A Fantasy Second Home, A Place to Escape the World

Do you have a second home, a home away from home? I don’t but I dream sometimes of having one, a place to get away from everyday life  and just sloooow down for a bit. If you had a second home, what would it be? Are you the “cabin in the mountains” type, the “beach cottage” type or the “anywhere-but-here” type?

A few years back I purchased this Better Homes and Gardens book on Amazon. It’s filled with lots of inspiration for daydreamers like me. Pssst: I just checked and you can buy it brand new on Amazon right now for $4.95 or Used for a penny. I like the subtitle: Finding Your Place in the Fun.  Yes, please!

Second Home

 

Today we’re touring a second home that’s pretty amazing, inside and out! As beautiful as this room and the following rooms are, I think you’re going to love the last part of this tour.  Eh, eh, eh…no peeking ahead, she says wagging her finger. You’ll spoil the surprise!

I love a spacious living room that can accommodate different seating areas. How do you like the built-in shelving, great for books and decorative pieces or collectibles, aren’t they?

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

The wood walls and paneling are so pretty, adds a lot of warmth to the space without feeling dark. Beautiful hardwood flooring, too!

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

Lovely dining room…

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

We get a tablescape on this tour!

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

The master bedroom is spacious with lots of pretty mood lighting.

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

The kitchen is cozy but still a nice size. Not bad for a second home, right?

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

Wow, check out this bathroom–the stone in the shower is gorgeous!

Oh, I forgot to show you the outside of this second home, didn’t I?  I think you’re going to love it! 🙂

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer

 

So what do you think? Could you suffer to spend some time here? 😉

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

As beautiful as the inside was, it doesn’t compare to this!

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Not bad for a second home, huh?

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Plenty of room for entertaining friends and family…

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Did I mention there’s a hot tub?

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Wow, does this look good this cold winter’s day!

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Imagine dining here at sunset. Sitting back with a glass of wine, watching the sun slowly drop below the horizon. ~~~SIGH~~~

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Another pretty table setting…

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

Definitely a fantasy second home! Did you guess what the “outside” looked like when we were touring inside? 🙂

Beautiful Yacht Designed by Tom Stringer Design Partners

 

You’ll find additional photos of this beautiful yacht at Tom Stringer Design Partners where these pictures were found.

What would your second home look like? Yeah, I know it’s February but spring is coming and until then we’ll dream of places like this and “finding our place in the sun fun.”

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Comments

  1. WOW,WOW,WOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! What a DREAM! I would be happy to just be able to RENT it for a week each year! Goegeous!!!!

  2. That would be fab at anytime…but after this looooong winter of cold and snow, I’d jump at a chance to ‘second home’ there for a week, or two.

    Nan

  3. Doreen Krajzel says

    Hi Susan;
    I would have never dreamed this was a beautiful sailing vessel! I thought it was a house somewhere. Surprise surprise! The inside and furnishings are absolutely gorgeous. I could do with some warm sunny time! Thanks for showing us this wonderful dream world. Love and Hugs, Doreen

  4. Gosh, I don’t know if I could stand so much awesomeness! Forget a second home, I would move right in!!! Thanks another great tour.

  5. Beautiful! While it would be great fun, not my idea of a second place. I used to think the beach, but now I dream of a place in the mountains, over looking a lake. Water and mountain view….the best of both worlds. In fact, I wouldn’t need a second home if I had that. Would be my one and only and I’d never leave!

  6. pepermint patty says

    We did dream of second home, bought one, simple and with-in our budget, together with close family member. We have lovely mountain view, and 4 seasons. We furnished it with many family memory items and classic family furniture we has tucked away–saving for son who didn’t want those things. We have the house soooo cozy, and don’t need to worry about ruining anything. Our visiting relatives don’t want to leave and we don’t mind if they don’t. We bought in Nevada where house prices were low, and we are close to beautiful Tahoe. If you dream YOU CAN DO IT.

  7. I was going to say that I did not like the ceilings in the house, then when I saw the kitchen I knew it was a “boat”. It is beautiful and I could move right on in! That would be so relaxing!

  8. Oh my gosh! When looking at the inside decor, I thought it was a bit too modern for my taste. Then, when I got my first glimpse of the exterior, I was sold! Not just a home with a view, but with many “views”, and definitely, it would solve the “Location–Location–Location” problem as anywhere with gorgeous water & beautiful scenery would be the “location” of my home if I owned this! Thanks for taking us on this fantasy home tour, Susan! Made my day to dream a bit. 🙂

  9. Just beautiful! I did not guess it was a Yacht. What a fun time that would be. One of our friends, when she moved to Washington DC ,bought a yacht to live on instead of a house. It was beautiful but not this beautiful. She lived on it a few years and hired a Captain if she wanted to go out in the water. Now she moved to Colorado. P. S. — Just a silly story- One year I wanted to rent a House Boat for a week in the summer. I thought my family would think it was fun . My son who was 22 at the time said”No thank you. I don’t want to spend a week in a trailer on the water.” So we rented our normal huge beach house. He is a little spoiled.

