Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Vacation Homes
Top Ideabooks
What's Your Summer Home Style?
From tropical retreats to mountain cabins and lakeside cottages, there's a summer getaway for everyone. What's yours?
Houzz Contributor. You can also find me on Lolalina (http://www.lolalina.com/), my blog devoted to all of the things that make a house a home - decorating from the heart, living with intention, and savoring life's simple pleasures.
Houzz Contributor. You can also find me on Lolalina (http://www.lolalina.com/),... More »
Nearly every year, my family makes the long drive from Providence, Rhode Island, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to vacation in a rental house on the beach. At some point during the drive, we inevitably circle around to a favorite topic for discussion: If you could buy a vacation home anywhere you wanted, where would it be and why?
Would it be an oceanfront beach house, a rustic retreat miles from anything, a lake house close enough to drive to every weekend? Imagining the possibilities makes the hours in the car pass (a little) faster, and you never know — maybe someday we will get to have our very own piece of vacation paradise. Indulge in a little daydreaming with these 11 sublime homes in summery locales, and join the discussion by telling us your favorite in the comments section.
Would it be an oceanfront beach house, a rustic retreat miles from anything, a lake house close enough to drive to every weekend? Imagining the possibilities makes the hours in the car pass (a little) faster, and you never know — maybe someday we will get to have our very own piece of vacation paradise. Indulge in a little daydreaming with these 11 sublime homes in summery locales, and join the discussion by telling us your favorite in the comments section.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 1. Clean-cut New England style. This lakefront property is made up of sturdy shingled structures and wide expanses of perfectly groomed lawns. Between the massive main house, three-bedroom guest house, and barn (shown here), there is plenty of room for extended family and friends to drop in all summer long. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A wide screened-in porch with a dining area and deck means there is plenty of room to relax and enjoy the view. See more of this lake house |
|
by KellyBaron
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 2. Your own private dock. Boating and fishing fans will surely want to snap up a home like this one, complete with private boat dock. Located on Lake Joe in Canada, the property includes an 1800s boathouse (seen here) that's outfitted with two boat slips and room for guests to stay. See the rest of this home and boathouse |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 3. Beach house on stilts. This Florida island beach house perches on stilts right on the sand. You can't get much closer to the beach than that! |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| An oceanview pool atop the deck looks like a splendid place to while away an afternoon. See more of this beach house |
by Joel Snayd
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
4. Family-friendly beach house. This Tybee Island beach house near Savannah, Georgia, is full of fresh color and laid-back beachy style. From easy-care floors and fabrics to the conveniently located shower and laundry, everything in this home is designed to handle daily traffic with ease.
by Joel Snayd
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The front porch sets the tone with its bright, cheerful yellow and blue palette and painted floors.
by Joel Snayd
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Upstairs in the sleeping loft, rooms with twin beds are sectioned off with simple white curtains to make maximum use of the space.
See more of this beach home
See more of this beach home
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 5. Summer in a small French village. Design blogger Stephanie Brubaker lives in this charming cottage in the Dordogne Valley with her husband and children year-round. But as long as we are daydreaming, wouldn't it be lovely to spend summers in France? Imagine falling into the rhythm of village life, shopping the markets each day and relaxing over delicious dinners and wine in the evenings outside your own stone cottage. See more of Stephanie's medieval French cottage |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
6. Tropical idyll. Perhaps the Pacific beckons you. This beachfront home in Hawaii has drop-dead gorgeous views from the lanai. Just looking at this photo makes me feel more relaxed — imagine how it would feel to have this as your home base in the summer!
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
7. Vintage lakeside charm. Sometimes it's nice to have a retreat a bit closer to home. This lakefront home in Maine brims with charming touches, from the hammock on the porch to the welcoming rooms inside.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This house would be a wonderful place to call home in the summer — or on weekends throughout the year, for that matter. It's the sort of place where you could return with family year after year, settling into a slower pace of life and soaking in simple pleasures. See the rest of this home |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 8. Woodsy cabin. This petite cabin on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest fits in beautifully with the surrounding landscape. I imagine that staying here would make you feel worlds away from the stresses of regular life. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The cabin may be diminutive, but it is packed with smart features such as an open floor plan and loft bedroom. The high quality of workmanship shows in everything from the gleaming wood floors and beams to the jigsaw-like stone patio.
