The ruins of a stone tavern and a lush cardamom plantation guided the designs of two of the homes featured in the latest edition of Dezeen’s houses of the month.
Named The Blue House and Summer Home, the two dwellings were among the five most popular houses to be featured on Dezeen in the month of May.
Alongside them is a hilltop home in Lombok, a pair of mews houses in Edinburgh and a mountainside dwelling in Quebec.
Read on to find out more about Dezeen readers’ favourite houses this month:
The Blue House, Portugal, by Atelier Backlar
The stone ruins of a former whaler’s tavern frame The Blue House, created by Atelier Backlar on São Miguel Island in the Azores.
As the name suggests, the home is distinguished by its striking blue exterior, achieved with battens of recycled ocean plastic that deliberately juxtapose the old walls.
“The blue facade merges with the tones of the sky and sea, establishing a subtle dialogue with the surrounding landscape while creating a contrasting balance against the rough basalt stone walls,” said the studio.
Find out more about The Blue House ›
This pair of three-bedroom mews houses was slotted into a compact brownfield site in Edinburgh by architecture studio Pend.
Wrapped in reclaimed brick with red-zinc details, the homes have open-plan living spaces and are intended to demonstrate how “architects are uniquely equipped to unlock constrained urban sites”, the studio said.
Find out more about Canon Mews ›
House Kala, Indonesia, by Caceres + Tous
A semicircular living space with an adjoining terrace provides expansive views of the sea and sunset at House Kala, which sits on a hilltop in Lombok.
The home is raised on a stone plinth and has reddish-brown plaster walls, designed by Caceres + Tous to evoke the tone of the soil on the island.
Find out more about House Kala ›
Summer Home, India, by Mindspark Architects
A large monopitch roof marks out this Indian home, nestled within a lush cardamom plantation in Idukki, Kerala.
To maximise the connection to the outside, Mindspark Architects incorporated timber viewing decks – one of which has an ornamental pool to reflect the surrounding tree canopy.
Find out more about Summer Home ›
SONO Residence, Canada, by Atelier Carle
In Quebec, Atelier Carle used wood and board-marked concrete to create this mountainside residence.
According to the studio, its scale is deliberately ambiguous, with long, folded walls and an origami-like plan that creates “a sort of play of hide and seek” inside.
Find out more about SONO Residence ›
The post Dezeen’s top five houses of May 2026 appeared first on Dezeen.
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