Say what you will about rentals—that they're hard to decorate, expensive, orders of magnitude too small—there's at least a smörgåsbord of options in any given locale. If variety is the spice of life, then the rental market is the most well-stocked and poorly organized spice drawer the world has ever known, wherein wasabi snuggles up next to vanilla bean. And, indeed, what field more convenient to have a jumble of balls-to-the-wall offerings than that of temporary homes? Take, as proof, these two listings in London. One (at left) asks £40,000 ($64,440) a week and comes with gold ceilings, two gazillion (an exact figure) pounds of drapery, and a ballroom with three massive crystal chandeliers and two equally monstrous flanking fireplaces. Oh, and let's not forget the two elevators, 14 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and 11 reception rooms. In the same city: a penthouse apartment—also on the rental market, though at 12 percent of the cost—done up in clean lines and a much more pared-down (to say the least) aesthetic. Below, eight more odd couples:
Grandiose house:
Location: Paris
Price: $54,100 a month
Highlights: Architecture by Charles Garnier—the mastermind behind the Opera de Paris—plus a suite of yummy salons and reception areas, winter garden, steam room, and indoor pool.
Pared-down house:
Location: Paris
Price: $5,990 a week
Highlights: Interiors like "a rocket ship of luxury," with lots of angular upholstery and a rooftop patio.
Grandiose house:
Location: London
Price: $16,110 a week
Highlights: The world's most opulent breakfast room, including French silk wallcoverings and a way overcrowded dining table. Plus Venetian stone walls and—oh my—a "multi-line telephone system with 26 handsets." Ooh la la.
Pared-down house:
Location: London
Price: $8,055 a week
Highlights: That ridiculously cool orange pool table in "the study."
Grandiose house:
Location: San Gimignano, Italy
Price: Upon request
Highlights: Twelve bedrooms split between a large mansion and country house, a "full staff," swimming pool, tennis court, and croquet lawns.
Pared-down house:
Location: Florence, Italy
Price: $11,491 a week
Highlights: "Bauhaus period furniture are from the best designers: Van der Rohe, Eames, le Corbusier."
Grandiose house:
Location: Rublevo, Russia
Price: $25,000 a month
Highlights: That entryway.
Pared-down house:
Location: Moscow, Russia
Price: $2,970 a month
Highlights: Available on Airbnb for $99 a night and visitors say it's "modern, clean and nicely furnished."
Grandiose house:
Location: L-Iklin, Malta
Price: $13,516 a month
Highlights: "Marble flooring throughout," bronzes, mirrored walls, and Louis chairs like whoa.
Pared-down house:
Location: Mellieha, Malta
Price: $4,028 a week
Highlights: A huge, airy main room that resembles a hotel lobby.
Grandiose house:
Location: Nikolino, Russia
Price: $50,000 a month
Highlights: The 10,700-square-foot rental in Moscow's suburbs, once asking $60K a month, boasts a purple room replete with Rococo Louis chairs massive Oriental rugs.
Pared-down house:
Location: Moscow City, Russia
Price: $12,000 a month
Highlights: Panoramic views and a private elevator. Plus nothing says "quietness and solitude" like a circa-1983 white C-shaped couch and disco ball.
Grandiose house:
Location: Normandy, France
Price: $13,033 a day
Highlights: Guests "can enjoy a drink in the warm, polished atmosphere of the grand salon or in the more relaxed French café and billiard room. One can dine by candlelight amidst the ornate XVII century wildlife frescoes in the dining room and then retire to the privacy of your bedroom with furnishings and paintings reminiscent of times past."
Pared-down house:
Location: Cote D'Azur, France
Price: Upon request
Highlights: Exposed beams and an open, loft-inspired floorplan.
Grandiose house:
Location: Nikolino, Russia
Price: $45,000 a month
Highlights: Frescos, drapes, pools, and flatscreens ... all in the same room.
Pared-down house:
Location: Moscow, Russia
Price: Upon request
Highlights: Large windows, sparse "Versace style" furnishings, and the marbliest of bathrooms.
· All Renters Week 2013 posts [Curbed National]
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