See more of this small cabin
See more of this small cabin
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 9. Big Sky country. This family cabin retreat sits in a spectacular valley in the west with wide-open vistas on all sides. It's a prime spot for fishing, horseback riding and other outdoorsy pursuits; adventurous spirits will never run out of things to do and explore here. See the rest of this family cabin retreat |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
10. Remote writer's hut. For those looking for solitude — whether to hone a creative practice or simply to meditate — a postage stamp-size cabin like this is all you need. Located within a larger property that also contains a main house and other outbuildings, this writer's hut is designed to provide an "away" place within range of a good home-cooked meal and company.
See the rest of the property
See the rest of the property
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
11. That old Cape magic. There is something incredibly appealing about having a summer house close enough to zip out for the weekend on the spur of the moment — a place where you can keep things simple, where the most difficult item on your to-do list is finding the freshest fish for dinner. For those in the Boston area, one favorite spot that fits the bill is Cape Cod. It's just a morning's drive away, yet when you wind your way down those shell-covered driveways and smell the ocean breeze wafting through the trees, you are transported worlds away from the busy city.
See the other spaces in this home
Tell us: Which of these summer homes is your favorite? If you could own your own vacation house, where would it be?
See the other spaces in this home
Tell us: Which of these summer homes is your favorite? If you could own your own vacation house, where would it be?
Comments
Becky Harris I love them all! Great picks!
10 months ago · Like
Hugh Wolfe My favorite is the small cabin on Orcas Island... one I've spent time on Orcas Island myself and two I like small.
10 months ago · Like
Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Beach house on stilts, yes please. Thanks for sharing. Charmean
10 months ago · Like
trufflesisbest Something on the hill by the tower overlooking la croisette, in cannes.
10 months ago · Like
shelleymize The Vintage Lakeside Charmer is the ke I would choose, but I would move it from Maine to the shores of Lake Michigan, which would make it the perfect weekend and summer retreat for our family.
10 months ago · Like
· 2
2
Bright Bold and Beautiful anywhere oceanfront ~ love these pics!!
10 months ago · Like
debgneuman Tubee or any of the other islands off the coast near Savannah
10 months ago · Like
glinda702 My favorite is the house on Cape Cod. It offers both the nice fresh green of the woods and the ocean. Living in Las Vegas, I especially envy locations such as that.
10 months ago · Like
amy_davidson Lake house two hrs away gets my vote! Spending our third summer in our lake house; no t.v. - just books, no restaurants - just gourmet meals at home, nothing to do but spend quality time with family and friends:)
10 months ago · Like
Amanda Simons Maine! Anywhere in Maine is a winner in my book. Orcas Island and Lake Joe are close seconds though
10 months ago · Like
1annabelle "Old Cape Magic" doesn't look like the Cape at all
10 months ago · Like
Laura Gaskill @1annabelle - Hm... I know different parts of the Cape all have their own look & character - this looks nothing like the P-town area, for instance, but reminds me a lot of the area my family likes to go camping. Having wooded areas so close to the beach is one of the things I love about the Cape!
10 months ago · Like
alibonelli I think I would like to spend a week in each of them before making a final decision!
10 months ago · Like
· 1
1
fredericklc I'll take one of each, but my first stay will be in the cabin under the Big Sky.
9 months ago · Like
James Karukas California Central Coast, no a/c, no porch screens, Wine Country, mountains, bay, ocean, dunes, still affordable.
9 months ago · Like
sandymcm3 France, Big Sky, Tybee Island - I love all of them. I think my best bet is to spend a couple of weeks in a lot of different places and then see if I fall in love with any of them or want to keep trying new places.
9 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on July 13, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
