Across eras and continents, certain styles of home are considered classic, boasting an appeal that’s both long lasting and highly coveted. Many properties that adhere to a traditional style are bound by specific aesthetic or architectural parameters. But occasionally, a home is built or renovated in such a way that it preserves all the charm of its traditional style, while also breaking with that tradition in unique and unexpected ways.
Here are three examples of homes that bring the best of both worlds, upending convention while still being paragons of their particular era and archetype.
A Masterfully Remodeled Masseria
Traditional rural dwellings are found across the world, with deeply rooted histories of farming families that lived off the land. Especially recognizable are the masseria of Italy and the finca of Spain—walled compounds and complexes inhabited by landowners and their laborers in centuries past, and designed to act as defensive miniature fortresses.
– Italy Sotheby’s International Realty
Today, in more peaceful times, the iconic masseria of Italy are highly prized as country residences. This is because their multiple buildings make for expansive estates—not to mention, they’re bathed in the Southern European sunshine. This beautifully restored masseria is especially desirable due to its location on the Sicilian coast and the imaginative ways in which its historic elements have been repurposed for modern living.
Basins that once would have collected and stored water for the families that lived on the property now feature as three stunning, stonework swimming pools. Heritage exteriors contain contemporary, light-filled interiors naturally illuminated by wide, windowed doors. The ancient barricades that once protected the home now only guard the garden, where verdant Mediterranean flora—flowering carobs, prickly pears, olive trees—border on the Vendicari nature preserve.
A Creatively Converted Farmhouse
Farmhouse conversions are popular due to the wide variety of design and lifestyle options they offer. With their spacious interiors, vaulted ceilings, exposed structural elements, and sturdy fixtures, they lend themselves well to a modern or industrial aesthetic while also having the capacity to create an ambience that’s old-fashioned, pastoral, and homey.
– Sweden Sotheby’s International Realty
This is a versatility that’s shared by limestone. As a widely-distributed sedimentary rock, it has long been excavated for the construction of quiet towns and quaint villages, yet it’s also the main material for some of the world’s most monumental buildings, and its textures can either be coarse and earthly or elegant and refined. All these contrasts are at play in this exceptional farmhouse property on Gotland, the eternally picturesque—and always popular—isle off the Swedish coast.
Along with the richly sculptural limestone walls, a host of other natural surfaces bring the buildings to life, with raw brick, carved wood, and solid boards showcasing the best of Scandinavian design, embracing streamlined simplicity and organic, weathered surfaces. It all comes together to create everything a farmhouse should be—modern and edgy, rustic and historic, and warm and welcoming above all.
A Visionary Take on a Seaside Villa
When it comes to living in perfect leisure and comfort, villas have long been considered the property of choice. Traditionally located outside city centers, they tend to provide privacy, tranquility, and access to nature. To have a mountainside or oceanside villa is to enjoy the best life has to offer.
– Italy Sotheby’s International Realty
This unrivaled residence on Italy’s Amalfi Coast takes it up a notch. Not only does the home boast exclusive beach access, but it’s connected directly to the seashore by elevator. This unification of the domestic sphere and the surrounding environment is taken even further by the fact that the home features a luxurious pool deck, spa, and al fresco dining lounge that extends from the terrace through a pristine tuff cave.
It’s incredible what can be accomplished with a novel idea and natural materials. After all, such materials have appeared in homes since time immemorial and remain resilient, reliable, and sought after in modern remodels. The three homes showcased here demonstrate how to conserve architectural legacy, while imaginatively bending the rules, by making the most of nature itself.
Looking for something a little more classic? See these five properties with designs fit for royalty.
