From the rugged English coastline to the sun-soaked shores of Mexico, these six extraordinary beach houses showcase innovative approaches to coastal design that go far beyond typical seaside clichés. Featured in Architectural Digest, each property offers unique solutions for waterfront living while respecting their natural environments and local architectural traditions.

Perched dramatically on a rocky outcrop above the sea in Los Cabos, Mexico, Casa Las Rocas presents two distinct personalities. Designed by architect Victor Legorreta in collaboration with Marcela Cortina and Gloria Cortina, this clifftop residence resembles the bow of a ship, offering panoramic views of the bay while maintaining intimate interior spaces. The street-facing facade remains deliberately small and private, featuring a rose-colored entrance box that creates mystery and seclusion.

"We wanted to create a series of walls for more privacy," explains Victor Legorreta. "The entrance is almost secret, but on the sea side, the house opens completely with a pool that overlooks the rocks." The architects addressed the challenge of maintaining intimacy despite breathtaking views by carefully framing the landscape vistas. "We are convinced that landscape views are more beautiful when they are framed," Legorreta notes. "It's a way to appropriate them and create a fusion between nature and ourselves."

The design reflects contemporary Mexican identity while drawing inspiration from the powerful rock formations. Gloria Cortina, who previously worked with Ricardo Legorreta 25 years earlier, brought deep understanding of the Legorreta architectural language to the project. The collaboration extended to every detail, from rugs and textiles to the selection of artwork, including custom tiles by Francisco Toledo in the bathrooms alongside specially commissioned pieces.

On Hawaii's Big Island, a 3,000-square-foot beach house has become the ultimate sanctuary for art collector and surf enthusiast Craig Hartzman and his husband Jim John. Located on the Kona-Kohala coast, this timber-clad retreat represents their ideal of perfect beach living. "This has become a sanctuary for us," Hartzman explains. "When you finish a house, you always wonder, 'Should we have done something different?' This is the first house we've built where we say, 'No, this is exactly what we need.'"

The success of this Hawaiian paradise stems from the intimate collaboration with designers Suzie and David Lucas of Lucas Interior, whom the couple considers "almost family" after working together on half a dozen projects. The house perfectly accommodates their lifestyle preferences, featuring large, open showers with two basic showerheads and exterior access, multiple comfortable napping spots throughout the property, and a Black Marinace granite kitchen with a vast wooden island serving as both dining table and workspace.

Rather than a traditional swimming pool, Hartzman and John opted for an artistic infinity jacuzzi that overlooks the lava fields and Pacific Ocean. "This isn't where I do laps, so our pool was never meant to be a pool," Hartzman notes. "We wanted it to be, in some way, an art installation. The reflection of the reeds and grasses when the sun sets reflects directly on the black surface and gives it a sublime appearance."

In Marseille, a 19th-century villa built in 1890 sits at the end of a typical Marseille cove, representing a unique piece of the city's coastal heritage. Interior architect Stéphane Parmentier approached the renovation with deep respect for the property's original character. "The first thing I did was respect this house," Parmentier confides. "I wanted to keep its soul, its absolute vibration, because a villa like this, by the sea, is unique in Marseille."

The restoration involved repositioning the staircase in the center of the gallery to create better perspective and balance, then reintroducing the Provençal concept of restanques (stone walls) and terraced levels. On the first terrace, Parmentier installed a pool with an adjustable floor that can create a secure children's basin or, when raised to maximum height, transform into a terrace with water disappearing beneath the stone surface. The renovation maintains dialogue between the 19th and 21st centuries, combining the marble colonnade with materials sourced from around the Mediterranean.

On France's Côte d'Azur, Villa Pineda spans nearly 5,000 square feet across two levels within a large park overlooking the Mediterranean. Originally designed in the late 1970s by star architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni for entrepreneur Erminio Giraudi, the villa has been completely renovated by Emil Humbert of Humbert & Poyet agency, who is married to Giraudi's son Riccardo.

"For me, Villa Pineda is above all a family home, the privileged refuge of my in-laws, their children and grandchildren," explains Humbert. The renovation honors the original architect while bringing contemporary functionality to the space. Humbert enhanced the facade by redesigning window and door frames with travertine and bronze, opened the park toward the exterior landscape, and modernized the interior layout by relocating key rooms like the kitchen and dining room.

The renovation balances antiquity with modernity, featuring two busts of Janus installed in niches flanking the main staircase, referencing knowledge of past and future. This classical influence extends throughout the bathrooms and decorative elements, including bas-relief sculptures, fluted columns, and large marble urns. The pool area showcases luxuriant exotic gardens where cacti border the travertine pool, creating perfect harmony with the architectural elements.

In Biarritz, overlooking the ocean above the casino, interior architect Camille Lavigne transformed a 2,150-square-foot apartment dating from the 1970s into a sophisticated ode to the sea. Working for an Italian couple based in Geneva, Lavigne aimed to create an elegant, singular, timeless space connected to the ocean without falling into typical seaside clichés.

"I wanted to work with artisans to offer them something more sophisticated," Lavigne explains. She selected raw, organic materials and fluid lines inspired by ocean movement, rocks, and natural elements. The main entrance features a dome painted with a large golden sun, announcing a solar and enveloping space. The living room, dressed in warm ocher tones, includes a pebble coffee table recalling the beach and a rug with marine wave patterns.

The beach metaphor continues throughout the apartment, with one children's bedroom featuring underwater vegetation frescoes and shell-pattern carpeting. The secondary "beach entrance" showcases mosaic flooring representing waves, coral-colored banquettes, an Italian-style shower with oceanic stained glass, and dedicated surfboard storage racks.

Finally, on England's Chichester Harbor coastline, one of Britain's most beautiful stretches, Isabella Worsley created a modern beach house that respects vernacular coastal style while providing contemporary comfort. The project required completely rebuilding an outdated existing house, working with architect Martin Taylor to create a structure both sea-resistant and visually integrated with the coastal environment.

Worsley and principal designer Georgie Govan developed a palette that harmonizes with rather than competes with the ocean views. "We wanted to avoid at all costs the typical blue and white palette of seaside houses," Isabella laughs. Instead, they chose organic and natural textures that blend the rooms into the landscape, creating comfortable and warm interiors with touches of freshness and modernity. Landscape designer Anthony Paul created an elegant passage between the house and waterfront, featuring mini groves and light wood planks that embody the beloved beach house spirit.