If winter days are proving a drag, we’ve got an escape plan for you…

The Spaces has scoured the coastlines, jungles and deserts everywhere from Costa Rica to Koh Samui to bring you a collection of sun-drenched holiday homes for sale, created by top designers and architects.

Trancoso jungle retreat, Brazil

6 bedrooms; $1.9m via Christie’s International Realty
Muxarabi Villa was designed by architect André Luque in 2014 and sits at the top of Trancoso’s cliffs, surrounded by the thick Atlantic Forest. The six-bedroom Brazilian holiday home comprises two overlapping pavilions that are wrapped in a muxarabi skin. This design ‘alludes to the famous Bahian lace,’ says the architect, and it helps to naturally ventilate the villa, while creating a dappled-light effect across its interiors.

Shared living spaces are tucked into one volume of the property, with rooms opening onto the swimming pool and secluded rear terrace. Muxarabi Villa is part of the Altos de Trancoso community and is also just 10 minutes walk from Trancoso’s Quadrado.

Boyd Ferguson’s Cape Town hideaway, South Africa

3 bedrooms; R27.5m via the Dogon Group
South Africa’s Boyd Ferguson has become the go-to designer for luxury safari retreats and hotels, and he’s honed his skills in his own Higgovale home. The three-bedroom townhouse is a calming sanctuary. Its interiors have been deliberately ‘toned down’, as not to distract from the unobstructed views of Table Mountain.

Rooms inside the South African holiday home feature a palette of chalky whites and soft grey tones alongside natural materials. The kitchen is made from bleached timber and can be totally concealed from view, with knots in the wood doubling as handles.

Clifftop House on Maui, Hawaii

3 bedrooms; $2.8m via Liam Ball
This sculptural Hawaiian island home on Maui rises from the clifftop like a jagged rock. The Kahakuloa retreat was designed in 2006 for a windsurf designer by Ljubljana-based Dekleva Gregorič Arhitekti and features a dramatic zig-zag roofline which unites the ‘village’ of living spaces beneath.

Echoing the textures of the surrounding environment, rooms inside the 2,175 sq ft Hawaiian holiday home have Ipe floors and timber slatted ceilings. Cabinetry has been custom-designed in bamboo plywood.

Laem Sor Villa One, Koh Samui, Thailand

5 bedrooms; $5.5m, via Unique Estates
Sitting on a raised position on the southern tip of Koh Samui, this 1,500 sq m villa looks straight out across the Gulf of Thailand. Living spaces – wrapped in plantation shutters – open onto the tropical gardens and a 14m pool.

The Thailand home comes with five ensuite bedrooms and a separate apartment, as well as staff quarters. You can try before you buy, renting it via Asian Luxury Villas.

Golfer’s retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

3 bedrooms; $2.495m via AZArchitecture
Lake|Flato Architects puts a contemporary spin on Desert Modernism with the Brown Residence, on the 15th fairway of Scottsdale’s Geronimo Golf Course. The three-bedroom home was built in 2009, and is designed to blend into the arid terrain.

Shady overhangs cool the Arizona property, which has a weathered steel exterior and vast glass planes that capture mountain views. Interiors meanwhile have 14-ft-tall oak ceilings and wood-panelled walls, and the master bedroom has its own private courtyard. Two guest bedrooms are connected to the main house by shaded walkways, and a sunken patio leads to the steel-wrapped infinity pool. Take a look around.

Waterside villa on Bonaire, Caribbean

3 bedrooms; $2.2m, via Sunbelt Realty
Designer Piet Boon gave traditional salt miners’ cottages a new spin on the Caribbean island of Bonaire, off the coast of Venezuela. ‘The villas in Bonaire are always in the sun,’ explains Boon, ‘so I tried to design it in a way where the wind is blowing through the space and you don’t need air-conditioning all the time.’

Villa 72&Sunny sits right on the waterfront, next to a cluster of homes designed by the Dutchman. You can also try this one before you buy, via Design Hotels.

Cliffside villa in Montezuma, Costa Rica

4 bedrooms; $2.5m via Boutique Homes
LunaTica Lounge is a colossal holiday villa set within three-acres of jungle, overlooking Montezuma’s Playa de Las Manchas. The Costa Rican holiday home is designed as a stack of white cubes, and offers over 6,100 sq ft of living space: white walls and concrete floors are teamed with wooden partitions, and huge openings which help keep the jungle home cool. A sculptural floating staircase leads up to four bedroom suites. LunaTica Lounge comes with 3,000 sq ft of outside deck space, and a curving lap pool overlooking the ocean.

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