If you’d rather remain on UK shores for your post-lockdown escape – and ever-shifting travel corridors might make that an easy decision – take a look at our pick of unique self-catering properties and enjoy a staycation in style.
VINTAGE HOUSE SUFFOLK
Her search has proved seriously fruitful – as well as 1970s Habitat chairs from her childhood home in the kitchen, there’s a Niels Gammelgaard sofa in the snug and Willy Guhl planters in the walled garden. Plus, a piece with a story sure to raise the heart rate of any design lover: a Charlotte Perriand ‘Les Arcs’ chair, left out with the rubbish on a central London street and swiftly rescued.
The careful edit is balanced by the building ’s utilitarian proportions and universally white walls; the result is a light, airy rural retreat that feels utterly uncluttered. It’s bookable via new membership website Kip. From £250 per night to sleep six. kiphideaways.com
THE SANDY FEET RETREAT
Cries of ‘best-kept secret’ are usually unfounded when it comes to Britain’s sandy beaches, but the coastal hamlet of Anderby Creek in east Lincolnshire is still gratifyingly unknown to the masses. It’s here that local firm Jonathan Hendry Architects has overhauled a simple two-storey dwelling directly above the beach to create a deceptively spacious three-bedroom holiday home, swiftly nominated for a regional RIBA award.
Though its floor-to-ceiling windows, both upstairs and down, frame tempting shots of the banks beyond, its raw, rosy-hued interior – inspired by the surrounding landscape – makes staying in an equally appealing prospect. From £1,395 per week, to sleep seven. hostunusual.com
THE MEADOWS
Cornwall’s enduring appeal is well earned, but hit a spell of good weather at The Meadows and you could almost believe you’re in the Balearics.
Sensitively and sustainably restored in reclaimed timber, slate and stone, the converted barn lies low in the eponymous field of wildflowers on an old farm settlement, seven miles inland from the county’s wilder north coast.
Beyond the bucolic setting and pale timber beams is a contemporary hideout for two, with a sleek concrete and lime-washed wood kitchen, chalky pink bathroom and bifold doors that lead onto a patio bordered by Mediterreanean-esque beds of lavender. Head out for transportive views and the neatly hidden hot tub. From £995 for four nights, to sleep two. uniquehomestays.com
THE EARLY RISERS
Until now, exclusive rental platform The Plum Guide, which employs rigorous review methods to rate homes on everything from shower pressure to the availability of natural light, has focused exclusively on a select group of world cities. But no longer:the site is quietly expanding its offering to include rural properties that satisfy the same exacting standards.
New addition The Early Risers could have made the cut on location alone. Built into the landscape overlooking the fringes of north Devon’s Woolacombe Beach and out to the sea, this architectural four-bedroom house is quite the seaside escape. Elegantly clad in burnt Japanese wood, the sleek, modernist exterior belies the expansive lair inside – more urban loft than countryside bolthole.
Follow the gentle levels down into the sunken main living space, with its suspended fireplace, Ligne Roset sofas and nifty bar nook. From £702 per night, to sleep 10. plumguide.com
This article first appeared in ELLE Decoration September 2020
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