Living Simply

No tricked-up seaside McMansions here in the sleepy little Spanish fishing village of Cadaques, about an hour's drive from Barcelona. And that's exactly what attracted Tami & Anders Christiansen when they were looking for a weekend house to give them a break from their busy life running an Interior Design business in Copenhagen.

Wandering around the steep & winding streets one weekend, they saw a For Sale sign on a derelict house perched on a cliff overlooking the harbour & a week later they were the new Owners. Only few minor structural jobs needed to be done before they moved in & then it was just a question of lots of fresh paint & filling the home with pieces purchased mainly from second-hand stores along the Costa Brava. They really have achieved a fantastic sense of ambience & relaxed living using an eclectic mix of pieces in this gorgeous little retreat.

Throwing the shutters open on these windows allows the light to spill into the dining room.

Confidently hanging a small chandelier in this room along with all the quirky pieces, shows a strong sense of proportion & style.

Relaxing pieces of old furniture, soft cushions & a couple of very elegant busts thrown together form a gorgeous vignette.

Tami's used the same fabric accents on all the cushions throughout the house to give the space a stylish sense of continuity.

Bare brick floors & scrubbed wooden boards make for easy & relaxed living.

A small side-table sits beautifully in a corner holding a plant in a terracotta pot & family photos.

Again unusual & quirky pieces are scattered throughout the house to create a fabulous sense of ambience.

An old piece of wrought iron fencing adds a decorative touch to the little open fireplace.

Symmetrical placing of these topiaries in the the Living Room on an old milk-washed table.

Low stone plastered walls in the house have had a coat of paint to freshen them up & provide extra shelving.

An old Spanish armoire was rebuilt to serve as a kitchen pantry cupboard.

A close-up shot of the kitchen armoire.

Some of the rooms were awkward shapes, so Tami used simple furnishings & higher decorative pieces as accents.

A small old desk provides a place to read or catch up with some writing.

The steep, windy street outside the cottage.

Views of the harbour from the Dining room window.

Life in Cadaques still revolves around the fishing industry.

All images Hearst (photographer Andreas Von Einsiedel)