Savannah’s Most Expensive Home Is a Famous Riverside Estate

The “Riverbend” mansion currently owned by Paula Deen comes with an extraordinary kitchen.

Savannah’s Most Expensive Home Is an $8.75 Million Riverside Estate

paula deen house — Paula Deen's Riverbend house drips more southern charm than most classic Paula Deen recipes drip butter.

Hey y’all, anyone want to buy a home? Because there’s one for sale in Savannah, Georgia with a legendary kitchen and an extraordinary family room.

It’s Paula Deen’s mansion in all its glory, and it’s dripping more southern charm than most classic Paula Deen recipes drip butter.

It’s Big

big paula deen house — With its spacious, open rooms, the house is a great place to entertain.

Deen never skips out on ingredients when it comes to her cooking, so it’s fitting that Deen designed this French Caribbean-style home with enough room to fit whatever she wanted. The main house is a speculator 14,500 square feet and is designed for entertaining with its spacious, open rooms.

“This house doesn’t have but nine rooms,” Deen told Open House NYC. “I didn’t want a lot of rooms, but the rooms I did want I wanted to be nice and gracious.”

It's Big, Part Two

paula deen guest — This guest cottage expands the square footage of living space in the estate.

But once you account for the other properties on the property, the home is much larger, with 28,000 square feet of living space.

It's Not Stale

exterior riverbend house — Paula Deen's house is the most expensive home in the Savannah area.

Deen’s home is currently priced at $8.75 million, easily making it the most expensive home in the iconic Savannah area.

It used to be more expensive. Back when it hit the market in 2015, Deen listed it for $12.5 million. After two years with no bites, she reduced the price to $8.75 million in mid-2017. It’s been sitting on the market for over three years now, but it’s not stale.

It’s Right on the River

Did you ever wonder why Deen’s cookware line is called Riverbend? It’s probably because it’s named after this home. The aptly named Riverbend mansion is located right off the bank of the Wilmington River on a 3.92 acre lot.

The Entry Hall Is Designed for Warmth

entry paula deen's house — Deen says she wants the entry to feel "that the house was wrapping its arms around you and giving you a kiss."

Paula Deen says she wanted to make sure that people entering her home would feel warm and welcome.

She told Open House NYC that she wanted the entryway to make it feel “that the house was wrapping its arms around you and giving you a kiss, and saying ‘Hey y’all, come on in!’ That was just so important, that it be comfortable.”

You Can Fish in the Dock House

dock house paula deen — Deen told Open House TV she uses a trap door in the kitchen floor to go fishing in comfort.

Across the pier is another home, a cozy little dock house cabin sitting right above Wilmington River.

You don’t even need to jump in the boats — or even go outside — to fish. There’s a trap door in the kitchen floor, allowing you to cast your line in total comfort.

The Light Fixtures Are Unique

Many of the lamps and lights in Deen’s house you can’t find anywhere else. That’s because she bought many of them from a woman in North Carolina who creates entirely new light fixtures by repurposing pieces of old ones.

It helps give Riverbend a unique feel.

There are Twin Cottages

Other than the dock house, there are two more little homes on Deen’s slice of real estate heaven: two one-bedroom guest cottages which come furnished with Deen’s furniture line, according to realtor.com.

In fact, it looks like a lot of the furniture and fixings throughout the entire home can be found in the Paula Deen Home product line.

Some Things Come ‘Shelled’

Open House TV — Deen likes the craft of “shelling,” which involves hot gluing sea shells onto an object.

Deen is really into “shelling,” a craft hobby which involves hot gluing pretty sea shells onto an object. Deen has shelled several objects in her home, including a statue head and an outdoor lamppost.

Popcorn in the Pool?

paula deen pool — Feel like watching a movie? A big screen television rises from the ground above the pool whenever you want it to.

Better get your butter-soaked tubs of popcorn water-proofed, because this house’s movie theater is located outside. Poolside, to be precise.

A big screen television rises from the ground above the pool whenever you feel like watching a movie or pulling up your favorite Paula Deen recipe on YouTube.

The Living Room Has a Secret Fridge

There’s a great big wooden dresser-looking piece of furniture in the living room, but it’s not for holding books and paper. It’s actually a built-in buffet table with freezers, refrigerators and warming drawers. It’s right behind the formal dining table, so there’s no need to run back and forth to the kitchen.

This Family Room Is for the Birds

deen family room — Deen's love of birds is evident in the family room.

Deen loves animals, including parrots. According to Realtor.com, Deen had a longtime parrot companion, and as such built an aviary into the family room.

Should the birds escape, the wood paneled cathedral ceilings throughout are high enough that your feathered friend could fly comfortably until you can coax it back to its built-in home.

And the Coops Are for Everything Else

exterior riverbend — Ducks, chickens and goats also live on Deen's property.

Deen’s love for animals doesn’t stop at birds or her dogs. She also has ducks, chickens and goats (one named Charlie) living together on this property. The goats live with the chickens in an outdoor coop, while the ducks live in a pond.

There’s also a built-in aquarium in the hallway.

The Master Bath Is Masterful

deen's master bathroom dressing room — Deen's master bathroom and dressing room features ample natural light, a candelabra chandelier and comfy furniture.

Attached to the master bedroom — which has its own beautiful fireplace — is an incredible master bathroom/dressing room with tons of natural light, a candelabra chandelier and comfy furniture.

This is likely where Deen has her makeup done before heading on down to the kitchen to cook when the cameras are rolling.

But the Home’s Heart Is its Kitchen

deen's kitchen — It's not a surprise, but Deen’s favorite room in the house is the kitchen. She calls it the “heartbeat of the home.”

Of course, the kitchen is this home’s main dish. This is Deen’s favorite room in the house, the “heartbeat of the home,” as she told Open House NYC.

The first thing you’ll notice are the copper cooking pots, hanging both above the large marble-topped kitchen island and against a marbled-brick backsplash by the stove. There’s a beautiful copper hood above the impressive oven range, and an extra double French door-style oven ideal for baking bread.

The Kitchen Is a Video Star

You can catch more inside looks at the kitchen on Deen’s YouTube channel, where she has whipped up a lot of artery-clogging goodness for the camera.

There Are More Ways to Cook Outside

outside deen's mansion — Outside there’s an outdoor kitchen with a smoker, three grills, one electric oven, an ice maker and four refrigerators.

While the main kitchen is capable of producing just about anything you need to cook, the culinary queen didn’t stop with just one kitchen. Outside there’s an outdoor kitchen with a smoker, three grills, one electric oven, an ice maker and four refrigerators.

There’s a Room Dedicated to Dishes

dish room — For Deen, there are never enough plates, cups, bowls or gravy boats. This room is stocked with all kinds of chalices, cake plates and serving trays.

For Deen, there are never enough plates, cups, bowls or gravy boats. Just look at this room — the place is stocked with all kinds of chalices, cake plates and serving trays.

There’s even a rolling ladder, which is usually in a library — although we suppose this is a library of dishware.

There Are Lots of Extras

deen rest of the house — Among other notable features in the house: A media and game room with a projector screen, a soda fountain and an exercise room.

Not everything is pictured in the listing, unfortunately, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t list what else this home has to offer.

* A 10,000-square foot “monster garage” barn

* Croquet court

* Media and game room with a projector screen, soda fountain and gaming

* Exercise room

* Koi pond

Still Looking For More?

paula deen oprah — Deen invited Oprah to her house for an interview in 2012.

You don’t have to entirely use your imagination to envision what’s not pictured — Deen did an interview with Oprah (pre-2013 controversy), which was filmed in Riverbend.