When you go property hunting, the best advice anyone can ever give you is “aim low”. No matter how gloat-worthy your budget seems to be, the kitchen will be pokier, the view will be bleaker and the neighbours will be much, much noisier than you were hoping for. But never give up! Carry on saving, master interior design trends, learn how to mould concrete or bend steel, befriend an architect – and maybe one day, four walls of an altogether more striking variety of dream home may be yours. Like these…

The Hart House, Australia

Conceived, they say, as a “contemporary interpretation of the quintessential one-room Australian beach shack”, the Hart House on the shores of Great Mackerel Beach in New South Wales is about as swanky a weekend getaway landing pad as you could wish for. It’s all pretty self-contained, with solar power and on-site waste processing, while the rainwater that falls onto its roof is harvested, too. The downside, if there is one, is this: the only access to the Hart House is by boat. Architects: Casey Brown Architecture Photographs by Rhys Holland

Planar House, Brazil

Built in 2018, the Planar House in Porto Feliz, Brazil, has that rare ‘must-have’ that many new builds overlook: a lawn on the roof. Once you’re done with the Flymo/putter, head inside to one of the five en-suite bedrooms, the gym or the playroom and enjoy the symphony of concrete, exposed brickwork and luxury woods that make up the lion’s share of this ultra-exotic pad. Cleverly, the main living areas have been built at the sides of the property, and massive glass doors turn them into semi-outdoor living space when the weather’s nice. Architects: Studio MK27 Photographs by Fernando Guerra

The House Boz, South Africa

This award-winning property in Pretoria, South Africa has echoes of a simple bush lodge, say its designers, who used a mound of quartzite rock they found when excavating as cladding throughout the house. We especially love the floating staircase, although we’re thinking that the hands and knees approach would be a good idea if rising to bed after a few glasses of the local Chardonnay. Architects: Nico van der Meulen