Architect designs himself a dreamy vacation home with a white tower

Imagine for a moment, waking up in the southern Italian village of Gagliano del Capo, ambling over to your window and looking out onto the sea. For architect Lorenzo Grifantini, this is routine. The London-based founder of DOS Architects designed himself a vacation home in Italy’s coastal Puglia region with a courtyard and striking white tower punctuated by variously sized square windows.

Grifantini kept things simple, paying homage to the villa’s Mediterranean location with whitewashed stone walls and plenty of outdoor space.

Carlo Carossio

“The central courtyard is the real heart of the house,” Grifantini told Dezeen. The living room, kitchen, dinging room, and guest bedroom open directly onto the courtyard, while the dining room’s doors slide open to connect to a set of al fresco table and chairs.

The tower is at the far corner of the courtyard, where it rises 40 feet into the air with a scatter of windows that look like they were punched out with a square hole puncher. Here, the bedrooms are stacked on top of each other and accessed by stairs. At the top of the tower, there’s a roof deck, for capturing the best views yet.

Carlo Carossio

Carlo Carossio

Carlo Carossio

Carlo Carossio