A fine wraparound porch is a priceless addition to any luxury home, easing the transition from living indoors and out. It’s a multi-season space for receiving guests and entertaining them, whether it’s breakfast in the east, dining in the west—or just curling up in the shade for a good book, a sundowner, or a siesta. Our great love for the porch lifestyle actually dates from the mid-19th century’s Italianate, Stick-style, and Queen Anne-style Victorian homes, when catalogs selling factory-produced millwork and ornate brackets made it easy to embrace the main structure with an elegant porch. Although the postwar modernism of the 1950s (and the advent of air conditioning) pushed the porch out of favor, the New Urbanism of the 1980s encouraged a return to the front porch as a way to foster a sense of community. The porch is back: Now get out there and relax!
This modernist lake house on Lago Maggiore offers residents and guests a haven of tranquility and connection to nature. The home is the vision of Design Haus Liberty and has been featured in architectural journals and advertising for international luxury brands. The living spaces open to a series of terraces projecting into the lakefront grounds, designed by landscape architect Colin Okashimo. The core of the house is a Zen-like garden atrium with bamboo trees. Above is a vast skylight that floods the interiors with natural light and visually connects the surrounding rooms and central staircase. The atrium also serves as a passive air and rainwater collection system for the villa. Other sustainable features include solar panels and heat pumps, which produce 60 percent of the home’s energy. Set within a pine forest, the villa’s terraced gardens capture 180-degree views of the lake, the mountains, and the sunset. Organic fruit and vegetable gardens, old Lebanon Cedars, and a boat dock add to the allure of this unique lakefront retreat, all within 28 miles of Milan Malpensa international airport and 50 miles from Milan—Italy’s business and fashion capital.
Coconut Palm Bay is a one-of-a-kind oceanfront escape on Man O’ War Cay in the Bahamas’ Abaco Islands. One of the finest sites in the Abaco Islands, this 14-acre sanctuary stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sea of Abaco with white-sand beaches on both shores, as well as a protected, private marina and a boathouse. The elegant Bahamas-style main house unfolds across 6,500 square feet with an additional 3,200 square feet of covered verandas and porches. There are three bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, family living areas, and light-filled reception rooms leading out to idyllic tropical gardens ensconced within a coconut grove. The separate guest house has the same Bahamas charm and offers 2,200 square feet of air-conditioned interiors and 360 square feet of covered outdoor terraces, four bedrooms, and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The protected private marina is another unique feature of Coconut Palm Bay, offering 390 feet of docks (nine feet wide with an MLW depth of 8 feet), a covered boat lift with 13,000 lb. capacity, and a boathouse. The estate also includes a 5,000 gallon a day reverse-osmosis water-filtration system with 200,000 gallons of rainwater capacity.
This private estate in the historic seaside community of Falmouth is among Cape Cod’s finest harbor-front properties: The four-acre, elevated peninsula includes a large deepwater dock and views of Quissett Harbor and out to Buzzards Bay. The property has been owned and operated as a conference facility by the National Academy of Sciences since 1975. The main residence was built circa-1908 in the classic Cape Cod style. The façade of cedar-shingle sits under a gambrel roof with turrets and multiple dormers. Inside are nearly 12,000 square feet of beautifully restored interiors with high ceilings, detailed moldings, wainscoting, and large windows to frame the views. In the New England tradition, wide, covered porches and balconies bring the living spaces outdoors. A separate, 2,300-square-foot carriage house provides a large reception hall, covered porch, and three upstairs bedrooms with a bathroom.
This elegant, contemporary two-story villa near the prestigious Quinta da Marinha golf club was designed to enjoy Cascais’ four-season sunshine and world-class recreation. The main floor opens to ample terraces overlooking nearly half an acre of landscaped grounds. The living room has a high ceiling and French doors leading out to the gardens. The formal dining room opens to the arcade-style porch and the terrace and pool deck. The L-shaped pool wraps around the main floor common space. The owner’s suite, first among six expansive bedrooms and seven opulent bathrooms, opens to the vast second-level terrace. The fully kitted chef’s kitchen offers an island breakfast bar and large pantry. An elevator and stairway serve both levels. Shower rooms and changing space adjoin the pool deck. The property is 5 minutes from the fishing village of Cascais, a traditional retreat of the nobility, and just 30 minutes from Lisbon and the international airport.
This impeccable home has an elevated setting overlooking the dunes of Hout Bay. The property offers extensive accommodation for residents and guests, including four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, a powder room, and a separate studio apartment. The indoor and outdoor areas are styled for entertainment and relaxation. The fluid, contemporary floor plan features a central chef’s kitchen and formal dining area, lounge, family room, and a study with two fireplaces. The upper-floor appointments include a primary suite with wraparound windows and a terrace and a media lounge with a fireplace. The living areas flow out to numerous outdoor balconies and patios, including a large main deck, clad in garapa hardwood, leading down to a resort-worthy pool with a louvered awning and built-in portals framing an underwater view of the dunes. A decked, double staircase majestically sweeps down to a large garden with a level lawn and another breathtaking view of Hout Bay and the mountains of the Cape Peninsula.
This custom-designed mountain home sits on more than three wooded acres in Poplar Ridge, a private gated community in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 minutes from downtown Asheville, North Carolina. At an elevation of 3,000 feet above the valley floor, the views are dramatic from every vantage—including the expansive chef’s kitchen. The centerpiece of the 9,481-square-foot home is the vast great room, with its four stacked-stone fireplaces, cathedral ceiling, and floor-to-ceiling windows. It opens to the rambling, full length covered porch, where a commodious hot tub has pride of place. Farther along are the gourmet chef’s kitchen (with butler’s pantry), dining room, den, two offices, and the owner’s suite, with a private, covered deck and a sumptuous bathroom. The terrace level provides a second kitchen, pantry, dining area, family room, bedroom, baths, media room, bonus room, storage, gym/exercise room, and utility rooms. There are five bedrooms and six full bathrooms. The home’s two levels of decks provide for alfresco living and entertaining, including a stone-encased grilling station. The third level, with its dormer and gable windows, offers a light-filled open space for study or lounging that runs the length of the house. The landscaped grounds include a level side yard for games or entertaining.
