By JUSTIN BERGMAN
The Associated Press

MILLBROOK, N.Y. -- In Peter Wing's bathroom, as well as the rest of his house, rubble has been turned into art.

Pieces of porcelain from an old milk maid's cottage dot the floor in a mosaic design. Sitting atop a long narrow stand is a delicate sink, which was a Victorian bird bath in its former life.

On the other side of the room, in an alcove that looks like it was carved out of the stone wall with an ice-cream scoop, Mr. Wing has fashioned a bathtub out of a deep, bulbous flower pot. Ionic columns on either side of the tub are all that remain of a Civil War hospital that was torn down in 1974.

Gathered debris

Nearly every stone, brick, floorboard and piece of glass in Mr. Wing's home has a similar history. Culled from demolition sites across the state, he has lugged tons of the debris to a small corner of his parents' old dairy farm 75 miles north of New York to build his dream home.

And what a home it's turning out to be. Nearly 30 years in the making, the ''medieval'' castle is an eclectic mix of architectural styles and personal tastes. It looks like an old English castle that exploded and was rebuilt by African, Spanish and Tibetan craftsmen.

Among the quirks: A moat runs beneath the house, connecting a hot tub to a Japanese fish pond, while a spire was left unfinished to give the appearance of ruins. The living room is filled with 19th-century furniture and curios and features a 25-foot wide fireplace modeled after a European church facade. A ship's hull juts out as a balcony and carousel horses dangle from the rafters.

Cooking is done on a wood-burning stove the size of a small sedan. And Mr. Wing says some of the stones in the castle's exterior walls date back to the Revolutionary War, coming from a mill in Pleasant Valley that used to make rope for George Washington's army and a tavern in Williamsdale.

Such a home is bound to draw visitors. So the Wings' castle has also become their livelihood. As well as an obsession for Peter.

''When I was a young man, I'd seen places like this,'' says Mr. Wing, a wiry 52-year-old with long, graying hair pulled back in a ponytail. ''In Fresno, there's an underground garden where a guy spent 30 years with a pick and shovel digging. . . . I thought this is great, but who the hell would want to do it? And I was talking about myself. It's very strange.''

Eschewed normal life

Mr. Wing and his wife, Toni Ann, broke ground shortly after he returned from Vietnam in 1969. Newly married and in no hurry to grow up, Mr. Wing said they delayed following a ''set blueprint in life'' -- getting jobs and starting a family -- to build a home where they could get away from the rest of the world.

They didn't follow any rules. After being scoffed at by several masons and carpenters, the Wings decided to just ''wing it.''

No blueprint. No architecture books. So, a structure that was supposed to be a barn ended up being a castle. When the silos started to resemble castle spires, the Wings quickly changed their plans. Mr. Wing assures, though, the house does stand up to code.

The couple had to scavenge for materials. With no money, they went to nearby Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, where massive urban renewal projects were under way, and hauled away as much as rubble and debris as they could. About 80 percent of the castle was made from the recycled materials, he estimates.

When the castle began to take shape, it attracted so many curious visitors Mr. Wing began to charge admission. His home became a tourist destination and a highlight of the county's economic revitalization plan, making him more local celebrity than ''kook.''

Building a grotto

Although the six-room main house has been completed for years, Mr. Wing's been busy working on a grotto for another outdoor hot tub and a patio area in the back for guests. The additions are meant to give the Wings enough space to open a bed-and-breakfast sometime in the next three to five years.

But Mr. Wing doesn't seem in any rush to get to that stage. He's taking his time on the additions, filling them with rock sculptures, which is another hobby and part-time career.

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