Hidden in plain sight: a converted stable in Italy

A 250-year-old animal stable nestled in an Italian mountain village is now a family home – with a see-if-you-can-spot-it mirrored loo

Sheer Alpine mountains and forested valleys are both neighbour and inspiration for Italian designer and architect Riccardo Monte. His home, a 250-year-old former animal shed, is tucked into a tiny Italian village in the Ossola valley, not far from the Swiss border and Lake Maggiore.

Riccardo lives with his English partner, photographer and filmmaker Katie May, their six-year-old son, Julian, and collie, Lupa. The couple met in London more than a decade ago when their paths crossed in Hackney’s Dolphin pub. But they left a few years later, burned out by the frenetic pace of the metropolis, for a slower pace of life in Riccardo’s home county.