A Home Away From Home II

Four years after the publication of the first A Home Away from Home, our fascination with exceptional private houses has only grown stronger.

The thirty distinctive guesthouses presented in this second edition share that spirit. They are places where architecture, landscape and hospitality come together naturally; places conceived not merely to accommodate travellers, but to make them feel that, for a few precious days or weeks, they genuinely belong there.

Some are deeply personal homes whose owners have opened their doors to guests. Others are remarkable architectural projects created around a particular landscape or way of life. There are houses shaped by the sea and others surrounded by forests, olive groves, vineyards or mountains; intimate retreats for two and generous residences made for families and groups of friends. What connects them is not a particular style or destination, but a certain attitude toward living. From a restored centuries-old house among the rolling hills of Tuscany to a secluded sanctuary surrounded by tropical vegetation in Sri Lanka; from the elemental beauty of a Cycladic island house overlooking the Aegean to a contemporary loft immersed in the energy of Athens, these homes show how wonderfully diverse the idea of a home away from home can be.

Architecture naturally plays an important role, yet these houses are not included simply because they photograph beautifully. The most memorable homes are those in which design becomes almost invisible once you begin to live in them. Natural light, tactile materials, open kitchens, shaded terraces, gardens and swimming pools become part of the rhythm of the day. Indoors and outdoors merge, the surrounding landscape enters the house, and carefully designed spaces encourage a wonderfully unstructured way of living.

This second volume of A Home Away from Home is not simply a collection of thirty beautiful guesthouses. It is an invitation to discover thirty different ways of living well. Each has its own identity, atmosphere and story.