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Whatever the size of the project you’re working on now it probably doesn’t compare to these residential behemoths. Architectural Digest recently came up with its list of the largest homes in the world and, surprisingly of the ten biggest only one is in the U.S. Most turn out to be in Asia, South America and the Mideast—where you’d expect to find them. And while some measure in the hundreds of thousands of square feet the biggest range in the millions.
Here's the ranking:
1. Lakshmi Vilas Palace
Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Gujaret, India measures a gargantuan 30.5 million square and was built in 1890 but only has 170 rooms. The royal Vadodara family still lives there but parts of the house are open to public touring.
2. Ak Saray
Ak Saray in Ankara Turkey, is the presidential palace and also the newest home on the list having been built in 2014. Its 3.1 million square feet cost a reported $615 million.
3. Istana Nurul Iman
Istana Nurul Iman in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei is the home of the Sultan of Brunei and his family. The home was completed in 1984 and has 1,788 rooms spread out over 2.2 million square feet.
4. Apostolic Palace
Apostolic Palace in Vatican City is the home of the pope but its 1.7 million square feet also contains the Sistine Chapel and some of the most famous art in the world.
5. Quirinal Palace
Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy with 1.2 million square feet was originally built in 1853 as the summer residence of the pope but is now one of three residences for the president of Italy.
6. Umaid Bhawan Palace
Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodphur, India was built in the first part of the 20th century for the Maharaja Umaid Singh but now its one million square feet are mostly used as a hotel.
7. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace in London, England would be the guess of many on the biggest home but with 775 rooms spread out over 828,000 square feet it only ranks seventh.
8. The Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France is another good guess but with just 721,200 square feet it is down the list.
9. Antilia
Antilia in Mumbai, India is the tallest of the homes at 27 stories and 400,000 square feet built at cost of $2 billion in 2010.
10. Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC just makes the list and is the only property in the U.S. Built by a Vanderbilt family member, it has 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms over its 175,000 square feet.
