Second homes often seem to embody the ethereal—purposefully crafted to complement their surroundings, they create the perfect spaces for relaxation and spectacular views. Of course, views like these are only found in hard-to-reach pockets of the world, making these mountain and hill locations bittersweet for holiday home owners. Ultimately, the pros outweigh the cons, and this selection of gorgeous second homes prove that the wild surroundings are absolutely worth it.
A Plantation Home Outside Kodaikanal
“The most unique feature of the estate house on this plantation is that it overlooks an unspoilt valley with not a single settlement in sight,” says architect Niels Schoenfelder of Mancini Enterprises who worked on the house from scratch to finish for over three years. The unhurried pace of construction set the temperament for the house. Divided into two buildings that are connected by a covered veranda that funnels the incoming wind equitably, there’s the kitchen, the master bedroom and an extra room on one side, and the dining, living and guest room on the other. As the house wings out in opposing directions, the rooms at both ends look out at two entirely different views. “The brief was to have the house really close to nature and to the activity on the farm,” says Schoenfelder. “All day, the farmhands go in and out bringing in the pepper, bananas, avocados, vanilla and other produce into the kitchen.”
With floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow an unobstructed view of the mountains, the overall vibe is more pavilion and less indoor living. Taking a leaf from traditional wood joinery methods used in old homes in Kerala, Schoenfelder decided to insert steel plates into the beams to keep them connected to each other. “These are small nuances that may go unnoticed, but they make a significant contribution towards the overall endurance and understated aesthetics of the house.” The entire property has a rugged and natural feel to it, as well as in its palette. The floors alternate between locally sourced Kadapa stone and plain cement (much like the outdoor drying yards on all plantations). The wood used for ceilings, windows and furniture is mostly sturdy teak with some birch ply in the kitchen. Most of the furniture are vintage pieces that already existed in the owner’s family; a few pieces were handcrafted by Pondicherry-based designer Vincent Roy.
Original text by Rajashree Balaram, Edited by Ariane Shah
A Timeless Retreat In Coorg
Nestled in the wilderness of Coorg is a family home that communes with the natural world. The home, designed by Gurugram-based firm SAKA Studio, is constructed with laterite with granite columns, Kota stone flooring, and terracotta tiles, all of which allow it to recede into its natural surroundings. SAKA’s achievement with this particular project is balancing the dualities—the wholesomeness of vernacular architecture while fulfilling modern day requirements. Even though most practitioners tend to design from the outside in, SAKA typically designs the structure and the interiors in parallel. “The reason the home was built was for the garden,” Kapoor explain. “It is the reverse of why people normally build, but the client is incredibly gifted when it comes to gardening, and she was building in this place because of its natural beauty.”
In the interior, pieces of antique furniture and décor gently ornament an open, contemporary floor plan, bringing the warmth and detail of the past into a comfortably modern lifestyle. “The reason the house is as interesting a space as it is, is because it uses a language which is deeply contextual of place,” says Swanzal Kak Kapoor, co-founder of SAKA Studio, “It manages to combine a very traditional expression with a very contemporary functional layout. The beauty is really in the interconnectivity,” Kapoor says. “For instance, the guest bedroom on the upper floor has a lovely little balcony which overlooks the double height dining room, so you can look into the dining room or the entrance lobby, or out the other direction onto the hillside.”
Original text by Avantika Shankar, Edited by Ariane Shah
A British-era House In Landour
Perched on an inclination, sloping steeply from town's main road, is a cosy and warm second home in Landour—the updated and repurposed avatar of a 150-year-old, British-era mission house. Rejuvenated as it is, the home’s wonderful cosiness, birthed from a tasteful deployment of art, textiles, decorative lights and wood, echoes its vintage past mellifluously. “The brief,” say Heena Handa and Aashna Chaudhry of New Delhi-based architecture, interiors and styling firm EDC Space, “was to develop a functional, warm and inviting holiday home in Landour for three generations of a family—comfortable for all and resonating with the value of each group.”
The sunroom, the first room you encounter as you step inside this hillside haven, is a long hall featuring a line of original structural columns. Its name is justified by the extensive glazed windows and skylights that invite the tender mountain sun and the incredible views of the Himalayan inside; one energising the space with its effulgence, the other with its divine beauty. Two doorways lead from the sunroom to the dining room and the family lounge. The latter, in turn, takes you to the master bedroom, while the dining opens into to a central foyer which connects two more bedrooms, a powder room and the kitchen.
Original text by Rupali Sebastian, Edited by Ariane Shah
A Modernist Sanctuary In Coonoor
At the entrance to the plot stands a pine tree that local, fifth-generation landscapist Zakeer Zackaria dates back to the 1960s. For about 60 years, this arboreal reminder of foreign interventions grew in a fast-changing world, alongside terraced tea gardens and the Nilgiris’ own shola forest and grasslands. In 2021, interior designer Soumya Keshavan, who was in Coonoor for a work meeting, spotted the plot of land on which it stood and was transfixed. That tree—approximately the same age as Keshavan herself became a marker, both material and symbolic, of the kind of home the interior designer would build for herself. Not native, perhaps—both pine and tea were brought to Coonoor by the British but now, naturalised.
The site sits on a hillside, facing what Zackaria describes as a “pocket shola”—ie a smaller, more compact version of the tropical montane forests the Nilgiris are known for. To Keshavan, the contrast between the wildness of the forest and order of the tea plantations created an exceptional setting—and the idea that the home she would build should showcase it. “I wanted something very quiet— something that would complement the forest, not fight with it for attention.” Dubbed “Dun Roamin”, the home is clean-lined, unobtrusive, and modern, fitting neatly between the wild trees and the tea garden. Designed over two levels—courtesy of the steep slope it sits on—the biggest personalities in this three-bedroom home are its flat terraces and large glass windows. Both provide perfect vantage points from where to take in the grandeur of the landscape. And it is a landscape worthy of every overused epithet thrown at it.
Original text by Divya Mishra, Edited by Ariane Shah
An English Cottage In Mussoorie
There’s something about homes built on hilltops that immediately remind you of fairytales. So when Aditi Sharma of her Delhi-based eponymous design studio was asked to refurbish a holiday home in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, she knew it would be an experience like no other. “The clients live in metropolitan cities; they wanted a holiday home in Mussoorie to be designed keeping in mind the British Raj era, because they wanted a pleasant change from the whole modern, minimalistic neutral interiors that one sees nowadays,” Sharma says.
Spread over 5,000 square feet of area and two floors, the home welcomes you with a sprawling garden with the most spectacular mountain view. The garden has a walking path all around the property, an outdoor bar and a barbecue station. And for when the evenings begin to get a little too chilly, there is a separate enclosure with a semi-circular stone sit-out area around a fireplace. “Natural brick floor with wooden ceiling and vintage wrought iron coat stands to highlight the space and add to the old-world charm,” Sharma says. “The old ceilings, the fireplace, and the masonry style, all contribute to a quintessential stay in this English cottage in Mussoorie.”
Original text by Arshia, Edited by Ariane Shah
