Simplicity in form isn’t just about the lack of visual clutter; a lack of adornment or pretense can free the mind and spirit, plus remind that what’s important isn’t what’s on the walls or in the toy box, but what you do there. Minimalist living puts the focus on the living.

London-based Danish designer Nina Tolstrup lives in London and, after selling a flat, found herself with some money. She stumbled upon a small patch of beachside land on a real estate auction website and “I went down, had a look at the plot and thought, ‘My God, it is tiny.’ It was about the size of a caravan. There’s a row of 25 chalets lining the beach and the plot’s in the middle. It was quite expensive, but it’s all relative – what do you expect, an hour from London and on the beach?

She drew the plans for the 388-square-foot dwelling herself and had the structure pieced together by a local builder.

“Every time I enter the smell of the pine hits me, and serves to evoke the nature of the place. Here time takes on a different dimension: even being there a short time somehow feels longer and you leave feeling recharged. There is never any plan, but always things to do. I feel a strong connection to the place and the bleak landscape which has its own strange beauty.”