This adorable little cottage (spotted on Design Sponge earlier this year) was in pretty rough shape when owners Iva and Vanja discovered it, but they couldn’t resist its simple charm and pristine country location. They spent a couple years fixing up and furnishing the 100-year-old house they named “Kucica” (which means “small house” in Croatian), situated in a particularly picturesque and hilly part of Croatia just 15 miles from the capital Zagreb. There’s an orchard with apple, peach and oak trees, and they planted an organic garden full of tomatoes, onions, peppers, peas, strawberries and herbs, which they use to cook big weekend feasts with friends. Inside, the simple, rustic furniture, which was either found there or bought at yard sales and flea markets, adds some color and personality to the intentionally humble space. “We tried to use simple, basic colors to emphasize the simplicity of peasant life and our determination to take this journey and explore the times when life was simpler and maybe even more beautiful and healthy,” says Iva.

The Details:

Email [email protected] for pricing; the nearest airport is Zagreb (they’ll arrange transport to cottage); rent it at kuchica.com.

[photographs by Damir Zizic]