Amazing copycat homes that almost look like the real thing

Iconic homes... but not as you know them

Courtesy The Real Up House

Copycat buildings that mimic famous real-life and fictional homes are all the rage right now. Whether you like the idea of playing president in the White House, channelling Marie Antoinette at Versailles or floating away under a cloud of balloons, take a look at our pick of amazing imitation abodes.

Tara from 'Gone with the Wind'

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Tara is the name of the fictional plantation in the book and movie of Gone with the Wind. In the story, Tara is close to the town of Jonesboro, about 20 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. The inspiration for author Margaret Mitchell's imagining of Tara came from real plantations and antebellum establishments of the period, in particular the one where her grandmother, Annie Fitzgerald Stephens grew up.

Copy of Tara from 'Gone with the Wind': Newport Beach estate

Newport Beach Real Estate

Unlike nearby Newport Beach properties, this Californian copy of Tara is built to the same plantation ideals that Margaret Mitchell imagined for the setting of her love story. Inspired by the Tara we see in the movie, the house is fabulously grand and reminiscent of earlier times. It may have been transplanted out of its historic setting, but as the original was a set – not a real house – this is as close as you can get.

Copy of Tara from 'Gone with the Wind': Newport Beach estate

Newport Beach Real Estate

The entrance to the home is breathtaking, with thick carpets and beautiful dark woodwork, a large imported chandelier and grand staircase worthy of a scene with Scarlett O'Hara. Upstairs on the second level, the ceiling is decorated with stunning hand-painted murals.

Copy of Tara from 'Gone with the Wind': Newport Beach estate

Newport Beach Real Estate

The dining room is impressively designed and decorated with room for 32 guests at the main dinner table. The piano lounge is panelled with the same attractive dark wood as the entrance and hallway, which sets off the grand fireplace, marble floor and chandeliers throughout.

Copy of Tara from 'Gone with the Wind': Newport Beach estate

Newport Beach Real Estate

Though it has the old world feel of a plantation property, the home is also scrupulously modern in its own way. It has its own elevator to access the three floors, an industrial kitchen for serving those 32 dinner guests, a gym, pool and an eight-car garage.

Mount Vernon

PhotosbyAndy / Shutterstock

This is Mount Vernon, the Virginia plantation of George Washington, first president of the USA. The land had been in the Washington family since 1674, and the mansion was built by George’s father around 1734. The house was built mostly of wood in the Palladian style so it has European design elements running through it including classic columns and porticoes. Washington expanded the house twice and it remained his home for his entire life.

Copy of Mount Vernon: James L Breese ‘The Orchard’

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James L. Breese House's – also known as 'The Orchard' – was built in the style of Mount Vernon between 1897 and 1906 by a prominent firm of architects, reprising the colonial style of the original.

Copy of Mount Vernon: James L Breese ‘The Orchard’

Historicallyvintage

The portico and columns are especially reminiscent of Washington’s property, though inside it is perhaps even grander than the original. This house eventually comprised of 32 rooms including a 72-foot-long music room, with an ornate Italian ceiling. The rest of the mansion was also designed in the European style.

Copy of Mount Vernon: James L Breese ‘The Orchard’

Historicallyvintage

Breeso commissioned his friend Standford White as the architect to design it and they continued to make additions and alterations until the White's death – the fantastic music room is thought to be his last completed project. The property is located in Southampton Village Historic district and is now on the National register of Historic Places.

Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House

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Located near Matamata, New Zealand, this hobbit hole was built as a film set for Lord of the Rings, and home to Bilbo Baggins.

Copy of Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House: Chester County, USA

Archer & Buchanan

This replica of the house is located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned by an avid Lord of the Rings fan who wanted to create his own cosy Hobbit home complete with all the detail you'd expect from the real thing.

Copy of Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House: Chester County, USA

Archer & Buchanan

The house spans 600 square feet and features its own hobbit hole-style door, a handmade clay-tile roof and a large fireplace. Beautiful beams give the place an authentic look and matches the wrought iron lanterns on either dise of a stone fireplace.

Copy of Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House: Chester County, USA

Archer & Buchanan

The perfect place for hiding away, the hobbit retreat isn't fit for fully-grown humans, so residents have to be prepared to stoop to make their way around. Love this? Step inside these amazing real-life hobbit homes.

Buckingham Palace

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If you're the Prince of Wales and you're commissioning buildings in a new English village development, why not include a replica of your family's famous Buckingham Palace?

Copy of Buckingham Palace: Strathmore House, Poundbury, UK

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Strathmore House in the village of Poundbury in Dorset (pictured here) contains eight luxury apartments and shares similar design features with the Queen's principal London residence, from the Royal Crest motif to the Corinthian columns.

