owner had a bit of coffee – or something stronger – and just enjoyed each other’s company in a setting Austin Powers would love,” the listing agent Pat Soltys told Realtor.com when the home hit the market in 2022.

The previous owners lived in this unique home from 1985 and it looks like the only thing they changed were the lightbulbs.

After the house was put up for sale, its retro interiors proved a hit online and went viral almost straight away. Thankfully, the current owner revealed to us that she's also dedicated to preserving the home's original features – something that will draw a big sigh of relief from fans of the property. 

This bedroom – which is one of four – combines a Japanese rockery, a Shoji-style wall feature, folding closet doors and bamboo accents to evoke the Far East, while the shimmering wave-like headboard recalls Katsushika Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa woodblock print.

While this home might combine more unusual features than should work in one single house, it's wonderfully, authentically 1960s and we love it!

Known as The Lewis Estate, this sprawling spread can be found on a gorgeous hilltop plot overlooking the San Fernando Valley in Encino, California. The property was constructed in 1972 and designed by revered mid-century modern architect Donald G. Park.

As well as offering views of incredible scenery from almost every window, this unique round house also benefits from a truly stunning interior that's seemingly been untouched for decades.

Though perhaps calling it a round house isn't quite correct. The property, which spreads across three connecting structures, is a dodecagon or a 12-sided polygon. Head inside and you'll be greeted by beautiful living spaces enhanced by the home's unique shape.

The main living room has to be one of the home's finest spaces, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling fireplace built from stones and a huge sheet of copper, the marble wall art and the sunken conversation pit.

The 6,811-square-foot mansion comes complete with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, numerous living rooms, a purple and pink kitchen, a leather bar, a dining room and a hallway that's akin to an indoor jungle, thanks to the multitude of palms and plants that fill the space.

There are mid-century design elements everywhere you look, from raw stone accents to floor-to-ceiling fireplaces, vintage light fixtures, exposed structural beams and endless sheets of glass. 

The master bathroom also happens to be a treasure trove of retro design trends. From the matching suite and tiles to the patterned floor and twin sinks, we don't think an avocado bathroom has ever looked so good. Head outside and you'll find an acre (0.4ha) of garden with outdoor entertaining spaces, a pool and spa, lush landscaping, a gas firepit and 200-degree views across the valley below. 

This incredible home was sold in 2022 for $4.1 million (£3.2m) and became available to rent in 2024 for $30,000 (£24k) per month via Barak Marmion. 

This 12,500-square-foot (1,160sqm) home in Shelley, Idaho was built in 1983 and inside 80s features abound. 

It came on the market in November 2024 with Murdock Manwaring Cardon for a shade under $1.2 million (£1.5m) – we just hope whoever buys it keeps some of the amazing original features! 

In the 1980s kitchens grew larger as they became the heart of the home and a place where everyone gathered, rather than just a place to prepare meals. This large kitchen reflects that trend, with a large island and a breakfast bar for the whole family to gather around. 

It's also kitted out with some classic 80s hallmarks, including country-style cabinets, decorative brickwork and retro lighting panels in the ceiling. 

While we might think of a brown colour scheme as a 1970s staple it was still popular well into the 1980s. This bathroom still boasts its original tilework, which covers most of the walls, vanity unit and backsplash – not to mention that incredible sunken corner bath!

Corner baths were seriously popular in the 1970s and 1980s, so it would have been bang on trend when this home was built.

This cedar-clad spa room is part of the master suite. It houses the indoor hot tub (there's another one outside) – although the skylights make you feel like you're taking an alfresco dip. Note the dry sauna and tanning bed built into the wall.

That's not the only amazing extra though – there's also a secret panic room in the basement with an escape hatch that leads to an exit hidden in the backyard decking. Pretty fancy for a family home!

This sprawling home stands on a 10-acre (4ha) estate near Newcastle, Oklahoma and enjoys views of the South Canadian River and Downtown Oklahoma City – but that's not the only thing that makes it special.

Built in 1999, the house is an extraordinary snapshot of what high glamour looked like at the time. Let's take a look around...

This extraordinary open-plan space houses the entrance hall as well as seating and dining areas. Everything here is designed to be slick and sophisticated from the monochrome furnishings and Memphis Design-style rug to the glam granite columns and oversized geometric fireplace.

We hardly know where to explore first in this dazzling retro dream home!

The formal dining room seats 12 on zebra-print chairs around a glass-topped table, which stands on an island of polished black granite. Above, an unusual recessed mirrored ceiling feature echos the shapes below.

A full wall of built-in, lighted display cases exhibit the homeowner's collection of objet d'art – a classic feature of 90s homes.

Despite its many luxe materials, soaring ceilings and high-end amenities, it's this amazing bed that hovers like a spacecraft that makes us want to move right in. 

It's been on and off the market over the years, most recently for sale with The Wyatt Poindexter Group for $2.6 million (£2.1m) as of November 2024. Perhaps best of all, there's a heart-shaped bathtub hidden away from prying eyes. It's definitely one-of-a-kind!

Loved this? Now discover more retro homes and vintage interiors