I have the feeling when it comes time to retire I am going to have to buy a house WITH a trophy room. Thinking back on all the homes I've seen and bought, none had a trophy room. How common are they. I'm assuming we are not talking tract home here. I hope when the time comes I can stumble into something nice.

What has been your experience selling a house with a trophy room. Does it really add value or is it a gift to the new owner?

I think most trophy rooms start out as dens or game rooms or maybe from having a wall removed.

When I purchased our first house, I looked for a house with high ceilings and potential to become a trophy room.

The end result:





14 years later we decided to move interstate, however I need a ready made home to accomadate my trophys.

It took 18 months to fine a home that was suitable. (that my wife liked as well)

Current home;





When selling the first home the trophy's did provide a "wow'factor for potential buyers, so in some cases this did add value. However some potential buyers would be horrified by all the dead animals and would be turned off the place.

In the end, it all comes down to a matter of time to find the right home that has the potential to have a trophy room.

I have seen guys turn thier two car garage into a trophy room. Quite easy to do, vault the ceilings, and go at it.

Don't get me wrong, I think trophy rooms are a terrific way to appreciate your experiences and honor the animals you've taken, but like most extremely specialized real estate improvements it will be very difficult to get the value back out of it.

That isn't going to stop me from putting up one though...

Kyler

when i built my new(and last)home 2 years ago i put 18 ft. vaulted ceilings in the family room to house my slowly expanding trophy collection. i put one inch plywood behind the sheetrock on all walls so i could hang anything i wanted anywhere i wanted without looking for studs. only problem is i am about out of wall and floor space!! had to put my pedestal mounted cape buff and full body mounted warthog in the entryway.

jdollar,some Pictures would be great!

quote:

Originally posted by duggaboybuff:
jdollar,some Pictures would be great!

sorry about all the indivdual posts but i couldn't figure out how to post all th pics at once!

Kensco,

It would probably be easier to find a home that you would like to retire in and then have the trophy room built on to it. Trophy rooms are a rare thing to come by in the real estate market, thus your selection of retirement homes would be limited. I would think you would want to find the home of your dreams and not be limited to only the ones with trophy rooms. The other thing about making an addition to your dream home for a trophy room is that you can make it to your specification.

jdollar, your trophy display is sensational!!

I like that warthog. It makes me laugh for some reason.

I don't think a trophy room per se will add value, but the updating of an existing room may add a little bit, but if a new room is added it will definitely add value just from increasing the square footage of the house.

Jdollar,
Great stuff.
Thanks for posting.

Kyler

Funny thing... Tried to sell our country house w/trophy room for several years, no takers. Put it back on the market and a young taxidermist and his wife come to look at it... SOLD ! Makes me think we didn't ask enough

Actually, a little more to the story than that, but in a way that was the gist of it. Right person for a unique location and features... Like a watch Bear

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
sorry about all the indivdual posts but i couldn't figure out how to post all th pics at once!

i have saved 1 large area between the 2 kudu for a sable. it's really about the only plains game left that i REALLY want to shoot. turned down a 38-39 inch bull in Zim a few years ago, hoping for something bigger-stupid me.

Most places I've lived lately, you have enough homeowner restrictions to keep you from building much.

I hear some places out West allow you to have a fireplace, but you can't burn wood.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
sorry about all the indivdual posts but i couldn't figure out how to post all th pics at once!

i have saved 1 large area between the 2 kudu for a sable. it's really about the only plains game left that i REALLY want to shoot. turned down a 38-39 inch bull in Zim a few years ago, hoping for something bigger-stupid me.

I think you'll get your sable mate.......

What heights are the ceilings in your room, aprox??

ceiling is about 18 feet at its peak, tapering down to about 8 feet at the edges where you enter the room

I think it depends on the definition of "trophy room", whether you can get the value back during resale. In my area, a two story entry and two story great rooms are becoming increasingly popular. Most people buy these houses without any interest in hanging trophies, but they make a great place to show off your collection. On the other end of the spectrum, I've seen some trophy rooms that are separate additions to the house (either added on or part of the intial design) but are totally in addition to the normal living space. In other words, not in the normal traffic pattern, and serve no other general function, except entertaining your hunting acquaintances. I think these rooms would return the lowest percentage, on average. The large great rooms and entries in other houses sell just as well with or without trophies, in my opinion.

In any event, as mentioned earlier, finding the right buyer is the key, and then you can get a return on almost any oddity of design!

Enjoy!

Bill

jdollar,

Great room! As I was scrolling down the thread, I noticed that gap between the kudu and was going to ask you about it. A sable would be perfect there.

duggaboybuff,

I love your room too. The ceiling height is plenty high enough, but still allows people to get close to the mounts.