by Josh Lanier



MOORESVILLE – It may be one of Lake Norman’s most lavish homes –  a 8,700-square-foot palace with the name to prove it.

Chateau Lyon, as it is called, is tucked away off of Exit 31 in the gated Alexander Island community. It was the dream home of Larry and Jane Hendricks and built by famed designer Barry Dixon over a five-year period for more than $22 million. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home was finished in 2009 and the Hendrickses lived there briefly before their business – Boyles Furniture – went under. The couple was forced to move out of the lakefront property late last year. It originally had been put on the market for $25 million, but Chateau Lyon was foreclosed on over the summer and the BB&T-owned property is now on the market for $8 million.

“This truly is an amazing, one-of-a -kind home,” co-listing agent Debbie Monroe, a real estate agent with Lake Norman Realty Luxury.

Chateau Lyon was named for the Lyon region of France, where many of the materials to build the home were found. Some of those items include 250-year-old handmade roofing tiles and paneling imported from France, pinion flooring handcrafted in Mexico, 250-year-old pine plank flooring and 400- to 600-year-old Biblical stones reclaimed from cottages along the Mediterranean Sea. The foundation is Texas limestone weighing more than 250 pounds per stone with 20-inch thick limestone walls.

The Hendrickses handpicked all the materials to be used in their dream home, traveling the world to choose materials and designs. That posed some problems for builders when constructing the home, Monroe said.



The massive limestone staircase – valued at $550,000 – weighed so much that extra foundation had to be placed beneath the foyer to support the structure. Bronze doors imported from France were so heavy they needed reinforced doorframes to support them.

Much of the home’s design and look was taken from the Petit Trianon, a home built at the Palace of Versailles by French King Louie XVI as a gift for Marie Antoinette. A massive mural hangs in the home recreating the view from Petit Trianon.

Along with its old-world luxury, the home boasts some new-age technology with a computerized internal network that controls security, temperature for the heated floors and nearly everything in the home.

Interest in Chateau Lyon has been great, Monroe said, with people from around the world considering purchasing the home. European businessmen and women and professional athletes have taken the two-hour tour of the mansion.

“With a house this beautiful and luxurious, people from around the world have been quick to want to look inside,” Monroe said.

Want to see inside?

To schedule a tour of the home or for more information visit call co-listing agents Debbie Monroe or Amber Garchar at 800-315-365 and visit www.LNRLuxury.com. Financial records will be checked for those wanting to take the tour.