  10. Susan where is your raffle copter so I can sign up and win this? Love it!

  11. I have that book! Actually,it’s sitting on my cocktail table at the cabin (my ‘second’ home) and I bought it for a buck at a book sale.

    I had a feeling that was a boat, just judging from the ‘no windows’ in the kitchen.Lovely!!! You always find the most beautiful things Susan!

    Stay warm! (I hear you’re doing much better than we are right now as far as the weather is concerned.)

  12. We had a second home, not like the one you featured! That would take a whole crew to operate. We built a “cottage” on a salt water creek. At low tide we have a beach. It is three bedrooms and three baths, a great room, a screened in porch with 3 sets of double sliding glass doors that stretches across the entire back of the house. The basement is finished with a large family room, office, craft room, storage room and one of the three baths. A large patio is going the this spring. It is located in a very rural area with lot and lots of water to roam around in, no local TV, no daily newspaper. Two years ago we sold the first house and moved to the second for retirement.

  13. Loved! Loved! Loved ! this “second home” but was a bit disappointed with the windowless kitchen. All
    that luxury and not a single source of day light in the kitchen? How could that be?
    HA! Now I know!!! Not my vision of a second home but would be sheer delight to luxuriate on this yacht
    for a week or two! Oh, the places you could go!!!!

  14. Not fair, not fair!!! 🙂 I was thinking it was way to luxurious and refined for a 2nd home, but as a yacht it will definitely do!! Not fair!! Oh I said that already 🙂 Oh to be wealthy enough to afford such a luxury!

  15. Holy wow, you need a bank account just for maintenance for that one! We do have a second home on the gulf coast which we bought when our kids were babies so we could enjoy getting away with ease~ it is our favorite spot and a wind down place, but there is stress involved too~every summer the threat of hurricanes, the constant maintenance that salt air brings, an extra set of bills etc. So it sounds dreamy but remember, it comes with a healthy dose of reality!

  16. I guessed from the buttoned up windows and ceilings that it might be a yacht. I’ve never been on one, only viewed them from outside when on vacation. One year we saw one in St.Maarten that had a helicopter on top – just amazing.

  17. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    I didn’t guess it was a yacht, Susan. I thought it was in a basement! Lol. Only because of the few and darkened windows. I even wondered if it might be an RV, but that living room was too big for that. As the others have said, it sure would be fun to take a break on that.

    I would be interested in hearing what those who DO have a second home have to say about the worry of it when they are away. I love the idea of a cabin on a lake, but then I’ve heard people break in, etc. Ergh. It would be lovely though, to have a little get away like that. *Sigh* My problem would be deciding what I’d want. I could live with a highrise condo / loft in the city to go see plays, concerts, go to great restaurants, etc. Or I would love a cabin in the mountains where you can build a fire and watch the gently falling snow through the large picture window. I would love a spot by the ocean —- IF I had enough land to have some space and privacy —- and you pretty much have to be a bazillionaire for that, these days. Then there’s the idea of a log cabin on a lake. Wake up and have your coffee on the deck while watching the sun rise. Maybe get out there before breakfast and catch your lunch from your own shore line. Have a freezer packed with food so you don’t have to leave unless you want to. 🙂 Any and all of those scenarios sound great to me! Decisions, decisions … 😀

    • A second homes does come with a set of worries, responsibilities, chores, and expense. If you don’t have the income to hire help it is a lot of work. What ever you have to do in your first house you have to do in the second house as well. We are on the water and have to worry about hurricanes. More than once my husband had to leave work to come down and get boats out of the water. Sometimes, because of the path of the hurricane, we each have to be at a house. One of the biggest problems is keeping the content of the two pantries straight. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a bag of groceries for the wrong house

      • pam ~ crumpety cottage says

        Thanks, Debbie. That’s funny about the bag of groceries. 😀 But being that your second home is at the beach, do you rent it out? I would think that would help tremendously to defray costs. I know that in Florida, for instance, the insurance rates are sky high for beach property. And so are the taxes! Of course, renting it out for a week at a time to vacationers would come with it’s own set of problems, I’m sure.

        I would sure hate to be separated from my husband over a hurricane! Yikes!

        • We only lived 2 hours from our cottage. We came down every weekend in the summer and most in the other nine months, depending on work schedules. For 11 years my mother in law lived here also. So, no, we never rented it out. Actually, most of the cottages around here are rarely rented out. Most owners only lively one or two hours away and come down frequently, especially in the summer. We are not that close to the ocean, but a part of the Chesapeake Bay. As I said before, very rural.

      • Debbie…you nailed it…we don’t have the constant hurricane weather…but that pantry thing..oh, yeah! 🙂 franki p.s. One should just “visit” the Miami Boat and Yacht show…just once…unfathomable!!

  18. I am trying to order the Better Homes and Garden book you mentioned and all they have is a
    the hardcover or $15.00….bummer…really wanted a couple for a friend and myself…thanks.

