While the house may be a new build, this is a real back to nature experience, with real eco-friendly ideals. Solar panels (photovoltaic) provide electricity for lighting and power, whilst gas heats water directly from the mountain spring. The house is wholly dependent on natural energies, so currently without sunshine you may find yourself without power. However what we can promise is a limitless supply of tea lights and twinkling stars! This is a rare opportunity to experience forward-looking living in a blissful setting where the local farmer still herds his goats around the hillside. To add to the adventure parking is 30 to 100 metres from the house; over a small bridge and running stream, and then a short, stunning walk down to the houses.

Originally designed for Milan’s Salon del Mobile (1998), by renowned Swedish architect Thomas Sandell and *Wallpaper Magazine, this house is a feat in compact living. Known by Sandell as the “inside outside house” it is designed around a shaded central courtyard, with the living area on one side and the bathroom and sleeping area on the other.

The sleeping arrangements are open-plan with minimal décor that is in keeping with the simplistic, contemporary vibe, although each bed has a drop down curtain for privacy. There are two double bedrooms (one of which is totally private, with door) and two singles built, cabin-style, into the corridor wall. The private double hints at an Asian aesthetic, dark stained wood and sliding glass doors onto a central courtyard. The second double is a cosy, 2m by 2m walled-in-bed with a long window at the foot looking out onto the hillside. The ceiling of this room is adorned with large-scale images of woodlands – most probably reflecting the surroundings of the Swedish architect who designed it. All the beds have good quality hard mattresses and are invitingly made up with crisp white embroidered bed linen (duvets); bath and hand towels are provided for, as are large beach towels. The bathroom has a hot water shower (gas fuelled) and there is also an outdoor shower for the more hardy naturalists, which children seem to love.

The Wallpaper House is completely self-catering, the kitchen is not sophisticated – with a large gas fridge/freezer and 3-hob gas cooker – but it is equipped with all the necessary cooking implements and crockery. There is a large gas BBQ where the majority of cooking is done. The kitchen area has a large dining table and chairs to seat six, and there are plenty of spots for eating out on the decking (shaded and sunny) made comfortable with huge day cushions, outdoor furniture and sun loungers. Guests need to park outside the plot and walk the 100m down a country track to the Wallpaper House.