A home in every chapter of life
We create private collections of beautiful homes across Europe's finest regions. Owners don't buy into a single property; they join a curated collection of exceptional homes that unlocks a European way of life. Each residence is thoughtfully restored and designed with leading architects, interior designers, artisans and local craftsmen, creating homes as inspiring as the places themselves. August is built around belonging: to a collection of homes, to the richness of different regions, and to a community shaped by travel, design and exceptional living.
August began with a feeling every family knows. The last morning of a holiday, wondering what it would be like to stay. To have a place that's yours, in a part of Europe you love, waiting for you season after season.
We founded August to answer that feeling, and to remove everything that stands between a family and that home: the search, the renovation, the upkeep, the quiet worry of a house sitting empty most of the year. We find exceptional homes, restore them with expert teams across renovation and interior design, and care for them year-round, so that ownership feels the way it always should have. Effortless.
The idea hasn't changed since the day we founded August. The care behind it has only grown.
Our Mission
August creates homes and collections where families can slow down, come together and belong, in the most beautiful corners of Europe.
Through these homes we foster friendships between families who share them, sustain the craft and communities of the regions that host them, and make space for the moments that matter most: long tables, slow mornings, and memories shared between generations.
Our Vision
We are stewards of great homes. Each one existed long before us and will stand long after, so we restore and enhance through craftsmanship while preserving the long history of the house and the region it belongs to.
Our vision is a Europe where second homes are lived in rather than shuttered. Where villages and towns grow because families keep returning to them. And where every August home is passed down and returned to, chapter after chapter, for generations.
Our Values
We are stewards. Original stone stays original. What we add, we add with care. Every home is restored with craftsmanship, its history preserved, and left better than we found it. The same duty extends to the landscapes and communities around it.
We champion local craft. Every restoration is made with the stonemasons, ceramicists, artisans and artists of its region. And the story continues long after a home is finished: our owners' visits sustain jobs and local spend in the villages and towns around every collection. We're proud of the growth that follows.
We do it properly. We craft a small number of private collections each year. Each home is sourced close to places we already know, restored without shortcuts, and furnished down to the last ceramic. It takes longer. It's also why our homes feel the way they do.
We believe in time together. Time is the most precious thing a family has, and sharing it is the greatest gift. Everything we build, from the homes to the community of families who share them, is in service of spending it well.
The people behind August
August is built by a team of designers, architects, advisors and home managers across Europe, together with the craftspeople of every region we work in.
Nicolai Watzenig
Nicolai Watzenig is an entrepreneur and investor who has founded companies across consumer technology, lifestyle, real estate and finance. Educated in New York, Paris and Copenhagen, he brings experience across industries and markets, alongside a longstanding passion for building global brands. He laid the foundations of August’s brand identity and continues to guide its vision and strategic direction. His ambition is to build a lifestyle platform whose relevance extends beyond home ownership, shaping how families spend their time, the experiences they share and the traditions they carry forward.
Mélie Dunod
Mélie Dunod is the Co-Founder and CEO of August. Raised in the South of France in a family rooted in building and restoration, she developed an early appreciation for architecture, craftsmanship and the details that give a home lasting character. Her career spans property, law and business, including leading real estate projects for private clients and hospitality groups across Europe. In 2018, she co-founded August to bring a new perspective to European home ownership, shaped by exceptional design, hospitality and the pleasure of time well spent. Today, she leads its evolution, from the homes that form each collection to the lifestyle that unfolds within it.
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