Purchasing a new property is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make – but often you get to view it less times than you might a new coat. To counter this crunch, we bring you five modern homes you can try before you buy across the world.
Book a stay in these properties for sale to see if they’re the perfect fit.
Angophora House, Sydney, Australia
Angophora House is a series of floating timber pavilions, designed by architect Richard Leplastrier and completed in 2013. Echoing Japanese architecture, it is set amid the trees of Avalon, a beachside suburb of Sydney. Ultra-bespoke modern homes like this one dictate a certain way of life, ideal for some but not for everyone. See if it’s for you via Airbnb.
Keeling House, London, UK
Keeling House is an iconic piece of Modernist architecture on London’s Claredale Street, built between 1954 and 1957 by Denys Lasdun. The architect eschewed the conventional slab block in favour of a winged plan, with four blocks spanning out from a central service tower – designed to encourage interaction between residents. Munkenbeck & Marshall won a RIBA award for their renovation of the Grade II*-listed building, which included adding a glass entrance. Sample life inside Keeling House by booking a stay in this apartment via Airbnb. If you like it, here’s another with your name on it – on sale for £875,000.
Studio Furillen, Gotland, Sweden
This Swedish cabin – on sale for 35m SEK – is ensconced in a forest off the island of Gotland. Built by AQ Arkitekter, the steel-clad modern home comes complete with a gallery space, photography studio and spa. If you like the idea of seclusion but are nervous about taking the plunge, book a stay via Studio Furillen’s website.
Samuel Novarro House, Los Angeles, USA
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Jnr, this house was named after silent film star Ramon Novarro, and his personal secretary Louis Samuel, who he commissioned it for in 1928. When Navarro caught Samuel embezzling his money, he took the house in exchange for his silence and commissioned Wright to add a pergola and piano room. The house’s most eye-catching feature is its patterned copper panelling in the Mayan Revival-style – an Art Deco offshoot that became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. It’s been no stranger to the housing market in recent years, changing hands in 2006 for $2.8m and again in 2014 for $3.8m. Could you be the house’s long term owner? Test it out via Luxury Retreats. With prices starting at $7,700 a night for the three-bedroom property, we suggest enlisting some friends.
Ottensen Bunker, Hamburg, Germany
Architects Stephen Williams Associates masterminded the adaptive reuse of a former bunker in Hamburg. The 1939 building originally protected patients and nurses from the nearby Ottensen maternity hospital during air raids, but now it’s being converted into modern homes – several of which are available to buy. Each has views over the Elbphilharmonie concert hall and nearby harbour. This one-bedroom apartment takes up the converted bunker’s fourth floor and will soon be available to rent via Welcome Beyond.
