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March 17, 2016 Web round-up – beautiful homes across the globe

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March 17, 2016 Web round-up – beautiful homes across the globe

Clients in the market for luxury home designs generally suffer from a well-known addiction to home design websites, meaning they’re likely to be found in the small hours of the morning perusing Pinterest, Houzz et al. Not surprisingly perhaps Felton can empathise with this affliction!  Here, we take a look at some inspiring examples of home design from around the world and the web. From a slick urban hideaway to a rustic Mediterranean vibe to an eco-luxe creation on a far flung continent, these international homes all offer potential inspiration to those in search of their ‘million dollar home’ in the Australian market.

Urban Adventure

beautiful homes across the globe

This stunning urban interior shows how the trend for clean rectilinear lines can be executed for maximum effect in more custom home builders. Using premium quality materials and finishes, the architects have created luxury in more ways than one. Clearly where real estate space is at a premium, the ability to use so much of it in one fell swoop denotes luxury in and of itself. Add to this the superior quality of materials and execution and another level of luxury is immediately apparent. But what creates the true sense of luxury here is the attention to detail in the finishes and fittings. Even more significant is the design finesse that has created unexpected visual and spatial surprises, elevating a living area into an interior design adventure of sorts, rendered through multiple levels and lines of sight, and the addition of indoor water features to delight the audio and visual senses. This home, while clearly an example of the popular and timeless concept of ‘open plan’ living, is cleverly designed to create distinct zones while also working well as a unified whole. In many ways the true luxury here lies in originality, the hallmark of so many million dollar homes.

Mineral Magic

beautiful homes across the globe

Typically favouring a more understated, natural aesthetic, Australian tastes, even when it comes to luxury home designs, don’t often extend to bathtubs in the shape of gemstones. However, while a diamond shaped tub may not be everyone’s choice, there is no doubt that this whole bathroom application is flawlessly, even wittily executed. The statement fluted metallic contemporary chandelier hanging over the giant deep grey gemstone creates a curiously elegant and wry take on the concept of bling, while the marble walls almost seem to create a work of visual art in themselves and offset the whole room to create an overall theme as timeless and brilliant as the purest of minerals. Rather than sticking to the safer parameters of accepted ‘good taste’, a real sense of daring has been deployed here to create a sense of surprise and delight. There is also something harmonious and sculptural about the whole ensemble that raises it above more predictable luxury bathroom settings.

The Height of Luxury

beautiful homes across the globe

While high end fit-outs and furnishings are a time-honoured way to denote luxury, it’s often the space between them that really speaks volumes. This project by Hillhouse Interiors (UK) epitomises a luxe-yet-liveable approach that has seen the company build numerous award winning homes catering to the luxury market. The interior shot shows how extending the ceiling height of a living area over two or even over three storeys can turn an elegant room into a soaring space, with the graceful fall of the chandelier serving to emphasise the height of the space while also creating a visual anchor between the floor and ceiling. Vertical expansions are the hallmark of many luxury home designs, and while such heights might normally be expected to create a sense of the overwhelming, the sophisticated warmth of this living area, stabilised by luxe soft furnishings, feature pieces, artworks and accessories successfully achieves a cosy yet airy feel.

Rustic Charm

beautiful homes across the globe

This cavernous bedroom with its open vaulted ceiling seems to encapsulate French Provincial charm and bohemian sophistication in one go. The time-worn, burnished floors, neutral palette and natural materials including timber, leather, stone and linen soft furnishings create an age-resistant sense of authenticity and rural earthiness. Unlike many ‘million dollar homes’ the fit-out here is relatively sparse, with what little decoration there is residing mainly in the weighty traditional bedframe, elegant chandelier and ornate fireplace. The main emphasis is undoubtedly on solid, well-considered spatial design, great finishes and timeless materials. Yet while all may appear unadorned and unpretentious, there is undoubtedly a sense of luxury in the spacious nature of this bedroom retreat, where an impressive fireplace and seating within an elegantly arched alcove offer a separate zone for relaxing or even eating and entertaining, and a built-in bookshelf allows this zone to double as a library of sorts. Well suited to classical or colonial style homes, this aesthetic can also be applied in modern settings, where timber and natural elements marry with a more modern design theme to create a sense of rustic appeal.

Eco Luxury

beautiful homes across the globe

This impressive multi-bedroom home in India demonstrates how the use of sustainable timber along with natural stone and related materials, as well as well-considered spatial design, can create luxury modern homes that also have a minimum impact on the environment. Particularly interesting and potentially relevant to the Australian market, is the home’s use of indoor/outdoor living, utilising lush planting and the natural attributes of the site to create a sense of encroaching nature embracing the home. The planting also offers the added benefits of air purification and calming tranquillity that create a sense of wellbeing for which no price tag is too high. A key element of the luxury on offer here is the sheer balance offered by a well thought out property including natural ventilation and solar glare protection, which makes it truly at one with its setting.  As with all beautiful homes, clearly it is also an aesthetic triumph that focuses on clean lines, strong horizontal rhythms and harmonious articulation to create a whole that is both visually pleasing and functions to its maximum potential.

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