Category: Living

Looking for a place to live outside of ordinary for a season? Have a look at our carefully curated collection of Top 10 Summer Homes 2014. The architectural designs of those houses blend into the surrounding terrains and guarantees indoor-outdoor relaxation in summer.Interested in turning your own home into a summer getaway like the ones below? Talk with a professional like Quality Exterior Services to see what you can do to transform your house into your dream home.

The Whangapoua Sled House by CCC Architects
Made by a CCC Architect called Ken Crosson, this Whangapoua Sled House is nested near the sweeping shores of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. The Whangapoua Beach House has also been featured in 74^th issue of Urbis Magazine.

House in Comporta by Goncalo Salazar de Sousa
This cozy and traditional house in Comporta, Portugal is designed by Gonçalo Salazar de Sousa Arquitectos. Surrounded by the thatched roofing and other traditional elements of architecture, this house is perfect space for those who want to spend the summer season in a lazy and carefree environment.

Story Pool House by Lake Flato
A fairly open and minimal structural design of this Story Pool House by Lake Flato in Cedar Point, Texas, features a full kitchen, a semi-enclosed bath, dinning space and a storage area. Besides the dry, flat and elegant surrounding landscapes, this pool house represents clean, spacious and entirely open style of living in summer.

The Slavik Summer Houses by Mat Fahlander
When it gets hot, you may want to turn your living style into a house like this Slavik Summer house by Mat Fahlander which is nested between two Fjords in Lysekil, Sweden. The larger structure features awesome metallic touch from outside while bearing raw fir within the interior.

House in Itu by Studio Arthur Casas
This House in Itu by Studio Arthur Cases has a truly remarkable long-lined design and gets outstanding features for the dwellers. The house has a stone-lined pool, open-air living room, beautiful ceiling and magnificent structure inside-out.

Louis Vuitton / Charlotte Perriand 1934 Miami Beach House
Originally designed by Charlotte Perriand, 1934 Miami Beach House is an ideal U shaped house that sketches a sleek and lovely architectural design beside polished interior.

Boathouse at Millstatter Lake by MHM Architects
It’s quite delightful to see the outstanding engineering solutions integrating with modern architectural design in diverse environments. The Boat House at Millstater Lake has a unique blend of nature and technology which comes into action when the building literally folds down to create an external footbridge.

House A by Heidi Arad Architecture
House A by Heidi Arad Architecture belongs to those who like to become a little bit remote. The minimal yet quite expensive design of this House A, hugs nature reserve and at the same time offers some delicate features sliding doors, down to earth living space, minimal details on exterior beyond concrete and the most modern touch of living all the way from entrance to exit.

The Naked House by Marc Gerritsen
This spacious Naked House by Marc Gerritsen makes use of powerful materials like steel, concrete, wood and glass to become a real time relaxation place in both indoor and outdoor fantasies during summer time.

Lake Joseph Boathouse by Altius Architecture
Altius Architecture Inc has made this ingenious Boathouse at Lake Joseph in Parry Sound, Canada. Portraying a classic style, this boathouse features a second floor balcony, spacious deck, raised walkway and welcomes the tenants to feel the summer breeze.

Belzberg Architects group is proud to claim that they have constructed this Skyline Residence on an uneven ridgeline in the Hollywood hills within a limited budget. They employed a concept of “Carbon Neutral Economics” to undertake this awesome project. The concept implies that purchasing of all goods will be done locally to save carbon transportation emissions. It was due to the limited budget target. But, as we see the interior, hi-tech systems including photovoltaic panels, recycled products and wind turbines, we are bound to admire the achievement of Belzberg architects for finalizing the Skyline Residence for reverting back to local purchase and minimized grading.
On the terrace, a big screen is installed outdoor while the walls are made of premium glass panels. On the very edge there is a pool where you can enjoy the beautiful sights of the city. Located in Los Angeles, CA, the area of the residence is 5800 sq.ft perched atop of the hills where the supercool view of LA at night mesmerizes the residents. Since 2007, the project has won five awards for best private residence until 2009.

This is a sweet and compact and low-budget wooden house that can be an ideal living space for students or nerds. And, the low budget doesn’t mean cheap materials and abysmal design. The best of its aspects is the maneuverable nature of the structure. Yea, if you’re planning to move to countryside, take it with you. That sounds like an awesome offer promised by the company based in England. Back to the point, the real and coolest way to get this house is in it unconstructed form. The company provides almost ready materials and lets you enjoy the sweaty moments of assembling it yourself. However, if you don’t want to build your own, the company delivers it. The price is $11,000 which is pretty a mealy-mouthed claim as per the area or luxurious interior. The room is quite comfortable for one individual. The attic is equipped with a bed while a sofa, a sink and a table with a TV are downstairs.

