Chalet in Polop de la Marina, Spain, 124 m²

White volumes stepping down the hillside, large expanses of glass, and everything facing the same way. The 49 villas in this Polop development are positioned so the Mediterranean reaches into the house from first light, and so that no villa takes the view from the one besidevilla stands on its own and is chosen to fit. Two, three or four bedrooms, with two or three bathrooms, because a retiring couple needs something different from a family arriving with the children for the wholeoutdoor space is what carries the argument. A private garden, a terrace, a pergola for the hours of full sun, and a rooftop solarium with the complete view. Then there's what almost no development at this level includes: a private pool and a jacuzzi for every house. No time slots, no neighbours, no community rules about when you can swim.Inside, the houses are handed over complete. Air conditioning, modern appliances, ceramic floors in clean contemporary tones, fitted wardrobes, electric shutters and a video entry system. Every home includes a garage, so the car sleeps under cover and so do the bikes.Polop has shops that stay open all year, a market, and an old town worth visiting even when you live here. The beach is a quarter of an hour away, Benidorm and Altea barely further, and the golf courses of the Marina Baixa about the same. People buy for the view and end up valuing the other thing, which is having the coast close by without living inside it.