From Scandinavia to Big Sur: 8 of the world’s best beach houses

The Outer Hebrides-based architectural practice of Jack Arundell and Eilidh Izatt calls Caochan na Craig “little quiet house by the rock”. The simple timber-framed home is finished in the same Lewisian gneiss as the building, with windows positioned to follow the sun. It’s set in a tranquil cove in the Firth of Harris on the island’s east coast.

The interior layout is inspired by the gentle forms of the stone, peat and thatch “black houses” of the Outer Hebrides, whose designs date back thousands of years. Caochan na Craig’s irregular plan was inspired by the topography, with the foundations built around the site’s very hard rock. The original plan was for the living room to be a sunken area “to make it feel more intimate”, Eilidh Izatt told the BBC. But when they realised that the area was underlain by Lewisian gneiss, they dropped the idea as the cost of breaking the rock would have exceeded the budget. “It’s interesting to look back on that, because I think making the changes made the design stronger,” Izatt adds. “It’s almost as if the whole thing was predestined.”

The house was built entirely by Arundel, Eilidh’s brother, cabinetmaker Alasdair Izzat, and their friend, stonemason Dan Macaulay. They started construction in January 2022 and the house was completed 18 months later, after the trio survived nine named storms.

Earth, Sky, WaterThe Scandinavian Home by Mette Lang is published by Thames & Hudson.

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