We have no idea either what made Canadian software developer turn to be such a skillful carpenter. He constructed this beautiful but hidden tree house in the woods of Whistler, Canada. Having the tree bark as a foundation column, the house hangs on a precipitous slope of the hemlock woods. Its shape is like an egg and a plenty of room in it to spend some unforgettable nights under the starry sky. About five minutes walk from the nearest road, it’s a perfect hideout spot on weekends, or a great place for surprise engagement.

This is a beautiful house of blue tinged glass and everything in it made of glass, designed and constructed by Santambrogio Milano, in the premises of Milan, Italy. This is a series of Concept Glass house that transports excitement of nature right into the décor. If we take a bird’s eye view, it’ll feel as a blue-tinted glass cube rests in a snowing woods clearing. They have used 7mm durable glass to make everything of the house such as furniture, stairs, doors and bookcases etc. Just a few things on bed are not made of glass, as if sleep is not compatible with glass. Such transparent modular housing is apt for any location must be immersed in the heart of nature. You can turn the glass panels of walls into matte with remote control as per your mood. Last but not least, you can also customize the size of the house by its flexible modular transparent beams and columns according to your need. A replica Glass House is also under construction in Paris by the same architect.

What a better way to spend an exotic vacation under the deep Blue Sea than the Luxury Underwater Disc Hotel aka Water Discus Hotel in Dubai. The hotel has two disc structures, one is undersea and the other is above the sea. Both discs are connected by five solid legs and a lift alongside stairway is enclosed in a vertical shaft. Each disc is of a different size as per local condition. The combination will offer the guests a taste of warmer environment and the beauty of ocean depths. The hotel has a state of the art security and safety measures including weather warning system and an international earthquake warning system. Now revitalize your mind, body and soul with the top-notch underwater adventurous experience at the Discus Hotel experience with your loved ones at least for a week once in your life.

Tiny mobile cabins are wide-reaching and practical mode of dwelling for many and the innovative Wheelhaus Mobile Luxury Cabin designed by Jamie Mackay is one of them. This will give you the whole new level of outdoor experience. The angled ceiling of the 400 sq-ft tiny house is made out of recycled snow fencing alongside with bamboo flooring, LED lighting plus energy-efficient SIP and the inside feels much bigger than the 400 square feet area including a decently-sized deck to boot. You literally plop anywhere your heart desire. The Wheelhaus is offering numerous singular models including the Wedge, Caboose, Lighthouse, Rail Car, Silo and Hitch Haus. If you don’t know how to build a portable tiny home, no worries, Wheelhaus is the problem solver for you.

Owning a boat house on a lake somewhere in the wilderness is becoming a trend of the age now. Muskoka Lakes Boathouse at Muskoka Lake, Ontario, Canada, is one of those stunning and gorgeous houses you ever see. It was designed by the Ottawa based Christopher Simmonds. The house was rebuilt into a 600sq.ft house with the additional guest suite as a second floor. It features a complete kitchenette, bedroom with roof terrace, attached 3 piece washroom, a garage for 2 speed boats and a spare living space. The peripheral main volume is stained with western red cedar used on the ground floor and above. The walls are enclosed with colored cement panels and steel framed stairs with a wire lattice. The house mediates between extensive views of the wilderness and the immediacy of the forested bay shoreline involving the open lake breezes.

Beachside NY Shelter Island Vacation Home designed by the famous couple Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan is one of a kind custom build vacation residence located on the Gardiners Bay. They joined forces with Gray Organschi, an architecture firm from New Haven Connecticut to build their midcentury inspired home sweet home on the 125 acres of land. The 2,800 sq-ft one storey house architecture is a fusion of Californian, a bit Japanese and a little bit of Swedish architectural designs. It has a pool, 4 reasonable seized bedrooms and quite a few indoor-outdoor private spaces designed by architect Lisa Gray to outshine the exuberance of the couple. [VIA]

