A quintessential English look. Soft, muted, feminine, atmospheric, timeless and most of all beautiful. The work of stylist, art director, interior designer Catherine Huckerby. (Previous post here.)

Refined and elegant, muted colours and old family antiques, stunning views and a pool perched on the edge of the valley. Glen Athan at Berry in the Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales. A 105-acre retreat with a house that blends Australian heritage design with contemporary luxury. Love the wide rustic floor boards, the tongue and groove walls, the wonderful old 12 pane windows and the view. An impressive family pile. For sale here while the link lasts. One would need lots of new money to buy this old money farmhouse.

I truly, truly believe that New Zealand is the most spectacular country on this earth. And if I wanted to sip fine wine, dine with a view and hot tub with an amazing vista then I might just have to do it at the Matakauri Lodge on Lake Wakatipu just minutes from Queenstown. Summer would be amazing but can you imagine winter? Light the fire, warm up the tub, amazing skiing is calling and if I could well… I would. I really, really would.

Melbourne architectural firm Six Degrees (the name derives from the chilly temperature on the iconic Nylex clock the day names were being discussed) is known for embracing human scale in their work, raw materials used in unexpectedly rich, quality finishes, materials that age and tell their story with time, layering and the Japanese concept of “gomi” or utilising unwanted objects,  re-inventeding them to suit a new purpose. Although now more widely know for their high use commercial and cultural spaces it is their smaller, domestic designs that I think really embrace their ideas of human scale, rich layering, reuse and raw materials.

In the heart of the Marches in Italy is a 300 hundred year old farm that combines tradition with the modern, minimalist with the sensory, rough walls with streamlined severity, luxury with simplicity. 360 degree views meet bastion like walls. Infinity pool reaches forever and cool stone is cave like. Casa Olivi, heritage protected, has been renovated by its owners into a luxurious holiday home. Design by Swiss architects Markus Wespi and Jerome de Meuron. This stylish piece of Italy is available for holiday let. More information at Casa Olivi. ***Update: Now available to rent via Paradizo Private Collection