This northern California cabin by Mork-Ulnes Architects is clad in tar-coated timber and sits atop a concrete plinth – measures that both help protect the structure from heavy snowfall. More about Mork-Ulnes completes California ski chalet coated in black tar
London designer John Pawson has completed the seventh property in Alain de Botton's Living Architecture series: a Welsh valley retreat with a dark skin and a pale interior (+ slideshow). More about John Pawson's Life House is a Welsh countryside retreat built from dark and light bricks
This clifftop holiday home by British designer John Pawson presents white windowless facades to its guests, but at the rear large windows and a roof terrace face towards the sea (+ slideshow). More about John Pawson completes bright white holiday home on Japan's Okinawa island
This zigzag-shaped holiday home in northern Portugal features a series of stepped levels, designed by Lisbon architecture studio Camarim Arquitectos to evoke "a walk in the countryside" (+ slideshow). More about Casa na Gateira zigzags to follow the topography of a Portuguese mountain landscape
Osaka studio Process5 Design created this weekend retreat in western Japan to accommodate activities that are usually impossible in a city house (+ slideshow). More about T Weekend Residence by Process5 Design lets residents dine and bathe in sea breeze
Architecture studio GAFPA used low-cost materials to build this Japanese-inspired weekend retreat in northern Belgium, which features a slender spiral staircase (+ slideshow). More about Belgian holiday house by GAFPA takes its cues from Japanese architecture
Canadian studio Cargo Architecture used a restrained materials palette for this woodland vacation cottage in Quebec, which has a swing seat and a wood store built into its facade. More about Cargo Architecture completes Scandinavian-inspired holiday home in Quebec
This tiny stone cottage by Patterson Associates provides a remote honeymoon retreat on the rugged coast of a New Zealand peninsula (+ slideshow). More about Honeymoon retreat by Andrew Patterson nestles on shoreline of a New Zealand peninsula
Australian firm Inarc aimed to find a middle ground between luxury and efficiency for this holiday house, built beside a seafront golf course on the outskirts of Melbourne (+ slideshow). More about Inarc completes "efficient, yet extravagant" retreat on Australia's Mornington Peninsula
Architect Luciano Kruk and his girlfriend Ekaterina Künzel designed themselves this concrete holiday house, which is set among a grove of maritime pines on the Argentinian coastline (+ slideshow). More about Rooftop pool offers sea views at Luciano Kruk's board-marked concrete summer house
Both levels of this holiday house on Spain's Costa Brava feature rooms that can be completely opened out to the elements, allowing residents to make the most of good weather (+ slideshow). More about Casa 1217 by H Arquitectes features rooms that can be indoors or outdoors
Portuguese studio Aboim Inglez Arquitectos has converted and extended a century-old farmhouse near Lisbon to create a series of holiday homes overlooking the Alentejo plains (+ slideshow). More about Aboim Inglez Arquitectos adds bright white extension to farmhouse in rural Portugal
The A-frame exterior of this mountainside cabin in Whistler was designed by Canadian studio Scott and Scott to mimic neighbouring 1970s chalets. More about Scott and Scott completes mountainside cabin in Whistler for family of snowboarders
Imagine staying in a concrete summer house that sits among dunes on the Argentinian coastline, or a pair of rural Icelandic cottages with burnt timber cladding. These beautiful holiday homes from Dezeen's archive proved popular on Instagram, so we've created an entire Pinterest board full of remote retreats.
Follow Dezeen on Pinterest | See all the holiday homes in our archive
More about Holiday homes from all over the world feature on Dezeen's new Pinterest board
This timber holiday home by Nantes studio Atelier MIMA is designed to follow the gentle slope of a wooded valley that leads towards the Vilaine river in north-west France (+ slideshow). More about Atelier MIMA completes timber-clad holiday home overlooking a river in rural France
Dezeen promotion: holiday makers can stay in houses designed by Peter Zumthor, Piet Hein Eek or John Pawson by booking through online network Holidayarchitecture (+ slideshow). More about Rent out and stay in architect-designed homes through Holidayarchitecture website
Architecture studio Morrow + Lorraine has been given the go ahead to build a set of clifftop holiday homes on the Isle of Portland, England (+ slideshow). More about Morrow + Lorraine to build five holiday homes on England's Jurassic Coast
To allow parents more time in bed, Russian architecture studio Ruetemple has added a play area above the master bedroom at this summer house to keep the children occupied (+ slideshow). More about Ruetemple adds children's playhouse to bedroom in Russian summer house
This island holiday home designed by Norwegian studio Lund Hagem is sheltered beneath a wide concrete canopy, which bridges the surrounding rocks to frame views to the coast for occupants (+ slideshow). More about Concrete canopy shelters Lund Hagem's Norwegian holiday home from the sea breeze
Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura reconstructed a 19th century townhouse to create this Porto guesthouse, which is arranged around a pair of secluded courtyards (+ slideshow). More about Porto flat by Eduardo Souto de Moura features a pair of tranquil courtyards