Ireland Modern Lines Overlooking the Bay Perched dramatically on the edge of Dublin Bay is a modern house made of limestone, granite and a 150-foot wall of triple-strength glass, facing the water, that holds off the area’s strong winds. The two-story residence, located in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey, has four bedrooms, all with en suite baths, as well as an interior glass bridge, a high-tech screening room (the house was commissioned in 2006 by writer-director Jim Sheridan) and a swimming pool carved into the rocks below. $11 million
The Hamptons Nineteenth-Century Revival Completely reconstructed in 2006, an 1820 clapboard house in Southampton, New York, has six bedrooms, 6.5 baths, seven fireplaces and warm interior details, such as wide-plank oak floors and paneling imported from England. The landscaped grounds include sweeping lawns, a pool with brick decking and a poolhouse that was converted from a carriage house. $8.25 million.
New Jersey New Life for a Storybook Property In Stockton, 70 miles outside Manhattan, designer Rick Nordling reimagined an 1860 barn, turning the outbuilding into a three-story, light-filled house with modern amenities. The interiors of the 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath residence honor the old structure’s rustic origins, with antique yellow-pine flooring and the structural timbers and stonework left exposed. The rear elevation overlooks the 75-acre property’s pond. There’s also a workshop and a stable. $3.35 million
Washington A Contemporary House on the Links Following in the Pacific Northwest’s rich tradition of wood houses is a two-story residence completed in 2005 by Seattle architect Tyler Engle. The cedar-sided, metal-roofed house sits on roughly half an acre, just off the eighth tee of the Canterwood Golf and Country Club in Gig Harbor. Engle’s 4,628-square-foot open plan is thoroughly engaged with nature, thanks to his generous use of windows and French doors. There are four bedrooms and 4.5 baths. $1.58 million.
Australia An Island Paradise with Echoes of Richard Meier The northern Gold Coast of Australia, on Ephraim Island, is the location of a new residential development by Mirvac that includes a range of apartments and villas and 14 beach houses. With its simple geometries rendered primarily in glass, steel and concrete, the progressive architecture of the beach houses recalls the “white Modernism” of celebrated American architect Richard Meier. Each of the 14 units has a four-bedroom, four-bath floor plan with multiple oversize exposures. The island boasts a 115-berth private marina. $4.1 to $4.875 million.
North Carolina Intricate Details and Secret Spaces in a Greensboro Manor Adamsleigh, a Tudor-style residence designed by noted Winston-Salem architect Luther Lashmit, was built in 1930 for High Point textile baron J. H. Adams. Its interiors—there are 22 rooms, with 10 bedrooms and 9.5 baths—are characterized by murals and artfully done woodwork, molded plaster ceilings and tilework. The study’s wood-paneled walls contain hidden bookcases and a secret door to a spiral staircase. The 13-acre grounds include a carriage house, two pools and tennis courts. $4.8 million
Kiawah Island A South Carolina Refuge with a Nod to Nature On Cormorant Island Lane, amid the pastoral marshland that is home to a multitude of wildlife, including fiddler crabs, egrets and the street’s namesake bird, sits a Shingle Style estate with a two-bedroom, two-bath poolhouse, a two-bath carriage house and a watch-tower. The porch and deck space alone cover some 4,500 square feet. The great room in the main residence is notable for its antique heart-pine flooring and mahogany ceiling beams. The property also has a deepwater dock. $12.75 million
Montecito Sweeping Views in Southern California Architect Bob Easton created an expressive Spanish Colonial Revival design, reminiscent of Wallace Neff’s great 1920s houses, on a secluded 32-acre hilltop. Each room in the 7,650-square-foot, four-bedroom, 4.5-bath residence is oriented to have commanding views of the valley and the ocean. The owners, who designed the interiors, had an infinity-edge pool installed a mere two steps away from the master suite. The grounds have trails with areas intended for meditation. $15.95 million
Idaho Log Cabin Luxury in Salmon River Country Singer-songwriter Carole King’s 128-acre ranch in Stanley has a five-bedroom, two-bath main lodge, a caretaker’s house, a recording studio with a guest apartment, eight historic log cabins and, overlooking Warm Springs Creek, the singer’s own two-bedroom residence. Geothermal springs feed outdoor pools for swimming and for soaking. $19 million.
New Zealand An Angler’s Getaway That Makes the Most of Its Natural Setting The nationally renowned historic ranchlands of Stanfield’s Bushey Park comprise approximately 2,348 mostly beachfront acres in the South Island town of Palmerston. The area, which is known for its wildfowl population and exceptional fishing, is deeply rooted in New Zealand’s Maori culture, and the property itself includes a 13th-century hunting village. A slate-roofed three-bedroom plantation house with a wraparound porch occupies a portion of the sea-sprayed site. $11.8 million
Arizona Custom Comfort in the Phoenix Area A contemporary residence with four en suite bedrooms and 5.5 baths occupies three acres of Barry Goldwater’s former estate in Paradise Valley. The copper-roofed house, with views of the city skyline, Camelback Mountain, the Buttes and the Estrellas, has sprawling rear patios, an infinity-edge pool with mother-of-pearl tile and a multilevel putting green. $12.95 million
New York Historic Convergence in Manhattan In 1920 a 22,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom, 12-bath house was created by combining two separate residences—one designed by Lamb & Wheeler, the other by John H. Duncan—on architecturally significant East 67th Street. The five-story Milbank Mansion (it also has garden and basement levels) features a limestone Beaux Arts façade and a Tuscan-inspired loggia. $59 million