What makes a holiday property special?

Whether you’ve just returned from a summer break, are just about to go, or it can only be a dream this year, there’s something very special about the properties in which we spend our holidays.

Quite often holiday accommodation is smaller than where we live at home, and usually there are fewer facilities. Yet for a week or two that tiny apartment can seem like our own slice of heaven, even if we have to wash up by hand and peg our wet clothes to a line on a balcony. So what is it that makes us so at ease, and creates the perfect holiday sanctuary?

You might think it’s what these properties do have that makes them so special: a beautiful view, a clear blue pool, bougainvillea round the door and, of course, almost guaranteed sunshine. But have you ever thought about what they really lack? Clutter, for example. Even those of us who never manage to travel lightly take only a tiny proportion of what we own on holiday. We leave behind the piles of paperwork, unfinished DIY projects and clothes we haven’t worn for years.

There is a sense of completeness about a good holiday property, the feeling that you have all you need in that space. Admittedly if you stayed long term you would probably start to want other things, but for a short period it’s actually very refreshing to have only what you need.

The simplicity of life is attractive: a stroll to a local shop to pick up fresh produce, a drink enjoyed whilst watching the setting sun. How many of us would love to take a piece of this bliss home with us? So we snap masses of photos and take home souvenirs. I’ve lost count of the number of pieces of pottery I’ve painstakingly carried through airports. And how many of us have tried to create a colour scheme that reminds us of Greece or Tuscany?

So often these attempts don’t work. You won’t create a kitchen in Britain that truly reflects that villa in Tuscany simply because it’s Britain, not Tuscany. Our cool northern light doesn’t interact with colour in the same way as the sun in Italy or Greece.

As much as colour fascinates me, I think the lesson we really should take home from a blissful holiday is about the mood and the sensations of such places. OK, most of us can’t be on holiday all the time and we do need a certain amount of paperwork and ‘stuff’ around us. But we can learn to pare down our belongings and reduce clutter to create something nearer to holiday simplicity. We can use less and buy carefully to avoid waste. We can take our time over purchases – the pleasure of owning a piece of furniture you love and continue to love for example, far outweighs the instant gratification of a ‘bargain’ that’s unwanted by next year.

I wish we could also carve out a little time for ourselves each day – a space where email and phone are set aside and our brains can unclench. Where we can read a book, or stroll round the garden, or just simply be. Then we’ll really have learned to bring the holiday home with us.