The design, created by Andrés Jacque, an architect with his own firm in Madrid, took two years to create. The primary objective was to have as minimal impact to the surrounding landscape as possible.

So the home, which sits on a steep slope, was set on stilts, following the contours of the land, as opposed to cutting into the slope to make a flat plot. In addition, no trees were felled during construction. Instead they were incorporated into the interior of the home, with tree trunks running through the floor and ceiling and popping out the roof.

“The building site manager thought it was a ridiculous, romantic idea to make his life more difficult,” Mr. Jacque said, referring to the challenge of incorporating the trees into the design.

Construction began in 2007 and took two years and 500,000 euros (about $685,000) to build the five-bedroom home, where Mr. Polanco now spends weekends and free time between art fairs.

The house is split into three units, or cabins, as Mr. Polanco calls them: one houses the kitchen, living room and main bedrooms; the other two are for guests. The aim was to create the feel of cabins in the forest, independent from one another, but linked by common living areas, Mr. Polanco said.

The cabins are constructed of metal frames topped with concrete to keep them cool in the summer.

The railings were painted yellow-green — “the color of the youngest leaves in the valley surrounding the home,” Mr. Polanco says — while the frame and stilts raising the cabins above the ground were painted purple, to convey a sense of fun, he added.

All three cabins have enormous glass windows, exposing the inside to a breathtaking view of the woods tumbling down to the beach.

The windows were bought in Madrid and driven to Valencia in a truck, where they were loaded onto a boat for the island. “Some materials and furnishings were impossible to find here,” Mr. Polanco said. “Thatâ€s the hardest part about being on an island.”

Inside, the walls are painted sky blue. “We even got a machine to measure the blueness of the sky, which we tried our best to replicate by mixing paints,” Mr. Polanco said.

The space below the home continues the theme of Never Never Land, with a recreational room complete with a ping pong table, a dart board, large speakers for when Mr. Polanco holds parties, and access to an infinity pool.

Next up for Never Never Land is the installation of another infinity pool, but with a built-in wave machine.

The design for Enrique Polanco’s home was created by Andrés Jacque, an architect with his own firm in Madrid. The primary objective was to have as minimal an impact as possible on the surrounding landscape and so the home was set on stilts to avoid cutting into it.

Mr. Polanco, an art fair promoter in Madrid, decided to build a second home on Ibiza, some 100 miles from the Spanish mainland, “to escape from real ife in Madrid.” He took his inspiration from the fictional character Peter Pan and named his home Never Never Land.

No trees were felled during construction of the home. Instead they were incorporated into the interior, with tree trunks running through the floor and ceiling and popping out the roof, as seen here in the living area.

Trees can also be seen in the kitchen and dining areas.

There are five bedrooms in the house, including the master bedroom. All overlook the valley and have views of the island and water. Construction began in 2007 and took two years and 500,000 euros (about $685,000) to build.

A guest cabin, as Mr. Polanco calls them. The house is split into three such cabins: one houses the kitchen, living room and main bedrooms; the other two are for guests.

An infinity pool overlooks the valley. Mr. Polanco plans to build another one with a wave machine.

The closest beach to the house is Cala Vedella. Mr. Polanco spends weekends and his free time between art fairs at his home. When he is working he lives in Madrid. Ibiza is an hour’s flight.

Originally appeared in the New York Times

Any way, the most usual water house is on the boat, a floating boat or maybe a wooden house built on some wooden poles that turns into a floating house when the water level is high. But this kind of house can now be very modern and nice looking because architects were inspired and wanted to bring some style into this kind of house, too. The best example is this unique water house that is located in Amsterdam, the famous city that is built mostly on water.

The architects (+31 Architects) gave up the traditional material and used aluminum instead of wood. It is lightweight as well, but it is a bit more glamorous and shiny and also modern. The interior walls are plastered with white plastic and you can find only modern furniture in there. The house opens on Amstel River and you can go out on the terrace and even on the shore through the wide sliding glass doors.

You will find all the necessary rooms in the two stories of the building and you will notice that the rooms are full of light thanks to the big windows and wide skylights. This is  a  new way of taking and old way of living.

via Home decorating trends