Closet Mansion For Sale
Texas socialite hopes to flip mansion with now-famous closet for $12.9 million
Texas socialite, fashion designer and now house-flipper Theresa Roemer is attemping to sell her 17,315-square-foot Houston mansion — including the now-famous, three-story closet (sans the designer goodies) — for a cool $12,900,000.
"We bought the house as an investment and always said that we would fix it up and put it up for sale," Roemer, also the listing agent, said in a phone interview. The property, located at 47 Grand Regency Circle in The Woodlands, hit the market last week.
"If it sells, we will make a crapload of money. If not, we can live happily ever after here."
A bit of background
Roemer's fantasy "she cave" closet was first featured on a Neiman Marcus blog in July and later was picked up by outlets such as Good Morning America and Cosmopolitan magazine. The 3,000-square-foot triple-decker space houses jewelry and handbags on the first floor; on the top level are furs and hats. The shoe "department" and vanity parlor on the second floor boasts a champagne bar for high-style partying, and Roemer has hosted fundraisers there.
"If it sells, we will make a crapload of money," Theresa Roemer said. "If not, we can live happily ever after here."
In August, her closet was burglarized, and the still at-large thief was captured on surveillance video taking close to $1 million in accessories, such as jewelry, watches and numerous pricey Birkin bags. Just days later, the alleged thief sent several items to the Houston Press that he said he had stolen, asserting they were fake.
The alleged burglar said that he had contacted Roemer, asking for $500,000 to return the items and "not expose her to the news." Roemer instead contacted Montgomery County authorities.
Today and the house
Roemer and her oilman husband, Lamar, redesigned the private sanctuary, formerly owned by minister Kirbyjon Caldwell, in 2013. The towering water features out front set the tone. Inside, light pours in from 20-foot-tall walls of floor-to-ceiling glass in the entry, where an enormous Swarovski crystal chandelier hangs.
More features include two kitchens (one a commercial-grade catering kitchen), as well as formal dining with glass water wall, wine tasting room, entertainment room, gym, home theater, and spa and salon with tanning bed. The master retreat with spacious sitting area is one of nine to 10 bedrooms; there are 10 full and three half-baths.
Outside, a summer kitchen and covered veranda sit at the edge of a large swimming pool with back-lit water wall and fountains. The entire backyard overlooks a lake and the golf course.
And then there's the closet.
Roemer, who will unveil a new line of luxury candles at Neiman Marcus in Houston on December 17, takes a philosophical attitude about the loss of the much-talked-about space.
"If I build another [house], it will have another fabulous closet," she said.