“A lot of people want a spa feeling and a spa look that’s very analogous to modern,” said Luis Juaregui, a Texas-based American Institute of Architects accredited architect. The 4,200 square foot, $3.5 million gray stone and glass home has free flowing entertaining spaces,  floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, a stone staircase with open risers, clear glass balustrades and clean geometric lines, tempered by dark wood cabinets, area rugs and soft furnishings.

Still, to fit into more traditional looking neighborhoods, architects are increasingly going hybrid, mixing distinctly modern, techno-savvy interiors with colonial details, Tudor-style roofs or Craftsman-inspired touches on the exterior.

A home to call one’s own has long been part of the American Dream. But as tastes, technologies and regional preferences change, propelled by demographics and the socio-economic climate, the style, scale and comforts of that coveted real estate evolve.

During the bigger- is-better 1980s and 1990s, homes ballooned in size.  Compact single story ranch and cape cod styles gave way to ever grander two-story neo-colonials. When the economic bubble burst, they retrenched. These days, downsizing is cool; supersized McMansions towering over smaller homes are not.

Stephen Melman, director of economic services at the National Association of Home Builders said that houses shrank about 10 percent from their 2,500 square foot peak in 2007, and are expected “to get smaller and more efficient” with open floor plans, master bedrooms on the first floor and dining rooms distinguished only by a chandelier or architectural detail.

One-story ranch homes, post World War II suburbia’s signature easy style, are slowly regaining favor, thanks to first time buyers with tiny tots and aging baby boomers seeking accessibility.

Craftsman style homes, popular before World War II, are also enjoying a revival, said Gary D. Cannella, an architect in Bohemia, N.Y.  “It’s the style not the size.” Adaptable to sizable abodes or small bungalows, these one or one and a half story homes boast  low-pitched rooflines, tapered columns, oversized eaves, gables and the front porches “that everyone wants and no one sits on.”

The college will open next September and the principal will be magazine editor Susie Forbes.

It is the first step in to the education market for the international publishers.

The company says it will offer a year-long Vogue fashion foundation course, as well as short courses. It also plans interior design and decoration courses.

The new college says it has no plans as yet to offer undergraduate degrees but is considering such a move for future academic years. It will offer some courses at Masters level.

Conde Nast says it has had talks about collaboration with several “respected institutions of higher education” and will confirm details later.

‘Fashion capital of the world’

The college principal Susie Forbes is currently the editor of Easy Living and was deputy editor of British Vogue for five years.

She said: “With access to some of the sharpest and most creative minds shaping the fashion, design and interiors industries today, we aim to educate students to the highest level. It makes perfect sense for Conde Nast to open its college doors in London, the fashion capital of the world.”

The group says the subjects covered will include the history of fashion and design, the fashion year, journalism and business skills related to the industry.

London is already home to the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins, which are part of the University of Arts London.

Both offer degree-level courses in fashion alongside other subjects.

The London College of Fashion was set up more than 100 years ago, when it trained girls in dressmaking, millinery, embroidery and hairdressing.

This 532-acre sea island community of 520 homes offers every amenity, makes every option available, then stands ready to help you enjoy it. Here, in the finest of Florida oceanfront property, residents enjoy beach, marina, golf, tennis, fitness, spa, privacy and security. Sailfish Point combines all this with the opportunity to live in one of the world’s most naturally beautiful settings in a breathtaking range of living possibilities from spacious beachfront homes and home sites to intimate oceanfront condos, link side villas and townhomes with private docks.

This is a community where a quick ride in your golf cart takes you to the oceanfront clubhouse. Or a bike ride starts your morning in the fitness center. Tennis tournaments let you choose your level of play. School holidays are filled with activities for children and the whole family. And a quiet sunset, a peaceful cup of coffee on the balcony or a walk along the sand gives ample opportunity to do nothing at all. Here, in one of Florida’s most prestigious addresses is a most comfortable lifestyle.

Of the deals that have gone through in the past year, Russian venture capital billionaire Yuri Milner’s $100m (£63m) purchase of Palo Alto Loire Chateau, a 25,500-square foot Silicon Valley mansion, was the biggest in America.

The former home of TV mogul Aaron Spelling, which was once known as America’s most expensive house, was also sold last year after three years on the market.

The buyer, Petra Ecclestone, 22-year-old daughter of Formula One tycoon Bernie, managed to get it at the bargain price of $85m (£54m), a substantial saving on the list price of $150m (£95m). Like Mr Milner, she does not intend to use it as her main residence.

Billionaire Russian tycoon and Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is also a fan of the Cote d’Azur, which like Switzerland has seen a boom in high-end property prices in the past few years.

Villa La Leopolda, the 10-acre estate he is thought to have purchased from Microsoft mogul Bill Gates for $450m (£284m) is often described in the media as the world’s most expensive house.

But the truth is we will never know for sure. Many of the biggest property deals take place well away from the prying eyes of the media, and are not even listed in real estate agents’ guides, according to the experts

Dmitry Rybolovlev is thought to have bought the palatial pad for his 22-year-old university student daughter, Ekaterina Rybolovleva.

The 6,744 sq ft (627 sq m) apartment in Central Park West is the highest value individual property sale in New York history.

It works out about $13,000 (£8,204) per square foot, which could well be a new record. An estate in Hong Kong’s ultra-exclusive Peak, 10 Pollock’s Path, which sold last summer for $102.7m (£65m) was previously thought to have held that title, with a per-square-foot value of $12,188 (£7,704), although no official record is kept.