Copy of Buckingham Palace: Strathmore House, Poundbury, UK

Courtesy ZeroC Holding

In fact, locals have dubbed the new building 'Buck House', such is its likeness to the Queen's London home. The well-appointed apartments feature high ceilings, oversized windows and high-end finishes.

Copy of Buckingham Palace: Strathmore House, Poundbury, UK

Courtesy ZeroC Holding

Suitably regal, the apartments are super-spacious to boot. And as you can imagine, they don't come cheap. You can expect to pay in the region of £850,000 ($1.07m) for a three-bedroom property in Strathmore House. And if you think this looks palatial, check out the rest of the Royal Family's amazing private homes.

Up house

Courtesy Pixar/The Walt Disney Company

A colourful version of the house from the film Up was built by Bangerter Homes in a Salt Lake City suburb in 2011, and sold later that year to Disney fans Clinton and Lynette Hamblin for $400,000 (£301k). The version from the film is pictured here.

Copy of the Up house: Salt Lake City, USA

Courtesy The Real Up House

The whimsical sherbet-hued home is a full-scale replica of Carl and Ellie's house. Getting the all-clear from the Walt Disney Company to build the reproduction was no mean feat, but Bangerter Homes did just that in 2010, on the proviso that just a single copy of the house would be built.

Copy of the Up house: Salt Lake City, USA

Courtesy The Real Up House

The interior of the four-bedroom home is just as faithful to the movie house as the exterior. Everything from the mantelpiece to the light switches and wallpaper mimic fixtures and fittings in the Pixar home.

Copy of the Up house: Salt Lake City, USA

Courtesy The Real Up House

Rocking a cool 1950s vibe, the kooky home's kitchen is decked out in true retro style and comes complete with an antique range cooker and old-fashioned refrigerator for added authentic appeal. Love all things vintage? Take a look at these untouched time warp homes.

The White House

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When it comes to famous buildings, the US president's residence is one of the most imitated. Here's the original (and you can always take a closer look at its evolution in our gallery).

Copy of the White House: Dallas, Texas, USA

Courtesy Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

This beauty in Dallas, Texas was sold in 2016 by for an estimated $15 million (£11.3m). Known as the Dallas White House, funnily enough, the four-bedroom mansion, which sits in several acres of manicured grounds, boasts 16,000 square feet of living space, and nods to the real thing with its whitewashed facade and columned portico.

Copy of the White House: Dallas, Texas, USA

Courtesy Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

The imitation presidential pad more than justifies the multimillion-dollar price tag thanks to its high-end interiors and luxury facilities. The rooms are decorated in opulent style and feature French parquet flooring and grand chandeliers.

Copy of the White House: Dallas, Texas, USA

Courtesy Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

There's even a 24-seat cinema and sprawling wine cellar in the building, not to mention a ridiculously swanky no-expense-spared bathroom with twin marble hot tubs and gold-plated taps.

Halloween house

Courtesy Kenny Caperton

Not for the faint of heart by any means, this was used as serial killer Michael Myers' home in the classic 1970s slasher movie Halloween, and is located in Pasadena, California.

Copy of the Halloween house: Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA

Courtesy Kenny Caperton

This creepy-looking house in Hillsborough, North Carolina was built by diehard fans of the movie Kenny and Emily Caperton. They got the idea to build a replica following a visit to the genuine house in 2008.

Copy of the Halloween house: Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA

Courtesy Kenny Caperton

The couple were unable to track down the original blueprints, so they set about designing a faithful copy themselves with a little help from an architect and building firm. The property was finished in 2009.

Copy of the Halloween house: Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA

Courtesy Kenny Caperton

The interiors, which are more or less faithful to the real deal house, are packed with memorabilia and merch from the movie. If you want to see it for yourself, the Capertons open their scary home to the public once a year at, you've guessed it, Halloween. Love a good scare? Take a look at these spooky abandoned houses from all over the world.

Petit Trianon, Versailles

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This is Petit Trianon, the bijou château in the grounds of Versailles, France, that was gifted to ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette in 1774.

Copy of Petit Trianon, Versailles: Washington Street mansion, San Francisco, USA

Courtesy Realtor.com

This turn-of-the-century landmark building in San Francisco is a very decent approximation of the famous neoclassical cubed structure, down to the stonework and Corinthian columns.

Copy of Petit Trianon, Versailles: Washington Street mansion, San Francisco, USA

Courtesy Realtor.com

Fit for a queen, the main building includes nine roomy bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms and a total of four kitchens – ideal for a rich foodie – and packs in more than its fair share of marble and gilded finishes.

Copy of Petit Trianon, Versailles: Washington Street mansion, San Francisco, USA

Courtesy Realtor.com

Unsurprisingly, the decadent mansion, which sits on almost an acre of prime San Francisco real estate, is valued in the tens of millions of dollars. The property was sold last summer for a staggering $15.75 million (£11.8m).