Oslo based well-known architect Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has designed the Split View Mountain Lodge, a private family holiday home in Havsdalen, Norway. This family home is located in a popular skiing destination in the valley of Hallingdal, near the Geilo village. It has a clear and clean cut expression and different views of the neighboring landscapes. The main wing has a center kitchen, two different living rooms, a dining room and other areas with floor-to-ceiling windows. He has placed tiny apertures all over the home for extra viewing angles. The interior and exterior, both are creased with the identical light timber making this home unified in one volume. The house also has the luxury of ski resorts with a freestyle terrain park right next to it and when it is not the winter season, it is an excellent hiking spot along with other sporting activities. [VIA]

Bring the middle-earth magic to your own back yard Shire with the Hobbit Hole Playhouses. The Hobbit lifestyle house features v-shaped brood clapboard roof-covering, eased edge cedar framing, stain grade trim, shiplap sulk sidings, laminate flooring and forged iron door hinges with one set of each screen and plexi-glass windows. These houses amount to be taken as perfect outdoor living in woods or lakeside. They come in two models, Little Merry house (32 square feet) and Big Merry house (60 square feet). Enjoy the play time with your little Halflings.

The first and one of a kind capsule shaped SleepBox Hotel Tverskaya opened on the Tverskaya, Yamskaya Street, close to the Belarusian Station, in the center of Moscow, Russia. This project was designed by the architects naming Alexey Poliakov, Alexey Goryainov and MikhailKrymov at the Arch group architectural firm. It got the enormous reverberation in the media after the launch. The uniquely designed hotel has expediency, console along with the pulverize interiors and it has moderately affordable accommodation. The 61 tiny rooms called Sleepboxes having a shelf, small closet, LED reading lamps with electric outlets, a desk and the optional one/two beds though they don’t have any windows or bathroom. Only 5 rooms have attached bathrooms. There are communal shower plus wash facilities are located on each floor. The guests can also have an individual storage locker for person stuff. This hotel is more like an ultramodern haven in the heart of the metropolis. [VIA]

Visualizing the time-lapse of our planet earth from early Greek and Roman City modals to the current century Utopian heavens, the eyes get dazzled to observe the uplift in technology and the mind gets blown to see the organization and managerial expertise of different cities of the world. The Economist has announced 10 best cities to live in and the yardsticks used against these ratings include crime rate, security, environment, temperature, medical care, schools, transportation system and levels of censorship. Each city has been given more than 90 points out of 100. Let’s see which one outperforms the rest.

10- Auckland, New Zealand (95.7)

9-  Perth, Australia (95.9)

8-  Helsinki, Finland (96.0)

7-  Sydney, Australia (96.1)

6-  Adelaide, Australia (96.6)

5-  Calgary, Canada (96.6)

4-  Toronto, Canada (97.2)

3-  Vancouver, Canada (97.3)

2-  Vienna, Austria (97.4)

1-  Melbourne, Australia (97.5)

 [VIA]

For the unforgettable adventure in spring, there is no place like Ion Luxury Adventure Hotel created by Minarc in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland. A truly holistic design with perfect stabilized prefabricated panelized structure and marvelous furniture made by recycled material and driftwood, framed mirrors with Birchwood, panoramic scenery of the northern mystical lights enfolded by glaciers where fire meets the ice. Drastic measures have taken in making the hotel eco-receptive, energy efficient by capitalizing abundance of natural light, geothermal power and hot water with diminished carbon trace to show the utmost respect for nature. The spectacular dramatic view of the Lake bordered by moss covered hills can be experienced form every side and enjoy natural wonders beyond imagination allow guests to frame the moments of a lifetime.
Check Here for booking if they are available on your desired dates.

Pre-existence constructions akin to the soul of nature, the Cabanas No Rio by Aires Mateus are two water-front cabins that meet this godly phenomenon. Mateus who’s already been shaking up the dormant tradition riverside inhabitancy from sleep has come up with a rustic structure made out of reclaimed timber, erected near the river Sado, Comporta, Portugal. The project comprised of two fisherman huts occupying minimal area of 26. One holds up the living accommodation like fairy-like curtained bed whereas the other cabin has kitchen counter and shower. A small pontoon coming out of doorstep and touching down the water, and the breathtaking views of the sandy and white beach of Sado overlooking from the terrace conclude to be a romantic hideaway. Enjoy the historic moments under the starry sky at $270 per night.

Mysterious yet serene, the Bermuda islands are that part of the world where the occult nature comes with beauty and magnificence. We present some terrific wallpapers for your curiosity’s sake.

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