Replete with cutting-edge design and one-of-a-kind details, these short stay homes stand out from the crowd – for all the right reasons.

If you had to compile a list of London’s most in-demand architects, Quincoces-Dragò & Partners, Jonathan Tuckey Design and SPPARC would be up there with the best – and this selection of sought-after short stays is testament to why.

Behind heritage façades, dramatic double-height voids, bi-folding doors and floor-to-ceiling windows endow these domestic settings with architectural smarts. Function is given as much weight as form. The result: homes that respond resoundingly to the demands of modern life – from vast, multipurpose living areas to entire floors dedicated to indulgent bedroom suites.

Aldridge Road Villas, Notting Hill

“Innovative” can be a throwaway accolade when it comes to architecture, though not at Aldridge Road Villas. A double-height void maximises the potential of the floorspace – carving it into a series of zones for socialising, cooking and entertaining. A masterstroke in engineering by Quincoces-Dragò & Partners, it draws the eye upwards and makes a feature of the property’s lofty proportions. Elsewhere, attention to detail spans the small (a curved mirror that echoes the rim of the freestanding bath) and the not so (an elongated bookcase that stretches between the ground and lower ground floors).

Aldridge Road Villas is available for short stays from £3,500 per night   

Goldney Road, Maida Hill

Sometimes two heads are better than one. Take this four-bedroom Victorian home on Goldney Road, where both Jonathan Tuckey Design and MMM Architects have left their mark. A conversation between different styles and eras plays out over five levels. Cornicing and sash windows segue into concrete stairs and dark walls. The kitchen and dining space channels a New York loft aesthetic – all high ceilings, stainless steel surfaces and grey subway tiles – plus a void that gives the impression it’s floating over the basement below. Other feats of ingenuity include a double-height window that runs between the floors and cranks up the volume further, and the dual-aspect principal suite with its free-flowing path from bed to bath.

Goldney Road is available for short stays from £650 per night

Notting Hill Gate

An abundance of natural light isn’t the only thing this triplex has going for it. Cubic angles plotted out by ng architecture cement its design credentials. Full-length windows and glass ceilings illuminate minimalist interiors. Though it might sound safe on paper, the combination of smooth concrete floors, white walls and structural columns is given an added dimension with considered materials and furnishings. Note the tuxedo sofas, expansive shelving and chequered kitchen island. Precision lines bring definition to the vast, open footprint. Then there are the views. The expansive terrace off the games and TV room offers unrivalled panoramas over Notting Hill.

Notting Hill Gate is available for short stays from £2,000 per night

Gloucester Terrace, Bayswater

How to let light into subterranean spaces is an age-old architectural conundrum and one that SPPARC has navigated with aplomb at Gloucester Terrace. Retractable glass doors that open onto an internal courtyard channel rays through a chain of rooms. Track lighting adds a soft glow to corners the sun doesn’t reach, while Crittall walls between rooms add a feeling of fluidity. Industrial touches are softened with Scandi accents, like wood panelling and lamps that cast a warming, hygge-inducing glow. It’s this pared-back aesthetic that keeps living arrangements uncluttered and calming.

Gloucester Terrace is available for short stays from £550 per night

Erpingham Road, Putney

Rear extensions aren’t a rare occurrence in London, but ones that unite living, eating and cooking zones in compelling yet practical ways can be. At Erpingham Road Flower Michelin has honed a series of spaces that work together and separately. A Richard Emerson kitchen at one end of the room flows into a dining area. Tucked just around the corner, find a TV area complete with a hidden wine fridge. Crittall glass panels mean views of the manicured garden are framed from all angles – allowing easy interplay between indoor and outdoor living.

Erpingham Road is available for short stays from £1,000 per night