SLOW STAYS

Nature plays muse at this thoughtfully designed tiny home in the Capertee Valley – a 3.5 hour drive from Sydney via the Blue Mountains. You won’t find anything cookie-cutter or mass produced here, just lashings of mountain views pouring in through the oversized windows, sustainable hand-built furniture, and the healing energy of nature. Born in the notebook sketches of its owners and the strength of their hands, all of the timber within the Retreat House was saved from landfill while every salvageable off-cut (and in many cases, triple off-cuts) was reborn in smaller details like stairs, a shoe rack, stools and architraves. Proving mismatched is a small price to pay for minimising waste, the beautifully designed interior – with two cosy day beds and a loft Queen bed dressed in French flax linen – flows seamlessly to the timber deck where you can eat a nourishing meal or roll out the yoga mats for an offline class or guided meditation (all provided). Swaddled by the majesty of the world’s second largest canyon and blissfully free from WiFi, here you’ll have the opportunity to return to yourself, tap back into the part of your soul that’s been downtrodden, and emerge fortified at the end of your stay.