By Christina Arlotta
Candlelight danced across the stone walls of Mac Con Midhe Castle in Medford, in Suffolk County, as soft strains of medieval music drifted through the air, leading visitors inside. Stone lions stood guard beside the fireplace, and suits of armor cast long and looming shadows across the floor. A banquet table glowed under the light of clustered candles, while engraved goblets seemed as if they were plucked from another century.
The home — a fully immersive medieval interior built inside a Long Island condominium — is the result of an 11-year labor of love by homeowner Chris McNamee. McNamee, who restored and constructed much of the decor by hand, said her adventure began with a simple desire.
“I just wanted to live in a castle,” McNamee said. “I’ve never been to one — never been to a real castle. But people say I must have lived a past life there because they say, ‘How did you know?’ I don’t know, but I love it.”
McNamee grew up learning how to build alongside her mother, Sally, gaining skills she later applied while renovating several homes of her own. Before beginning her construction career 16 years ago, she spent years in the photo industry and later ran a childcare business in Nassau County. The castle is the first project in which she bought all those skills together to create the medieval-inspired home that she had imagined.
“I grew up learning to build with my mother, so building this has been just a lot of fun for me,” McNamee said.
Little did she know, the castle would grow beyond a personal dream to become an icon shared by her community.
It all began when, several years ago, McNamee was working outside on a set of stained-glass windows. Neighbors, who lived in the attached homes on either side, approached and stood at her entrance. One asked, “What are you doing? What do you do all the time?”
McNamee’s invitation to her neighbors marked the beginning of the life she knows today.
“I let them in, and they were absolutely floored because they’d been living next door to this for years and had no idea,” McNamee said. “You know, they saw me coming and going with wood and cutting stuff, but I never really talked to anybody, so they were shocked. That’s when I realized the cat was out of the bag.”
That night, McNamee posted photos of her castle-style home to the Facebook page for her 900-unit complex. The response was immediate. Neighbors flooded her inbox, eager for a closer look.
By Halloween, McNamee decided to host an open house, expecting only a few parents to stop by while trick-or-treating with their children. The turnout, however, exceeded all expectations.
“Two hundred and fifty people lined up, no kids, just adults … .” McNamee said. “They stayed on that line for four hours, and the people at the end said, ‘We waited because everybody who came out said, ‘Don’t leave.’ It was amazing.”
Following the Halloween turnout, McNamee decided to open her home for tours by reservation.
“Once you walk through the doorway, you are taken back in time,” Maria Mezzatesta, of East Patchogue, said. “Each time you enter this epic space, you notice something you did not take in the visit before. Honestly, you have to see it to really believe it.”
The castle has left a lasting impression not only on family and friends but also on visitors. After tours, strangers she had met only once often returned with items they thought belonged in her home.
“People come back,” McNamee said. “They come back with things that they’ve had in their basement. That big suit of armor in the dining room, for example, somebody came back with it, somebody I didn’t even know, who had come for a tour.”
Many of the decorative pieces throughout the castle arrived the same way.
When someone she knew through the Parent Teacher Association spotted a large antique table built from a castle door for sale, they contacted her immediately. Another acquaintance bought furniture from a seller who included a pair of dragon-shaped lamps.
After the home was featured in People magazine last November, McNamee shared the story with everyone she had purchased from on Facebook Marketplace.
“I kept a list of all the people that I bought things from on Facebook Marketplace, and I sent them all the link so they could see where their furniture ended up,” McNamee said. “They were just so excited.”
Even with the kindness of visitors, McNamee never hesitates to hunt down the perfect pieces herself. If she decides something belongs in the castle, distance is no obstacle.
“She’s gone everywhere to curate that space. She’ll get in the car and go to New Hampshire if she finds something she likes,” said Christine Jelley, a long-time friend of McNamee from Bayshore. “And it’s paid off because it’s her vision, her work, and she has built that place from the standard condo we all know to an experience spot. There is no stone unturned — the art, the finishings. Everything is as you would imagine a castle would be. I love it.”
Beyond house tours, the castle is available for photoshoots, including weddings. McNamee is a licensed officiant herself. Photographers have used the residence as a backdrop for music videos, murder-mystery nights and psychic gatherings, drawing crowds into the castle.
“What I believe is, what good is art if nobody sees it?” McNamee said. “I want people to see it. I welcome people to come for tours, you know, to take pictures, to post on their Facebook pages. The more people that know about it, the more people that can enjoy it, the better.”
The castle is more than a home. It is the realization of a dream shaped over a decade of dedication, imagination and hard work. From its flickering candles, stone-clad walls, suits of armor and handcrafted details, it shows what can happen when vision meets persistence and reminds us that following your passion can create something extraordinary.
“I think everybody should follow their heart,” McNamee said. “Don’t think of the end. Just enjoy the process. I’ve been working on this for 11 years. Sometimes I got a lot done, sometimes not too much. But over that time period, I love it. It was worth it.”
