I’m usually not a fan of enormous new houses done in some old European style but I’m making a big exception for this slightly over-the-top masterpiece on Siesta Key. It’s the only house I’ve ever seen in Sarasota that attempts what is known as “le style Rothschild.” This was the style the famous Rothschild family created in their homes, a sort of opulent mélange of overstuffed satin and silk, baroque but orderly, with a hint—but just a hint—of the Middle East and more exotic lands.

The façade is equal measures of French, Spanish, and Italian. The first tip off of something extraordinary is the glass canopy that covers the entrance. This is quickly followed by the peacock mosaics that flank the enormous and surprisingly rustic front door. The mosaics are said to be from Bulgaria, which, in this house, makes perfect sense.

Inside the rooms vary from the intimate and elegant to the just plain unique. The most extraordinary is what appears to be a family room, elaborately tiled and embellished in a sort of Edwardian Moorish style. Plate glass windows, encased in gothically arched frames, look out on the view. The coffered and tiled ceiling sports a series of little chandeliers.

Other highlights include a pool pavilion with a rib-vaulted ceiling painted a deep blue, again surrounded by pillars and custom tile work. The master bedroom, a assemblage of arches, vaults, pillars, tile work, has a definite castle-type feeling.

It’s a large home: 6 bedrooms, 6 and a half baths, over 6,500 square feet. The plot is over half an acre of bayfront, with gardens and a pool that compliment the home. And the price tag, well, that’s pretty Rothschild too: $9,800,000. It’s the fourth most expensive home currently for sale in Sarasota.

For more information about 8423 Midnight Pass Rd, call Peg Davant of Premier Sotheby’s at (941) 356-4552.