Step Into Our Stars of the Season — These Are Our 10 Favorite Home Tours From October 2026
From Paris to Philadelphia, our monthly round-up showcases the best of the best from across the globe
There's something about this time of year that feels particularly ripe for reinvention and change. Even if the back-to-school rush hasn't applied for several years, the invitation to reimagine yourself never quite loses its appeal. But nowadays, instead of a new backpack, we instead find ourselves fantasizing over the improvements we could make to our homes.
And this year, as we waved summer goodbye and stepped into the crispness of autumn, we found ourselves positively overflowing with inspiration. Throughout October, the team at Livingetc has explored countless modern homes, each offering its own unique charm. We explored Brutalist Milanese apartments and sprawling wood-drenched ranches in the Utah desert. We saw a Space Age garage-turned-family home in Paris and a six-storey townhouse in London. The team spoke to designers working across the globe, each bringing their own design perspective to the forefront, allowing us to get lost in the worlds they have constructed, inspiring a whole new realm of design.
If that all sounds a little intimidating to you, though, don't worry. I've done you all a favor and narrowed down these countless gorgeous homes to a mere 10, picking the spaces that I've not been able to stop thinking about. There's a little something for everyone here, with homes that encompass a wide range of styles. The one thing that they all have in common, though, is undeniably good design.
Image credit: Chris Mottalini. Design: Crina Arghirescu Rogard.
With wraparound views of Central Park, architect Crina Arghirescu Rogard didn't have to do a lot to make this apartment an awe-inspiring space. But resisting the desire to let the views do all the talking, Crina filled the space with texture, color, and warmth, with a new, unique artwork waiting around every corner. This apartment was designed with Hockney's collage work, Sunday Morning, in mind, translating Hockney's fragmented yet cohesive approach into an interior design style, allowing the apartment to reveal itself "one lived environment after another."
Image credit: Brian Wetzel and Anna Spaller
A lesson in the visual power of contrast, this home has a striking juxtaposition of light and dark, with airy, light-filled spaces sitting directly beside moody color-drenched rooms. Relocating to Philadelphia from the West Coast, homeowners Brittany and Benjamin Hakimfar, founders of Far Studio, wanted to find a way to bring that breezy, California cool look to their new family home, while staying true to the cozy moodiness of the East Coast. The result is an expansive yet welcoming family home, where textural details and a muted color palette feel thoroughly in line with the surroundings.
Image credit: Design: Diettert Collet, Photography: Clément Gérard
Untouched since the 70s, this Haussmann-era Parisian apartment had the bones of a quintessential dream home, but it needed some work to bring it back to its former glory. Luckily, homeowners Emma Collet and Thomas Diettert knew exactly what they needed to do to the space. Aiming for a design that "blurs the sense of time", this home seamlessly blends modern design techniques with antique finds for an elegant transitional style. Family heirlooms bring character and interest, while the neutral palette emphasises form and material rather than color.
Image credit: Martina Gemmola/Living Inside. Design: Studio Shields
When Ruby and Patrick Shields, founders of Studio Shields, first found this home in the Yarra Ranges, an hour outside of Melbourne, they were instantly drawn to its unique feel: "It felt like a treehouse, sitting above a canopy of gum trees," says Ruby. "It was so stunning we named it The View." The couple dedicated years to renovating the space, but it wasn't until lockdown, when Ruby took a masterclass from Kelly Wearstler, that she realized this was more than just a personal venture. By the time their home was finished, she'd already launched her own studio, with her own home the first to join her portfolio.
Image credit: Clément Vayssières. Design: L'Atelier HA
A family home unlike any other, Studio HA turned a former garage in Paris into a Space Age-inspired pad, complete with a curved chrome kitchen, a red lacquer bedroom, and a mid-century mezzanine office. Every corner of this home feels completely unique, with details that feel as though they've been plucked straight out of a 1970s film set. Curved features bring a softness to the industrial space, while mosaic work adds a touch of whimsical artistry.
Image credit: Francesco Dolfo/Living Inside. Styling: Giulia Taglialatela
The brief for this project was clear — the client went straight to the Milan-based design studio, FANTIBOZZETTIMENEGON, with a request for a quintessentially Brutalist home. And looking at the finished product, filled with plenty of raw concrete, brushed chrome, and black leather, they certainly delivered on her request. "We wanted to adapt a material language for Milan's urban context and for everyday living," says Martina Menegon, co-founder of the design studio. In this home, texture and materiality do the talking, with natural and man-made materials sitting side by side, making for a rich, varied effect in the design.
Image credit: Leandro Bulzzano. Design: A-G Estudio
For the young couple that inherited this beautiful mid-century home in Mexico City's San Angel neighborhood, the primary challenge was finding a way to honor the original architecture while making it feel their own. To help them bring this 1962 home into the modern day, they called upon architect Andrés Gutiérrez, from A-G estudio. Adopting his signature playful design style, Andrés found a way to pay respect to both the home's history and the visual culture of Mexico, while also making it feel true to the client's personal identity. The design is bold, colorful, and undeniably maximalist, and yet it still feels refined.
Image credit: Atelier Zero
Left stripped of much of its original character after a 1980s renovation, when restoring this Milanese apartment, the team at Atelier Zero found themselves searching for a way to bring the spirit of the city back into this home. Any details that remained, from the crown molding to the parquet flooring, acted as the starting point for the design, leading them towards a more considered, cohesive style. But they didn't stick too faithfully to tradition. Equally important was the modern, creative style of the urban city, something they brought into this home through a bold use of color and unexpected contrasts within the design.
Image credit: Malissa Mabey. Design: Susannah Holmberg Studios. Styling: Jen Paul
With a whopping 7000 square feet to work with, it's pretty impressive that designer Susannah Holmberg managed to create a space that looks thoroughly cozy. Despite the sprawling dimensions, a warm, earthy color palette with a focus on natural materials gives this Utah home an immediately inviting effect, drawing you in with the rustic ranch look, elevated with plenty of luxurious touches. Sweeping views of the stunning desert landscape wrap around this home, and the materials inside constantly refer back to the surroundings, making the home appear beautifully connected to nature. It's modern and luxurious, yet still cozy and organic, blending these varying styles with absolute ease.
Image credit: Studio Hahn. Design: Gangar
Spread across six storeys, this Victorian home in the heart of West London was ready to enter a new phase of life, and designer Rosie Gangar knew just how to take it there. Inspired by the artistic history of the Borough of Chelsea, Rosie chose to swap the glamour and the grandeur the area is now known for with something more nuanced and authentic. "When you dig into the history of Chelsea, it was a real sanctuary for artists, writers, and musicians," Rosie explains. "That artistic soul and legacy feels embedded in the bricks and mortar of the place." Art led the way in this design, and the home followed the cues of the client's collection, making for a space that feels surprisingly understated, yet thoroughly impressive.
What makes each of these homes feel quite so special is just how distinct they are. Each one exists within the context of its surroundings, finding inspiration in the culture and landscape around it, as well as from the unique lives of the families living within them. These homes show that true style goes beyond following all the latest trends: the future of taste is about something personal.
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