6-Bed Sea Villa

The Naked House is not a developer villa. It was designed and built by Marc Gerritsen, a photographer who spent years shooting five star hotels and luxury houses across Asia, grew tired of the opulence, and built himself the opposite. The name is the brief: concrete, timber, steel and glass, left as they are, with nothing applied on top. What you notice instead is the space and the air. It stands at the highest point of a gated estate in Taling Ngam on Samui's quiet south west coast, with natural reserve on three sides, so the outlook runs uninterrupted across the ocean and the mountains behind. The house steps down the slope over five levels, 620 sqm of build on a plot of 2,050 sqm. Living is open plan behind large timber sliding doors that push back to the pool and the sea, and the pool itself is a twelve and a half by three metre saltwater infinity edge cut into the terrace. There are six bedrooms and six bathrooms, the master suite alone running to 50 sqm, plus a guest cloakroom, a laundry and private parking. The details are the architect's own: a freestanding open air bathroom, a swing bed in the yoga room, a steam room tucked beneath the deck. Every piece of furniture in the house was designed for it, and it all stays. The house has a track record as a rental, which is unsurprising for something this photogenic. Lamai is a short drive over the hill and the beaches on this side of the island are among the best on Samui. Chanote title, sold freehold.