An interior designer who ditched her life in Amsterdam to live in a cave in Sicily after a difficult break-up reveals how her unusual new home ‘saved’ her – despite tackling humidity, dust and insects on a daily basis.
Shalise Barnes, 30, bought the 85-square metre property sight unseen for £47,255 (€55,000) in June 2026, initially planning to ‘flip it’ and rent it out.
But, after seeing the cave in person, she ‘fell in love’ with the space and decided to move in permanently.
She has since transformed the space into a dream abode, with plush furniture, bookshelves and soft lighting, creating a cosy
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