Luxury Living: Homes for stargazers

Foster Farm is an extraordinary 28.5-acre estate just outside the scenic Vermont village of Weston. Built in 1804, the five-bedroom farmhouse has been renovated throughout and is offered in turnkey condition. Complementing the main house is an attached circa-1840 barn with a kitchen and great room; a screened house with entertaining terrace; and a bank barn with a car collector garage and equestrian facility. Foster Farm’s truly unique feature is an engineered silo with a professional astronomical observatory dome. The fully robotic telescope, operable from anywhere with internet access, is offered separately.

This contemporary 9.8-acre estate situated on a private peninsula (also pictured top) includes a 12,900-square-foot main residence with breathtaking views of the Archipelago of La Maddalena, three beaches, a pool, and 1 kilometre of private coastline. Built in the 1970s, the property has been transformed by the current owner to create a home with total privacy and harmony in the heart of the Costa Smeralda. The grand main villa and its detached guest house provide ultimate comfort in a tranquil retreat far from the cares of the world, offering vistas of aquamarine waters by day and starry skies by night.

Pinewood House is a Grade II-listed property on three acres of private grounds in the village of Oxshott. Originally built in 1880, the manor house has been restored and extended to an exacting standard. Pinewood House occupies a spectacular hilltop position with views of the surrounding countryside, the Crown Estate, and London landmarks on the far horizon. After dark, residents can stargaze from the observatory tower. Other highlights include a drawing room with an original frieze depicting poems by John Milton, a double-height great hall, grand ballroom, library, indoor pool and spa complex, and 20-car underground garage.

This spectacular mountain home is surrounded by 20 secluded, forested acres overlooking Flathead Lake and Flathead National Forest. The heart of the home is the kitchen, sited at the highest point of the house to frame the views. The main-level master suite has its own private deck with a hot tub. A wraparound deck with a wood-burning fireplace is the ideal place to watch the sunset and observe the clear night sky. The property is close to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, Whitefish Resort, Blacktail Ski Resort, Jewel Basin Hiking area, Swan Lake, and Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Created by world-renowned architect Kengo Kuma, Suteki House is an outstanding example of adapting long-revered Japanese building traditions to 21st-century lifestyles. The beautiful L-shaped home has an appearance of lightness and weightlessness. High-performance glass and passive cooling and lighting offer year-round climate control. A wall of vertical louvers along the longer wing acts as a screen simultaneously shading the house, allowing for outside views, while a ‘floating’ observatory grants views of the night sky and frames the vistas of the tree-lined gardens.