8 enviable homes where every day feels like a holiday getaway

“The floor finishes are either smooth or rugged; cemented pebbles meet smooth local limestone and textured wooden flooring,” Griem says. “The furniture was made locally with rugged hardwood and linen upholstery. The outdoor areas are decked with textured materials and feature modern furniture.” 

The luxurious retreat includes a former bread oven that has been repurposed into a cosy reading nook, as well as the “Bali House”–a transplanted cabin that the client inherited and imported from Bali in a shipping container. 

This guest house exudes rustic charm with its exposed wood, natural stone, and rattan furnishings, enhanced by warm African-inspired wallcoverings, upholstery fabrics, and artefacts.

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Designed by Istanbul-based architect Beril Khalaf, this 5,059-sq-ft residence in the exclusive Yalikavak neighbourhood offers breathtaking views across the bay to the Aegean Sea from its prime location on the tip of the Bodrum peninsula in Turkey.

Originally a modest four-bedroom house, Khalaf transformed it into a six-suite haven that blends Scandinavian aesthetics with bohemian elements. 

The living room, once dark and confined, now features expanded windows and an elevated ceiling that floods the space with natural light; while a concealed fireplace creates an inviting atmosphere year-round.

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“The property is located on a hill, so we designed the garden in layers, with each layer having a different purpose," explains the founder of Beril Khalaf Interiors. “The top part is an outdoor gym, while the level below is a kids’ sand pool, and the lowest level has olive trees, fruit trees such as apple, pear and banana trees, and various vegetables.”

“In the middle of the garden is an infinity pool constructed with local marble and furnished with sunbeds,” she adds. “It connects to a terrace linked to the living room, where there’s also a firepit for cold nights or toasting marshmallows.”

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Each bedroom suite reflects careful consideration of its occupants’ needs–from the master bedroom’s sweeping bay views through full-length windows, to playful wallpaper in the children’s rooms, and convenient minibars in guest suites.

The residence also prioritises sustainability, incorporating solar panels and rainwater filtering systems to operate independently of traditional utilities.

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French interior designer Stéphanie Coutas has transformed this six-bedroom villa in the picturesque coastal town of Saint-Tropez, France, into a contemporary home exemplifying coastal elegance with its sweeping Mediterranean views.

The renovation involved strategic layout changes to the original 1980s structure, with the former ground-floor kitchen becoming the master suite and the garage converted into a new kitchen with verdant views of the tree-lined entrance.

While preserving select historical elements such as chrome details and shiny handrails, Coutas incorporated natural materials like travertine, marble, and wood in luxurious finishes, along with curved elements to soften the villa’s rectangular architecture.

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Large sliding doors in the main living room create a seamless indoor-outdoor connection, while off-white walls, Crema Nova marble flooring, and light beige furnishings establish an airy atmosphere.

This design philosophy extends to the bedrooms, where each suite features its own colour scheme and custom details, including oak headboards upholstered in tactile fabrics.

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The expansive outdoor space features a wealth of inviting gathering areas, including two lounge spaces separated by an olive tree.

“The area by the pool did not initially offer an inviting space to sit, so I used plants and greenery to introduce natural shade and to divide the huge volume of space,” Coutas adds. “We also ensured that the spectacular sea views remained unobstructed while using strategic landscaping to provide natural shade and define different zones.” 

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Located just outside New York, this summer and weekend haven for a multigenerational family draws inspiration from Sicily’s Catania, known for its distinctive volcanic sand-infused stucco and white limestone buildings.

American architect John Ike blends Italian villa grandeur and the essence of la dolce vita with Latino-Mediterranean influences, inspired by the Ike Baker Velten partner’s recent trip to Guadalajara, Mexico.

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Setting the residence apart from other Mediterranean-style houses are black stainless-steel windows and lighter limestone terraces that complement the verdant landscape and ocean views. 

Inside, black terrazzo floors and reclaimed wood ceilings add textural depth to the white plaster walls, serving as a canvas for colourful furnishings that exude mid-century charm and Latino-Mediterranean cultural influences.

Working with Mia Jung, director of interiors at Kligerman Architecture and Design, and Guadalajara-based interior designer Bibi Huber, Ike incorporated both vintage and contemporary elements throughout the home.

The grand living room, with its 4.8-metre-high ceiling, houses four distinct areas, each with its own colour scheme: the drinks area features a timber-legged bar and bronze bamboo shelving, while the white-toned fireplace seating area showcases a Pierre Augustin Rose sofa and Lindsey Adelman’s Cherry Bomb pendants, harmonising with an Ettore Sottsass Burma Totem.

Meanwhile, Italian architect Gio Ponti’s tiles add vibrant touches to the bathrooms, while rough stucco ceilings in the bedrooms feature carefully curated textiles that create unique identities while maintaining a sense of calm.

