When does a hotel become a home and when does a timeshare become ownership? These are the questions which race to our minds when we came across NOT A HOTEL.

This unusual loft apartment at the De Loods building has a storied past, having undergone various uses from a chocolate factory to a paper recycling plant. In its latest incarnation, the warehouse was rebuilt as loft apartments.

The Blue Mountains national park to the west of Sydney is well known for its "dark skies". It is therefore fitting that a house named Night Sky, located in the highest town in the Blue Mountains, should feature an enormous oculus perfect for star gazing.

Aston Martin - the esteemed marque beloved of James Bond, has teamed up with S3 Architecture to design a country residence which is just to Live and Let Die for. Located in Hudson Valley in upstate New York, Sylvan Rock is a mere 2 hours away from Manhattan but feels like a world away from the metropolis.

Ahh - America - the land of big landscapes, big dreams, big successes; and with big houses to match. Case in point is this 6,000 square feet family home set in a 14 acre plot in the bucolic idyll of rural Connecticut.

Those who think lofts are all about industrial details and multiple shades of grey should take a long look at the Beldi Loft. Designed by architects Zoe Chan and Merlin Eayrs, this converted shoe factory is full of unexpected charms.

 From the outside, this handsome villa in Helsingborg, Sweden is a textbook example of classic restraint. Inside, the ground floor apartment is a surprisingly elegant combination of old and new. 

Located on the dramatic coast just off the mythical Highway 1 near Carmel, the location of the Serenity house is rather hard to beat.