Originally thought of as a hideaway, we love our countryside retreat so much that my boyfriend and I now spend a lot of time there. The way it is set up no doubt has a lot to do with it: it’s like our city apartment, only smaller. There, too much clutter has built up over time. Here, we haven’t brought in everything you can imagine, but have done without everything we can. This has created a space in which we don’t have to go far to cook, eat, relax or work and which reflects a more condensed version of our lives.