Just as you should never judge a book by its cover, so it seems that neither should you judge an unassuming – vaguely dreary – modern Russian house by its exterior. Go through the keyhole of this seemingly humdrum 11-year-old abode on the outskirts of the city of Irkutsk and you emerge in an ornate fantasyland palace with furnishings fit for a tsar. It truly is the Sistine Chapel of suburban real-estate. And it could be yours, because it’s up for sale. Fancy a guided tour? You’d better put your sunglasses on. According to estate agent Sloboda, which is selling the property, ‘the interior decoration of the house is in the palace style using elements of the Baroque and Empire style’ using ‘premium materials’, which include marble and granite. Fancy a guided tour? You’d better put your sunglasses on There are huge chandeliers, lavishly upholstered sofas and armchairs, huge decorative rugs and more gold-coloured embellishments than you could shake a royal sceptre at. It’s 620 square metres of unbridled finery. And it appears that the sale price includes a grand piano in the living room, too. Sloboda says on its website that there are five bedrooms with dressing rooms and private bathrooms. Outside, meanwhile, are ‘lawns, a pond, a waterfall, three cedar arbours and a bathhouse’. Plus, there are two garages for four cars. There is also an office with ‘presentable’ furniture, a bathroom and a waiting room – the property, which is in the suburb of Novaya Razvodnaya, is being touted as a residential building or ‘office of a large company’. It’s definitely a golden opportunity for someone.