6 charming country homes from around the world

The best of rural country life in six photos

From a cosy cottage in rural Ireland to a large estate in the rolling hills of Tuscany, Living in the Countryside celebrates the very best of rural life in Europe.

Rustic retreats from Britain, Ireland, Sweden, France, Greece, Italy, Majorca and Greece have been selected by the book publisher for their unprecedented style and character. Each home offers a unique sense of tradition and culture based on the region and country it inhabits.

You will be transported from a higgledy-piggledy fairy-tale house in England, to an idyllic artist's retreat in Majorca, via a rustic farmhouse in Normandy. The ways in which creative individuals have found refuge, tranquillity and inspiration away from city life will become apparent and are enough to lure any city-dweller into the heart of the countryside.

From fresh garden flowers to crisp white bed linen, each of the 400 photographs included in Living in the Countryside offer a bounty of inspiration, whether it's for sprucing up your country home or injecting an air of the countryside into your town house. Highlights include properties such as the French artist, Le Corbusier's holiday home, Le Cabanon on the Côte d'Azur and the family home of the beloved Swedish painter, Carl Larsson.

Here are a few of our favourites...

1. Varpet, a turn-of-the-century home on a Swedish island Southeast of Stockholm

family home with yellow paint and sash windows

(Image credit: TBC)

2. A bath at La Commanderie de Lavaufranche, a hospital turned country ch

âteau in Limousin, France

old room with fire place and chair

(Image credit: TBC)

3. The guest room at Tenuta di Trinoro, in Sarteano, Tuscany - sparse but inviting

bedroom with old wooden cot and white mattress

(Image credit: TBC)

4. The pink stucco salon at Le Mas d'Esto, a proven

çal home owned by Princess Siki of Somalia

living room with old sofa and coffee table

(Image credit: TBC)

5. The vaulted kitchen in Tuscany's Villa Belsedere has been meticulously preserved

kitchen with damaged wall and copper vessel

(Image credit: TBC)

6. Tomatoes, cheese and local wine spread out in the kitchen at Il Belvedere, a Certano, Tuscany, home

dinning room with dining table and chair

(Image credit: TBC)

Living in the Countryside is available to buy on Taschen and Amazon.

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Heather Young
Editor

Heather Young has been Ideal Home’s Editor since late 2020, and Editor-In-Chief since 2023. She is an interiors journalist and editor who’s been working for some of the UK’s leading interiors magazines for over 20 years, both in-house and as a freelancer.