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After falling in love with the landscape on her travels, interior designer Chlöe Elkerton of E&A Interiors acquired a 0.8-hectare plot near Sri Lanka’s Galle Fort and transformed it into an enchanting holiday home that accommodates eight guests.

Nicknamed Braganza House, the property retains much of its original flora, including jack trees and large palms. 

Elkerton drew inspiration from her travels to Morocco, Zanzibar, India, and the Mediterranean, while celebrating the natural coastal surroundings with its resident monkeys and peacocks.

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Traditional elements like fretwork and local craftsmanship harmonise with handmade encaustic tiles, refurbished Dutch doors, artisanal fabrics, and scalloped walls. 

Through hand-carved rosette doors, the light-filled sunken sitting room with its vaulted ceiling opens onto a Bejmat-tiled courtyard. Here, a breezy verandah, finished with large patterned porcelain tiles, serves as both a breakfast spot and gathering space, overlooking the undulating pool and countryside beyond.

Additionally, the elevated pool, organically shaped within the gardens, required exact levelling, careful shaping, natural gradation, and a vibrant terrazzo finish. Though challenging to construct, it remains Elkerton’s most cherished addition to this cross-cultural haven.

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Perched on a rocky desert mountain at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, this expansive coastal residence with breathtaking views of the Sea of Cortez draws inspiration from Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s philosophy of simple spaces with honest materials and water elements.

Designed by Ponce de León Barragán Arquitectos and spanning 12,500 sq ft, the home’s large cantilevered entrance features limestone and stucco walls that flow seamlessly from exterior to interior, while reclaimed Indonesian teak claddings complement the desert landscape. 

The main level houses dining areas, a wine room, and a commercial-grade kitchen for entertaining. Concealed sliding doors transform these spaces into a mountaintop pavilion when opened; whereas multiple water features, including reflective ponds and a 4,000-sq-ft outdoor swimming pool, weave through the open-plan layout.

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Meanwhile, instead of a conventional stairway, linear floating ramps lead to the upper level, featuring a recreational room with a bar and three ocean-view guest suites.

Texan interior designer Rania Nasser of RN Interior Design complemented the surrounding vistas and precise architecture with a minimalist curation of contemporary Italian furnishings and art.

“It was important for me to not take away from the architecture and allow nature and the views to become the focus,” she elaborates. “We opted for warm wood tones and a neutral palette layered with rich textures and monochromatic patterns for interest and depth.” 

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Within the exclusive villa complex of Trisara in Phuket’s secluded Nai Thon Bay, an English couple’s redesigned residence showcases the fusion of traditional Thai vernacular architectural style mixed with Western necessities and sensibilities.

Sprawling over 7,400 sq ft, the H-shaped property features eight villa units with distinctive Thai-style roofs, with innovative features that include movable screens for flexible space configuration and glass-ceilinged showers that maximise natural light and views of the Andaman Sea.

Led by Philippa Thorp of London’s Thorp Design, the redesign replaced the original orange roofs and dark wood flooring with a richer, more sophisticated palette featuring honeyed walnut floors and white pebble walls.

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Pale linens and fabric-panelled surfaces maintain a fresh, airy atmosphere, while touches of green and blue echo the natural environment. 

Furthermore, Thai craftspeople contributed their expertise, incorporating antique furnishings from nearby markets and traditional Thai garments as wall art.

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Accommodating up to 16 guests in sophisticated comfort, each unit boasts a double bedroom, ensuite, and dressing room. 

“There is a lovely internal garden, which one bathroom in the original house looked out onto through a window. I loved this feature, as it let so much natural light into the space,” Thorp shares. “So, we built the other bathrooms to mirror this and designed glass ceilings for the showers to maximise the light streaming into the space.”

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On the idyllic Greek island of Antiparos, founders Raphaël Le Berre and Thomas Vevaud of Le Berre Vevaud collaborated with Greek architects Stella and Achilleas Dimitriadi to create a residence that harmonises with its rocky landscape and sweeping Aegean Sea views.

Spanning 7,534 sq ft, the seven-bedroom home drew inspiration from Charles Deacon’s elliptical curves and Jacques Couëlle’s utopian modern designs, adapting gracefully to the site’s undulating topography.

The vernacular architecture used locally sourced materials, such as shale rock in the terrace, crafted into expansive pergolas that provide shelter from the harsh Cycladic elements.

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Large sliding windows forge an effortless connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, while strategically placed vertical slits and skylights illuminate subterranean areas, creating what Vevaud describes as a “captivating scenographic atmosphere.”

Smooth concrete walls and floors serve as a canvas for carefully curated art and furniture from prestigious Athens galleries–a showcase of the designers’ signature style in combining art deco elements with exceptional craftsmanship and refined colour schemes.

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