Five Amazing Villas Straight From Your Dreams
|A typical villa is probably located in a nice part of town with some green space round it, a swimming pool and a nice modern interior. But luxury villas, the ones you can only dream about, are something to behold. These are statements of grandeur and style intended to marry superb indoor and outdoor living with cutting edge decor and mind-blowing scenery. To get one you’ll need a pre-credit crunch executive-sized bank bonus and a suitably large plot in an exotic part of the world with room for the architect to wield some AutoCAD magic. If that doesn’t paint an accurate picture of your personal circumstance, then check these out instead.
Villa Storingavika [Bergen, Norway, pictured above]
This Norwegian villa is on the Bergen archipelago, and is very different to either the traditional French and Italian villas, or their contemporary cliff and beach side cousins in Thailand. Villa Storingavika has the sort of space and unrivaled views that few can claim in Thailand or the busy French Riviera. The home is rendered in glass and stained black wood, perched on a rocky hillside and designed to best face the Norwegian weather. There is no swimming pool, but a huge lake within throwing distance of the lake more than makes up for that.
Alila Villa [Bali, Indonesia]
The Alila Villa in Bali is scheduled to open in early 2009. It’s perched on a plateau between huge cliffs and picture-pefect ocean views over Ulluwatu on the Bingin Peninsula. The development offers a range of villas for a private retreat, each with hotel-grade facilites to look cater to your every need. With a cliftop bar, restaurant, spa, fitness centre and wedding lawn, it’s safe to say that all of these villas are accompanied by top class facilites. All 87 units come with their own pool with spectacular views.
Beyond Villa [Phuket, Thailand]
Thailand is the new home of the super villa with clean lines, lots of white walls and great big swimming pools. Tropical beaches are one thing, but when you want to just relax and enjoy being alone, private villas are the way forward. This home has a master bedroom with its own private pool, and the whole home, all 6,000 square metres of it, is electronically controlled so that you don’t have to worry about a thing. It occupies a prime plot overlooking the Andaman Sea on the Southwest coast of Phuket and is few dozens steps from traditional French villas.
‘The View’ [Patong Harbour, Thailand]
The owner of this stunning villa used to work on the New York Stock Exchange but moved to Singapore where, after visiting Thailand every weekend, he decided to get into real estate and rent out large villas to tourists visiting his adopted homeland. His taste, and ability to spot fine villas is evidenced in his own villa that looks over Patong Harbor, from a height over almost 200 feet above the sea. He says he built this multi-million dollar villa for one reason: the view. Geared towards hosting parties, the villa has sensible living quarters upstairs and a party space downstairs complete with swimming pool, sound system and lighting. Thinking of buying something similar? You’ll need to find a generous banker willing to give you a home loan for around USD $2.5 million, which isn’t going to be so easy in the current economic climate!
Villa Nackros [Kalmar, Sweden]
This is a villa like no other: the whole living environment floats. The 165 ton structure is totally safe though, sitting securely in the water: wind, waves and sea ice won’t stop you from enjoying this home. Located on the Eastern coast of Sweden in the town of Kalmar, this home has six rooms and a kitchen; it’s crammed with technology to enhance the whole idyllic experience.
alila villas
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Tagged: exotic destinations, holiday houses
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Also by TOM BECKER
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I was just recently introduced to the work of artist Misaki Kawai. I must say that my interest in her work has since become something of a creative obsession. Her trippy, child-like figures and animals, painted in the most expressive, perfectly satisfying candy colored hues, are more than enough to send me running for the bag of jelly beans and jolly ranchers hidden in my cupboard. Read more
Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen’s design for the Copenhagen national library is a celebrated structure in the already glittering design portfolio of northern Europe. The marble and glass façade of The Black Diamond (yes, that is what their national library is called) is an example of architectural brilliance, with even the angled walls designed to best mirror the city’s beautiful canals.
Tarot cards, folk music, Charles Manson, ballet, freaks and geeks, and Patty Hearst can all take responsibility for being some of the inspiration’s behind the Australian fashion label, Lover. It’s all too clever and witty to ignore. Each collection adheres to a specific narrative and a central character. Read more
Beast is a new collaboration between the Montreal-based French producer, Jean-Phi Goncalves, frontman of the electro band Plaster, and singer Betty Bonifassi. Their sound inhabits a place where the cinematic grandeur of Portishead meets the immediacy of Rage Against the Machine. Bonifassi calls it ‘trip rock’, invoking the way haunting choirs and glitchy electronic bits run underneath saw-toothed bass and grinding guitars, and she may be onto something. You can download their single Mr Hurricane for free via the Music Download section of this site.
We got the inside word from Josh Diamond of New York experimental group, Gang Gang Dance, on the music that is moving him right now and he started off by propping the beautiful Ryuichi Sakamoto track, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence: ‘It’s just an amazing piece of music — serene, austere (in a heavy, beautiful way), emotional, a great mix of electronic sounds, patient, and a wonderful melody, with a quality of yearning for a better place. Every time I listen to this song, it puts me in a trance’. Read the rest of Gang Gang Dance’s Secret Playlist.
In my next life, I want to sing like Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Oh, and grow a lush beard, so I can play in their band. Better start cracking.
There’s no shortage of bands channeling the surf rock and psych of the 1960s, but the Super Vacations’ sloppy vocals, drunken guitar riffs, and blown out production give them a knowing swagger that has as much in common with Beat Happening and Thee Headcoats as with the Pyramids. They seem to take pride in how bad they are live, but their debut record shows a lot of potential.
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From an artist selection of t-shirts comes this limited edition David Bray illustrated silkscreened tee, distributed in a vinyl sleeve with a biography of the artist on the back of the sleeve. Every t-shirt is numbered and signed by the artist, and comes in organic American Apparel cotton. We like! Read more
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David Hayes said | 5 December, 2008
Not Bad but you will have to have a look at the Leaf House in Brazil. The architects Mareines +Patalano (http://www.mareines-patalano.com.br/)were inspired by Brazil’s Indian architecture to produce this flowering roof, low-tech eco-efficiency creation. Perfectly suited for the hot and humid climate where it stands in Rio de Janeiro .The roof acts as a big leaf that protects from the hot sun all the enclosed spaces of the house, such as the verandas and the in-between open spaces. These last two types of space are the main social areas, the essence of the design. They allow trade winds from the sea to pass trough the building, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling.
There are no corridors and inside and outside are almost fused. Rainwater is harvested from the roof for re-use. With its natural finishes, organic aesthetics and richness of details, the house is in harmony with the exuberant Brazilian nature.