There's a huge hot tub, fire pit, terrace for al fresco dining and that's all before you've entered the property.
If you've been lucky enough to fly across the pond and visit the iconic library in New York City, you'll know how peaceful the experience can be.
There's nothing quite like it in the UK, but curling up with a good read in a beautiful location is sure to evoke similar feelings- just a few thousands miles away.
Image: Cool Stays
The New York Public Library in Richmond is the ultimate Yorkshire retreat. Creatively imagined and brought to love with the same love and attention to detail as the American library, this staycation is all about unwinding in a character property.
The huge plot encases a two-storey property, as well as a well-kept garden with views over the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. For guests to enjoy at their leisure, the open-plan kitchen, dining and living area is the perfect area to socialise in an informal, but intimate setting, with all the modern amenities needed to cook fine-cuisine.
Image: Cool Stays
There's a six-person breakfast bar, walk-in larder, huge American-style fridge freezer, as well as additional stainless steel appliances like a dishwasher and microwave. On the first floor terrace, there's an additional dining area, perfect for al fresco dining with country views on a warm summer's evenings.
Upstairs, there's two large bedrooms, one of which has a standalone bathtub by the windowsill and has direct access on to the sun terrace.
The third bedroom has two single beds, ideal for children and the fourth bedroom is in a separate annex, hosting a super king size bed that can be slit into twins. Plus, there’s a house bathroom with a walk-in shower, as well as a master en-suite.
Image: Cool Stays
Outside, guests will be delighted to find a log-burning hot tub at ground level, a fire pit and even an oven mounted onto a massive tree trunk: there's certainly enough to keep children and grown ups occupied for hours.
Although the staycation doesn't have any physical reminders of its namesake, the owners explain the name was carefully chosen due to the emotions that the building evokes:
Image: Cool Stays
"It won’t escape your notice when you arrive at New York Public Library that it is not a public library, and neither is it in New York.
"In fact, the story behind the name of this rurally located holiday retreat – actually on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales - owes more to the city of York to the south than it does to the Big Apple.
"Designed and built by the owner, this four bedroom property has views across 15 acres of woods and parkland - and offers peace and inspiration just like its namesake."
Image: Cool Stays
If you needed any more convincing, it's pet friendly, baby friendly and you can hire out a chef to come to the property and cook for you.
The location of Richmond acts as the perfect access point to Durham, Ripon, Harrogate or the Howardian Hills, which are all less than an hour away from the property. It's also just over an hour from Leeds, making it an easy-access staycation for a weekend away or bank holiday retreat.
A rare Grade II-listed mid-century modern home designed by a renowned architect has gone on the market in Lancashire.
Now, we know this one is a little off patch for us… but honestly, it’s a truly unique masterpiece worth hyping up.
Before we all get carried away, it goes without saying that the vast majority of us won’t have the money to buy this house just chilling in bank accounts right now, but if like us, you’ve got no shame in admitting you love looking at houses you can’t afford in places you’ll probably never live, then allow us to introduce you to this absolute beauty.
This is Domus – thought to be one of the first ‘modern’ houses in the county, commissioned for Eric Cookson and his wife all the way back in 1958.
Images: The Modern House
Mid-century modern (MCM) homes are commonplace in the US and in other countries across Europe, but here in the UK, it’s a different story.
MCMs homes are said to be rare in the UK due to a preference for traditional, durable materials like brick, as well as higher land costs demanding smaller footprints, and because we have a climate that makes large, single-pane glass windows more impractical.
Image: The Modern House
Hence why this home in the sought-after Burnley town of Reedley is so special.
Designed by the renowned architect Alan Chambers, and concealed from view at the foot of a private driveway, fronted by landscaped gardens and a screen of mature specimen trees, estate agents say this exceptional Grade II-listed modern masterpiece is set intended for ‘creating, communing, and entertaining’.
Image: The Modern House
One of the property’s other stand-out features has to be its abundance of natural light in the main living spaces, where expansive full-height windows frame views of the garden.
Retaining the building’s legacy has also been integral to its current owners, with much of the property’s internal detailing having been beautifully preserved throughout – most notably in terrazzo tiles, marble floors, and aluminium door furniture, light switches and sanitaryware.
Oh, and of course, we have to mention the artfully crafted open-tread staircase as one of the many original features that just steals the show.
Image: The Modern House
The outside is just as impressive as the inside too, as not only is there a collection of characteristic balconies surrounding the property, but you’ll also find that the gardens and woodland extend to around 5.7 acres – which form an integral part of what makes this home so remarkable and unlike anything else in the North West
Like what you see then?
This property is currently on the market with mid-century modern expert estate agents, The Modern House, for a (pretty reasonable, to be fair) £1.1 million, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the agents to arrange a viewing.
Or you could just take the cheaper route instead and have a nosy at the Rightmove link here.
Leeds suburb named one of the UK’s top ‘property hotspots’ for 2026 as house prices soar
Clementine Hall
A residential area in Leedshas been highlighted as a UK ‘property hotspot’ based off house price data from 2025.
And it's probably not the place you’d expect either.
There’s no doubt the property market in our region has been booming over the last decade or so, with average house prices seeming to rise year-on-year, and more and more areas becoming sought-after as the places to live time goes on – but now, Rightmove has released its list of the top UK property hotspots for this year based off 2025 data, and a rather surprising Leeds suburb has made their way onto it.
To create its list of hotspots, the UK’s biggest property website compared average house prices across the UK during 2025 to out find the areas where prices they have risen the most, and the areas where prices are increasing more than the national average indicate that the area is a ‘hotspot’.
As well as soaring prices, Rightmove also considers a ‘property hotspot’ to be a place where there is a high demand for homes too.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Seacroft in Leeds claimed ninth place on the top ten list.
The data shows the average house price in Seacroft to be £218,893 with a 9% increase since January 2025.
Taking the top spot is Hawick, in Roxburghshire, that saw average asking prices rise by as much as 18% in 2025, reaching £148,633. Scotland features strongly overall, with three locations appearing in the top 10.
Durham nabbed second place, with average asking prices up 15% year on year to £251,339, whilst Stannington in Sheffield completes the top three, with prices up 12% to £264,078.
Lesley Robinson, branch manager at Manning Stainton Crossgates, adds: “Seacroft has seen notable growth in asking prices over the past year, reflecting a wider trend we’re observing across more affordably priced areas in Leeds.
"Buyers are increasingly drawn to locations that offer strong transport links and easy access to the city centre, and Seacroft fits that profile.”
Sophie Smith -
17th January 2023 