  19. I would SO move in…in a heartbeat! At the cost of that though….I think I would have to sell my current home…and win a lottery! That is beautiful! Maybe we could rent it for a week?? 😉

  20. Thank you so much Susan..was able to order a couple.

    This second home /yacht is stunning…did not even consider it was a yacht!!, I would move in immediately !!!

  21. A cabin in the woods with a second floor with a balcony is a dream of mine. Went across the Atlantic on the oceanliner Queen Mary. this last summer-smooth sailing but I had to take meds for sea sickness. I discovered an oceanliner is different from a cruise ship. 40 % more steel is put into an ocean liner. The ocean can be scary when theres a storm at sea. The queen Mary actually went thru the Sandie hurricane. A cruise ship will go around a storm. I love the yacht but went on a fishing boat for a whale watching cruise about 5 miles off the Pacific coast and he was going I felt to fast. Winds came up and the boat was going back and forth, water all the way up on both sides and I tried to walk to a protected area as the salt water burned my eyes and I couldnt see. I fell and had to crawl to get to the area I wanted to go to. One of the naturalist turned green and got to the bathroom in time. A young couple just married were crying and yelling-the woman across from us would scream every time we hit a huge wave. My husband threw up. I honestly thought we werent going to make it back alive. Even the poor dog sitting with the captain fell down from above. Ill never get on a small boat again. We saw one dorsal fin very briefly. So I think the yacht would never work for me.

  22. I enjoy your site so much Susan because you really have the ability to capture the “home” within any space, be it your own or another’s; as though we’re wrapped in our favorite throw, chatting with an old friend between sips of tea.
    Twelve years ago when we moved from Long Island, NY to Raleigh, NC, we missed two things – our family and our close proximity to the beach. A year and a half ago, after our youngest left for college, my husband and I purchased a 3 bedroom/3 bath cottage at Carolina Beach to begin the next wonderful chapter in our lives. We don’t have an ocean view, but are blessed to be able to hear the sound of the rolling surf whenever we step outside. We can watch the weekly fireworks from our front porch and are only a 3 minute stretch of the legs from door to shore.
    The cottage was in good condition structurally, but needed updating from the 80’s décor, inside and out. We’ve been DIYers all our lives but we never took on such a big project as tearing out a kitchen (so that’s what a sledgehammer is for!). With the exception of the granite countertops we did the complete demo and remodel ourselves by ordering ready to assemble cabinets, building and installing them over the course of 8 weekends. Tough work when you’re not in your 20’s anymore, but we stayed within budget and the end result was definitely worth it. My engineer husband created so many clever storage nooks and crannies for me that despite its cozy size it functions beautifully. We also removed carpets and had a professional install blonde wood floors throughout. We painted the exterior Benjamin Moore’s Stratton blue which reflects the deep aqua color of the sea, and the front door a sunny, semolina yellow, which makes us happy every time we pull in the driveway. Next project we’re saving up for is the bathrooms (wallpaper upon wallpaper…).
    Little by little our second house is becoming our second home. One of the best parts of that adventure is the clean slate – you get to design a new space all over again! Thanks for letting me ramble!

    • Terri, I admire your ambition not to mention your energy and spirit to take on a kitchen renovation. It must feel so good to stand back and look at what you guys did! I know exactly what you mean about a small kitchen can being really functional when planned out well. I bet your children love going there, too! Love the color scheme of the blue with the yellow door…I can just picture it and it sounds perfectly beachy! 🙂

  23. Wow, had no idea it was a boat!!! It was too modern looking for me as a second home, would want a cottage on the beach or cabin in the mountains……..and I wondered why the wall between the dining room and living room was so thick and why the shelves had to be so deep, and what was the view out the windows, why was it all covered up??? Who woulda thunk!!! You find the most amazing spaces!!!

  24. To be honest, I thought it was going to be an apartment in a high rise in a fabulous metropolis (I was dreaming-London). I think that Downton Abbey or some such gorgeous country home would be right up my alley for a second home (after I win the Superball Lottery) and then an Edwardian town house in some posh area of London as our primary residence. I can tell you where my husband would be…he doesn’t like London. I’ll invite everyone when we get it 🙂 For now, we visit my sister’s second home in the Adirondacks in NY. I know the amount of work it takes her. So visiting is perfect!

  25. Hi Susan, At 1st glance I thought it was a very beautifully decorated RV. I was surprised to see it a yacht. That’s funny I would think RV 1st instead of Yacht. Maybe I need to learn to Dream BIGGER. I live in Florida and have seen many yachts in harbors, some with TWO helicopters hanging off them …one in front one in back. And I often wonder about that lifestyle…but I am not a sailor. I am a flatlander, born and reared in the midwest. I DO Love the Ocean and the BEACH and the Blue and Green and Sunny Weather we enjoy in South Florida. At Least you all in Georgia are finally warming up this week. Thank Goodness! Dreaming of a 2nd home for me ? I’m thinking a Winnebago so I can meander all over the country and see more of our beautiful country and meet people. AND take along my sister and my Cats! Cheers!

  26. Wow! Those homes are gorgeous, especially that yacht. I would be very happy with that dining room that is for sure. Perfect for entertaining!

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