The r/beautiful_houses community is not particularly big yet, but it still boasts a considerable 20k members. They link the Most Beautiful Houses In The World blog as one of their main sources. The website features everything from modern homes to famous ancient buildings. And it's not all about the exterior and the architecture. They also welcome innovative interior design and decor ideas.

What is a beautiful home? Let's see how interior designers and architects define it. Designer Anne Lubner quotes Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, saying that there is no place like home. "I define a beautiful home as one that pleases the souls of the people who live there. It's a feeling of comfort, of feeling in tune with your surroundings."

For architect Peter Mason, a beautiful home blends in with its natural surroundings. "For an architect, spectacular scenery is always both a challenge and an opportunity. It demands that the land should speak for itself.

Even the smallest of homes on the most modest of budgets can become part of the wider expanse. It makes little difference whether it's a small part of the wider landscape or an enclosed jewel in the cityscape."

Interior designer Julie Rawding might sound quite radical, but she believes that a beautiful home is "the most important thing" one can do for themselves. The designers at Krista + Home list some reasons why.

First, we spend a lot of time in our homes, especially those who work from home. Second, we socialize with our family and close friends there. And lastly, we do most of our self-care rituals at home, be it meditating, taking a nap, reading a book, or taking a bubble bath.

We often associate the aesthetic value of a house with money. It's logical: the more improvements you want to make in order to make it more beautiful, the more money you have to pay. If we were to measure a house's beauty by how much it's worth, Buckingham Palace would then be the most beautiful house in the world – as of 2023, it was worth $4.9 billion. However, keep in mind that it is not privately owned.

A famous English architect, William Winde, designed Buckingham Palace in 1703, and the 2-year construction period finished in 1705. Until 1762, it was the property of the Dukes of Buckingham. And, listen up, Bridgerton fans, King George III then acquired it and made it the queen's residence and called it 'The Queen's House.'

It's strange calling Buckingham Palace a 'house.' It contains 775 rooms, including 19 staterooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. It's no surprise then that it's also the third biggest house in the world. There's also a swimming pool in the palace. King George VI apparently ordered its construction so that his daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret could have privacy.

Europe's most expensive private residence is Villa La Leopolda in the French Riviera. It got its name from its owner, the infamous King Leopold II of Belgium. Some notable owners are industrialist Gianni Agnelli, Canadian financier Izaak Walton Killam, and, until 2022, Brazilian-Monegasque billionaire and socialite Lily Safra.

The late French fashion designer Pierre Cardin's The Bubble Palace is also on the list of one of the most expensive homes in the world. The 'house' is worth approximately $420 million and has been available for rent following Cardin's death in 2020. Hungarian architect Antti Lovag designed the retro-futuristic palace in 1989, and it took a whopping 14 years to finish construction.

Taking the 9th place in the 2023 most expensive homes race is Beyoncé & Jay Z’s Malibu mansion. The definite value of the house differs when looking at different outlets, but the number is around $200 million.

The creative mind behind it is Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who has many celebrity homes under his name. He also designed the Pulitzer Arts Foundation Museum in Missouri, The Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois, and the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

You might be thinking: where are the teach-billionaires we all love to hate on this list? Well, one of them, Bill Gates, is right at the bottom of the top 15. The estimated value of the Gates residence is $130 million, and apparently, it took seven years to build. The estate's name is Xanadu 2.0 (any Citizen Kane fans?), and it's situated in Medina, Washington. 

The mansion overlooks Lake Washington and also has "an artificial stream filled with real salmon and trout, as well as six kitchens, seven bedrooms, a trampoline room, a library, and a computer-controlled maple tree, for when the 50 gardeners don't get time to look after it themselves."