The waterside is a popular destination when making a much needed escape from city life, a second home or holiday hideaway makes an ideal retreat. A rustic, cosy cottage filled with homemade crafts; a lakeside house decorated with the classic simplicity of a Scandinavian minimal interior; a country cabin that conceals a slick, contemporary interior when you step through the door. These are some of the peaceful waterfront getaways you can find in our Waterside Living features section; please see a selection below…
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It used to belong to her Granny. Situated far out on the edge of a quiet little lagoon on the east coast of Norway, this wooden mini 'Nantucket-like' cottage was built to house a family of four in the summer season in the 40s. At that time it was painted yellow, measuring half the size it is now and even more sober looking than it stands today. The outside loo was built on a cliff, away from the main cabin, and with the most spectacular view. The cottage was then passed on to the daughter and then again a few years ago, the young Norwegian designer Hanna inherited this from her mother when moving back from her studying in Milan. What a treasure to return to..In order to accommodate her own family of four, and her own two daughters, she has now doubled the size and got the building into a more modern state of mind, without making it into a 'house' and without anyone being able to tell when passing the property by boat. They now have a bathroom, water and electricity. This feels like luxury to them, but more than anything-it is the time being spent there together, that is the real treat… view interior feature
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Only a hundred meters to the right of the dock, where you arrive by ferry, there is a proud building, without shame, ready to show off its history and seduce its guests, albeit on borrowed time... In the white-painted Villa Wille, which was once moved in its entirety by Bernt O. Wille from Ålesund, and rebuilt as the first house of its kind in Sandvika in the year 1909, his descendants spend all their vacation time during the summer months. His daughter in law, Anna Wille, spent 30 years alone in the house until 2006, when the younger generation came back and took over the maintenance and storytelling. So the story begins here. Mr Wille was involved in the restoration of Ålesund after the great city- fire. The log buildings were left standing, and the young gentleman took the house to Sandvika in order to raise a family and run a small furniture factory… view interior feature
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If it were not for the Spanish flu, there wouldn’t have been a summerhouse here. In the years 1917-1920, thousands died in Norway as a result of this epidemic. As a special note of thank you for having cared for and saved a nearby landowner’s family, - Dr. Ringvold was allowed to pick whichever piece of land he wanted by the sea on the family’s property. He ended up with Solstrand, meaning sunny beach… This was the early part of the twentieth century in Norway, and having a vacation home surrounded by wild nature was just becoming fashionable. Forty years ago, the property changed hands, but the family who moved in, continued the tradition of mixing furniture and styles in imaginative ways. The house was taken over 'as is', and much of what was there from the previous owners, still has its place to this day. The house has three bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and a large living room with four-meter tall ceilings. In addition there’s a small cottage on the property. This cabin, originally intended for lumberjacks, now periodically houses the youngest son in the family, an artist. -It’s so quiet out here that for large parts of the day, the only sound I hear is the ocean and the winds outside, he says. Covering the walls is a mix of fishing tackle and hardware, bathrobes and old sailor-paintings, and through the window he has an unobstructed view of the sea… view interior feature
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Riant Château is a luxury residence located in a unique setting facing Lake Geneva and the Alps, built by the famous architects Polak and Piollenc in 1912-1913 on the eve of the First World War. During the Roaring Twenties this ultra-modern attracted personalities linked to the world of cinema and originally included several large apartments for wealthy families and a cosmopolitan clientele seeking discretion. A renovation turned this former 20th Century palace in Montreux-Territet into apartments that still attracts many foreign followers of anonymity. Former hosts include Charlie Chaplin, Alain Delon and Freddie Mercury. The mysterious and invisible entrepreneur who lives here with his in-laws, between sky and lake, turned to the talented decorators Lyon and Dominique Herve Giughese to add the finishing touches to his penthouse apartment. Throughout the day in this beautiful residence with its pure white décor, the changing light brings different contrasts to the pieces, giving an extra life to the choice of the simply furnished with tones of baroque. The light and shadows, sitting on a large roof terrace with the cry of gulls, the sound of the wind, the house offers a variety of environments outside of time… view interior feature
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This phrase, coined as it was by a country musician, and later appropriated by the punk-scene is anything but the equivalent of simplicity as many take it to mean. On the contrary, it requires hard work, the ability to improvise, historical knowledge, and a whole bunch of will-power. It just looks and sounds simple. Like a good architect’s work. Walking from cabin to cabin between the rock-formations, and from room to room, it dawns on us that what the owners have created here isn’t just an updated version of the “summer-cabin”, but an alternate cabin-universe altogether… view interior feature
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Inspired by the turn of the century cruise ships, architect Emmanuel Lenys designed a house much like a vessel run aground on the island of Re. Wild moorland descends gently into ocean rocks and at low tide many passers-by walk through the tranquil shores of this very secret beach; quite by chance when out for a walk, Myriam discovered an old house abandoned by the sea. It was in February and with architect Emmanuel Lenys, they made a bet to spend the holidays in this new residence. The challenge was set! In just nine months the construction and renovation, carried out by André Blanchet was complete. The main concern of all those involved was to respect as much as possible the wild aspect of the environment. The main body of the building, more than thirty metres long, used the dry stone native to the island and its nautically styled carpentry integrates seamlessly with the site, creating a continuity of materials. All objects were found during the nine months of construction, in France and England, some to reinforce the same theme: the sea… view interior feature
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