10 of the most beautiful artist houses to visit this summer (2024)

Derek Jarman's seaside cottage has long been an inspiring haven for artists, queer icons and creatives. Acquired as a retreat after he was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, Jarman and his partner Keith Collins lived between there and London for a nearly decade up until the artist's death in 1994. Perched on the sparse, windy shoreline of Dungeness, its gardens have become world-famous, but it is only recently that visitors have been able to step inside the cabin itself. Pre-booking is essential.

Prospect Cottage, Romney Marsh, Kent, TN29 9NE

Sculptor Barbara Hepworth moved to Cornwall with her children and husband at the start of the World War II in 1939. She lived and worked at Trewyn studios, now a museum where her sculptures can still be found where she originally installed them decades before. Trees and plants sit next to over 30 works in wood, plaster, stone and bronze. Her studio (where she was tragically killed in a fire), and home are reconstructed largely as they would have been when Hepworth was still alive, giving visitors an insight into the way she worked and lived.

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Barnoon Hill, Saint Ives, TR26 1AD

Grayson Perry worked with FAT Architecture to create a chapel that celebrates the history of his native county, Essex. The result is a bold, vivid and whimsical property clad in approximately 2,000 handmade tiles which, along with the roof sculptures, have all been created from originals produced by Perry. Overlooking the river Stour, inside the property houses more of his artworks, from ceramics and tapestries to furnishings. The remote, two-bedroom house is available to hire overnight.

A House For Essex, Black Boy Lane, Wrabness, Manningtree, Essex, CO11 2TP

A bohemian sanctuary situated within a historic country farmhouse, Charleston has become a touchstone among the fashion industry. Not only has it been used as the backdrop for numerous high-end magazine shoots, but Dior created a scale version of the house at its June 2023 menswear show. Charleston was where the Bloomsbury group went to escape the bustle of the city – Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell would seek haven and inspiration among the richly decorated rooms and picturesque gardens. Today, the farmhouse hosts literary festivals and exhibitions both on site and at a neighbouring gallery in Lewes.

Charleston, Firle, West Firle, Lewes, BN8 6LL

Married couple Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh created their dream house, characterised by their austere, distinctive decor and furnishings. The original end-of-terrace Victorian property was demolished in the 1960s, but the contents and fixtures were painstakingly reassembled as part of the Hunterian Art Gallery in the 1980s. For understated, functional design inspiration, look no further.

The Mackintosh House, 82 Hillhead St, Glasgow, G12 8QQ

Jim Ede, a curator at The Tate, was technically a collector, rather than an artist, but his enthusiasm and appreciation for art was unrivalled. He and his wife converted four tumbledown cottages in Cambridge into a sprawling, stylish space to live and display his collection in. Believing that art should be viewed in a relaxed environment, Ede would hold open-house sessions for university students where he would talk them through the works – from Joan Miró paintings to Barbara Hepworth sculptures. Today, his home is a museum that remains largely as Ede left it.

Kettle's Yard, Castle St, Cambridge, CB3 0AQ

The artists George and Mary Watts built their Surrey home in 1891 in the hope that it would foster a new lease of creativity. Decorated in the Arts and Crafts style, the couple did some of their best work here; Mary decorated the walls and ceilings, while also hosting clay-modelling classes for the local community. George, also known as 'England's Michelangelo', completed a number of famous, large-scale paintings, many of which are now on display in a recreated version of his original studio.

Limnerslease, Compton, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1DQ

Known as the 'home of the Surrealists', Farleys House in Sussex was the rural enclave of the photographer Lee Miller and her artist husband Roland Penrose. It fast became a meeting point for some of the 20th-century's most influential and important artistic luminaries, including Picasso, Dorothea Tanning and Man Ray. Now, 75 years after the couple moved in, the colourful farmhouse is still a mecca for those who crave originality, beauty and colour. To celebrate its anniversary, Farleys House will open its doors to the public on Fridays, in addition to Thursdays and Sundays, providing more opportunities for visitors to explore the historic home of this avant-garde couple.

Farleys House, Muddles Green, Chiddingly, Muddles Green, Lewes BN8 6HW

Henry Moore and his family moved to Hoglands, nestled within a Hertfordshire hamlet, after their London home was bombed in The Blitz. They ended up living there for the next 50 years, turning the expansive grounds into an outdoor gallery for Moore's famous bronze sculptures. Today, visitors can step inside the artist's six preserved studios and family home, as well as meander across 70 acres of gardens and rolling fields still dotted with his unique works.

Hoglands, Dane Tree House, Perry Green, Much Hadham, SG10 6EE

The only property William Morris ever designed and lived in, Red House is one of the best examples of Arts and Crafts architecture. It exists as an oasis in the middle of suburban Bexleyheath, complete with walled gardens, an orchard, Rapunzel-style turrets, gilded murals, and dazzling stained-glass windows. Designed as a family home, it also became a meeting spot for revered Pre-Raphaelite artists from Edward Burne-Jones, to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown.

Red House, Red House Lane, London, Bexleyheath DA6 8JF