Euroluce, the international lighting exhibition in Milan, amazed with many innovative and spectacular designs this year. Innovative installations, clustered lighting, simple and severe forms, multicoloured versions and a big diversity of materials acted as the benchmark for the lighting world. We shine a light on our five favourites.

In recent decades, the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira has joined the ranks of islands that have been transformed into top tourist destinations. With a relatively warm – though mild – climate and mountainous topography, as well as one of the highest standards of living in wider Portugal, it is also seen as an ideal choice for a first or second home.

Oh, the old romantic notion of a vineyard dwelling: plucking grapes come late summer before crushing them by foot into a fabulous vintage. Although winemaking à pied rarely takes place in this day and age, owning a home and a plot of Malbec or Bonarda in Mendoza, Argentina’s principal winemaking region, is a more feasible dream.

Held every April in Milan, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile is a highlight in the furniture design calendar for artists, interior architects, designers and trend scouts alike. We enjoyed the 52nd edition in the smart Lombardian metropolis, filtering out the top trends from the masses of creativity shown across the city.

The location could hardly be bettered across Europe, with one of the continent’s best lakes on the doorstep, an affluent city a few kilometres away, and surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery. For many, living around Lake Geneva is a lifestyle choice.

It was an extraordinary commission, even for renowned interior designer Michael S Smith. The final brief ended up something like this: take a specific ocean-side house in Malibu, completely renovate it, embellish it with a fantastic interior design, fill it with exquisite objects – and then the kick in the tail – the house would be sold, with all the painstakingly collected objects auctioned off.

“The beauty of an auction,” says James Grillo, “is that everything is crystallised into one day”. The excitement, he continues, is that it presents “a one-off opportunity to outbid competitors.” Grillo, head of country estates at Chesterton Humberts, is not talking about any run-of-the-mill auction here. Instead, he is referring to the sale of the Old Rectory at Tunworth, a property he thinks carries the highest ever pre-sale estimate for a house sold at auction in England: GBP 3.75 million.