Midcentury modernism is among the most beloved architectural styles and regularly tops the ‘most wanted’ list for would-be-buyers. But while not everyone can own a Le Corbusier original, it’s possible to sample the modernist life – for a short while at least.
This cache of modernist holiday homes stays true to their architects’ designs, from the clean lines of Le Corb to the Usonian vision of Frank Lloyd Wright. Soak up the sun while you drink in the architecture…
Weaving House, Florida, USA
2 bedrooms; from $250 per night via BoutiqueHomes
With carefully preserved interiors and many of its original details still intact, Weaving House is a chance to step back in time. Architect Mark Hampton designed the Lakeland holiday home, and its current custodian – midcentury expert and author Andrew Weaving – has mixed existing pieces from the home with vintage furniture finds, turning it into a haven for Modernist aficionados.
Chez Georges, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7 bedrooms; from €5,723 per night via Design Hotels
This hilltop home in Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Teresa neighbourhood is a slice of Brazilian Modernism. Designed by Wladimir Alves de Souza in 1974, the house’s floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto views of Sugarloaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a separate recording studio, secreted below the modernist holiday home’s swimming pool.
Palm Springs dome home, California, USA
3 bedrooms; from $245 per night via BoutiqueHomes
Inspired by the geodesic designs of Buckminster Fuller, this desert home was built in 1956 by a chemical engineer as a weekend getaway for his family. It fell into disrepair before LA-based architect Pavlina Williams got her hands on it, restoring its midcentury charms and turning it into a modernist holiday home. Take a closer look around its restored spaces.
Eppstein House, Michigan, USA
From £258 per night via Airbnb
This 1951 home by Frank Lloyd Wright has undergone a recent top-to-toe renovation. Original details have been carefully restored, while salvaged period pieces and original furniture by the architect emphasise the property’s historic atmosphere. Design buffs can settle in for a good read, choosing from shelves well-stocked with architecture books. Take a tour of the modernist holiday home.
Le Corbusier, Marseilles, France
From €75 per night via Boutique Homes
Located in Le Corbusier’s imposing Radiant City housing project, this Marseilles holiday home is a chance to taste life in a Modernist landmark. The studio has been completed renovated following fire damage, with its interiors returned – as much as possible – to their original state, and filled with a mix of midcentury pieces and antique finds.
The Prellerhaus, Dessau, Germany
Multiple rooms; from €40 per night via Bauhaus Dessau
Former tenants of this Dessau apartment block read like a who’s who of the Bauhaus, with everyone from Marcel Breuer and Josef Albers to Marianne Brandt and Anni Albers having called it home. Rooms are on the spartan side but have been carefully preserved and filled with furniture that pays homage to the building’s historic inhabitants.
Buff & Hensman House, Hollywood, USA
3 bedrooms; from £2,313 per night via Airbnb
Designed in 1960 by Buff & Hensman, and recently restored by LA studio Commune, this post and beam home – tucked away in the Hollywood Hills – has huge living spaces, double height ceilings, and its own pool. Reclaimed timber frames the exterior of the Los Angeles property, while inside guests can lounge on leather furniture in front of the fire.
The Palmer House, Michigan, USA
3 bedrooms; from $425 per night via Home Away
This secluded Ann Arbor home, by Frank Lloyd Wright, sits in two acres of woodland, striking a distinctive profile with its cantilevered roof. Angular details continue inside the home, which features unusual triangular flooring and original geometric furniture also designed by the architect, and dating back to 1950.
Sinatra House, Palm Springs, USA
4 bedrooms; from $2,600 per night
Dive into the legendary piano-shaped pool at Sinatra House, which was designed by E Stewart Williams in 1947. The four-bedroom Desert Modernist property was the first home purchased by the singer and the site of much Hollywood revelry. Palm trees frame the outdoor pool, while inside vintage furniture and fittings take interiors back to the 1940s.
Read next: Stay in restored geodesic dome home in Palm Springs
