A refuge on its own lake peninsula, Storsten, Borlänge, Sweden, SEK 11.9 million
This timber house claims its own 1.5-hectare peninsula on Lake Ösjön, between Ornäs and Torsång. Built in 1927, the 150sqm house has three bedrooms and five working fireplaces, including tiled stoves in the dining and living rooms. Its grounds run directly to the lake, with a private shoreline, jetty and sauna. There’s also a guest cabin, orchard and garden planted with apple trees, currants, strawberries and rhubarb.
A house with private beach access, Liseleje, Denmark, DKK 25 million
This 87sqm beach house has remained with the same family for around 80 years. Its 3,948sqm grounds unfurl towards the Kattegat, where a rose-covered slope ends at a private staircase down to the sand. The home received an architectural award when it was completed in 1914 and retains original details despite later renovations. A dune landscape has gradually formed along the waterfront since a breakwater was installed in 2000, adding a broad strip of sand between the garden and sea.
An island retreat reached only by boat, Alholmen, Lake Mälaren, Sweden, SEK 7.5 million
There is no road to this 2021 timber house on Alholmen. The island property is accessed in five minutes by boat, and has its own shoreline and jetty on Lake Mälaren. Its glassy 95sqm volume has four bedrooms, with water views from each, and a 200sqm deck facing west across Björkfjärden. An outdoor shower and wood-fired hot tub sit close by on the 2,510sqm plot.
A cottage between two Danish bays, Odsherred, Denmark, DKK 17.495 million
This 1968 house stands on a narrow headland between Nekselø and Sejerø Bays on the west coast of Zealand. Full-height glazing keeps the water visible from the upper floor, where two linked living rooms, a kitchen and bedroom share the main level. Four further rooms sit below, opening onto a sheltered garden. Pines grow across the 4,080sqm grounds, with the two-storey house rising above them towards the coast.
A four-building retreat in a seaside forest, Tisvilde, Denmark, DKK 8.995 million
Danish industrial designer Ole Palsby spent more than a decade building this collection of four timber structures in the forest at Tisvilde. Erected between 1988 and 2000, the buildings are structured around living, sleeping, working and making. The latest addition is a 38sqm weaving studio with a glazed wall facing the trees. Paths cross the 2,000sqm grounds between each building, with Tisvilde’s beach minutes away.
A tiny house by the water’s edge, Møn, Denmark, DKK 4.25 million
At just 27sqm plus a sleeping loft, this black timber summer house is the smallest property in our selection — and one of the closest to the water. Built in 1985 near Hårbølle Harbour on western Møn, the cabin is separated from the sea only by a low coastal barrier. Its windows face the horizon, with views towards Møns Klint across the water.
A timber house with fjord views, Trosa, Sweden, SEK 8.5 million
Designed with help from Arkitektstudio Widjedal Racki, this elevated timber house takes cues from California’s Case Study houses and Japanese architecture. The 127sqm structure stands among pines above the landscape outside Trosa, with large areas of glass facing fields, forest and the water at Tureholmsviken. Spruce floors and limestone were used liberally indoors, and a south-facing terrace runs along the house. The project was nominated for Sweden’s Träpriset timber architecture award in 2016.
A home with Kattegat views, Fuglsø, Djursland, Denmark, DKK 7.5 million
Old oaks, Scots pine, juniper and heather surround this modest timber house above the protected landscape at Fuglsø. Built in 1949, the original cabin measures 56sqm, with a 30sqm guest house added in 2018. The 6,380sqm grounds belong to an early subdivision known for its large plots and distance between neighbouring houses. Walking trails head through heathland from the property to an east-facing beach on the Kattegat.