Little House on the Prairie

Courtesy Ed Friendly Productions/NBC

Now for something altogether more humble – a replica of the Ingall family's cute wooden home from the much-loved classic TV show Little House on the Prairie. Here's the original.

Copy of Little House on the Prairie: Gaubiving, France

Courtesy Yves Muller

The rustic abode was replicated in 2010 by long-time fan Yves Muller in Gaubiving, France. The shed-like structure successfully replicates the Ingall's Walnut Grove home down to the finest details. Muller watched DVDs of the show and guesstimated the size of the building using 5' 8" actor Michael Landon as a guide.

Copy of Little House on the Prairie: Gaubiving, France

Courtesy Yves Muller

The Little House fan completed the structure in 2010, along with a couple of carpenter friends. Muller has done his best to recreate the home's interior, even going as far as ageing the stone fireplace to make it look centuries old.

Copy of Little House on the Prairie: Gaubiving, France

Courtesy Yves Muller

Staying true to the show, the tiny one-bedroom house has no electricity and running water, and is lit by old-time oil lamps. Needless to say, the Muller family use the property as a sort of chillout summer house rather than a full-time home. If you'd prefer the real thing, these famous abodes from TV and movies are for sale.

Monticello

Courtesy Concierge Auctions

Here's former US President Thomas Jefferson's Monticello mansion in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Copy of Monticello: Somers, Connecticut, USA

Courtesy Concierge Auctions

This impressive five-bedroom Connecticut pile is a copy of it. It was built by ice cream tycoon S. Prestley Blake in 2014 at a cost of $7.7 million (£5.8m). Contractor Bill Laplante painstakingly recreated the building by studying the original plans and using traditional materials – the bricks for instance were sourced in Virginia and laid to match Monticello's Flemish design.

Copy of Monticello: Somers, Connecticut, USA

Courtesy Concierge Auctions

The interiors are worthy of any president. Think lots of gleaming white marble, polished parquet flooring and elegant plasterwork. We're sure Thomas Jefferson would feel most at home in this lookalike mansion.

Copy of Monticello: Somers, Connecticut, USA

Courtesy Concierge Auctions

Blake, who turned 102 in November, never actually got to live in the mansion. After failing to achieve its asking price on a number of occasions, the Monticello copy was auctioned last year via Concierge Auctions for the bargain price of $2.1 million (£1.6m).

The Munster Mansion

Courtesy NBC

Unlike the Michael Myers lookalike house, the mansion from the classic Munsters TV show, which was on a studio lot, is more fun-scary than outright disturbing.

Copy of The Munster Mansion: Waxahachie, Texas, USA

Courtesy The Munster Mansion

Located in Waxahachie, Texas, this replica of the house is the brainchild of Sandra and Charles McKee. The McKees, who clearly can't get enough of the 1960s monster sitcom, built their dream home in 2002. The couple combed through hours of footage of the show in order to create the spooky-looking structure.

Copy of The Munster Mansion: Waxahachie, Texas, USA

Courtesy The Munster Mansion

Each room in the copycat Munster Mansion has been decked out to look uncannily like the real McCoy. The dining room for example is covered in creepy cobwebs and features a life-size model of Lily Munster.

Copy of The Munster Mansion: Waxahachie, Texas, USA

Courtesy The Munster Mansion

While the Munster Mansion isn't open to the public 24/7, the McKees organise occasional events in their ghoulish home. You can also book a private tour of the house via the Munster Mansion website.

The Taj Mahal

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The Taj Mahal is India's most famous, and most stunning, building. It means 'Crown of the Palace', but the building is actually an impressive mausoleum commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, as the tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It's now a UNESCO Heritage World Heritage Site and considered a masterpiece of Muslim art and architecture.

Copy of the Taj Mahal: The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

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This former royal home in Brighton, England is a dead ringer for the Taj Mahal. Known as the Royal Pavilion, it's a Grade I-listed palace that dates back to 1787. Built in the popular 19th-century Indo-Saracenic style, it bears more than a passing resemblance to the original.

Copy of the Taj Mahal: The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

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The domes and minarets of the current pavilion are down to Welsh architect and designer John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815. Between then and 1822 he redesigned the property and extended the pavilion, creating its eye-catching exterior – a complete antidote to traditional Regency style of the period.

Copy of the Taj Mahal: The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

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Though rather less busy than the building it resembles (the Taj Mahal welcomes around eight million visitors each year), the current use of the pavilion is for tourism rather than a royal residence. Queen Victoria wasn't a fan of the building and sold it to Brighton in 1850. It's now enjoyed as a wedding venue and for its beautiful gardens.

READ MORE: 21 of the world's weirdest homes