Builders throughout the ages have used water’s elusive properties to create places of magical beauty. Whether on a precipitous clifftop or by a gently murmuring stream, houses by water are animated like no others. With luminous colour photographs by internationally acclaimed photographers, this book is a glimpse behind the doors of the world’s most appealing private residences. From Bali and the Mexican coast to Tahiti and the Mediterranean, 35 houses located by rivers, ports, waterfalls, ponds and oceans reveal the relationship their inhabitants have with the natural setting. Prismatic all-glass houses and neo-Renaissance villas, clapboard mills and moated castles - all offer different aspects of life on the water. With illustrations from all corners of the world, and special features on how extras such as terraces, private jetties, water gardens, and bridges make the most of a waterfront location.