Nature-loving couple — nature illustrator, writer & animal lovers caring for your home 💚

About this sitter

We are Emma and Peter, a Belgian couple who love nature, animals, quiet places and slow travel. We both enjoy discovering new places at a gentle pace, spending time outdoors and living simply.
Emma is a nature artist and writer. Much of her work takes her outside with a sketchbook and camera, observing plants, birds, landscapes and the changing seasons. Peter is equally happy in nature and enjoys the practical side of things, he’s an excellent route planner and knows his way around computers, so we make a good team when it comes to looking after a home and its surroundings.
We are looking for house sits where we can genuinely become part of a place for a little while — caring for your animals, keeping your home tidy and safe, and enjoying the local landscape respectfully. We particularly love rural homes, gardens, forests, the coast and quiet places, and we are very comfortable spending a lot of time outdoors.
We are responsible, calm and considerate, and we understand that a house sit is first and foremost a responsibility. We would treat your home and animals as we would our own, keep in regular contact with you and make sure you can enjoy your time away knowing everything is well cared for.
We are especially drawn to sits that offer a chance to experience a place slowly rather than simply visit it — whether that is a cottage by the sea, a home in the countryside or an off-grid retreat.

Why they want to house sit

We love travelling slowly and getting to know a place by actually living there rather than simply passing through. House sitting feels like a wonderful way to do that: we get to experience a landscape, a local community and a different rhythm of life, while giving someone the peace of mind that their home and animals are being well cared for.
We are especially drawn to nature, rural homes and quieter places. We both love spending time outdoors, discovering new landscapes and taking care of animals. For Emma, these experiences also feed directly into her work as a nature artist and writer — she often explores places with a sketchbook and camera, paying attention to the plants, birds and small details that are easy to miss when travelling quickly.
We also like the mutual nature of house sitting. It gives us the opportunity to experience parts of the world we might otherwise never discover, while allowing homeowners to travel knowing that their animals are loved and their home is in safe hands.
We are not looking for a holiday as much as we are looking for temporary little homes and new landscapes to become part of.

Their experience

We have extensive experience with house sitting, pet care and living in rural homes.
In the past, we spent almost two years living as house sitters, travelling slowly and taking care of homes, animals and properties in different places. Some of our experiences include:
Brittany, France: running and caring for gîtes and looking after the property and guests.
Pennsylvania, USA: caring for cats and chickens while looking after a home.
Sardinia, Italy: helping on an organic farm and experiencing hands-on rural life.
Ireland: caring for a dog and looking after holiday cottages.
Valentia Island, Ireland: caring for cats and looking after a home.
These experiences taught us to be adaptable and responsible in very different environments. We are comfortable with rural and simple living, animals, gardens and the everyday responsibilities that come with looking after someone else's home.
We understand that every house sit is different, so we always take the time to learn the owners' routines and preferences. We are calm, observant and respectful, and we take the responsibility of caring for someone's home and animals seriously.
We particularly enjoy sits where animals are part of the experience and where we can spend time in nature and get to know a place rather than simply passing through.

What can they bring to the assignment

We bring a combination of experience, reliability, genuine love for animals and a calm, adaptable approach to living in someone else's home.
We are used to taking responsibility for homes, gardens, animals and properties, and we are comfortable learning new routines and adapting to different ways of living. We are respectful of other people's spaces and take pride in leaving a home clean, cared for and exactly as we found it.
Animals are a big part of why we enjoy house sitting. We have experience with dogs, cats, chickens and farm animals, and we genuinely enjoy giving animals company and attention rather than seeing them simply as a responsibility.
As a couple, we also complement each other well. Emma is a nature artist and writer who spends a lot of time outdoors observing and documenting landscapes, plants and wildlife. She is attentive to small details and naturally notices when something in the environment changes. Peter is practical in a different way: he is very organised, good at planning routes and logistics, comfortable with technology and loves animals.
Most importantly, we bring time and attention. We are not looking to rush through a house sit or spend all day away from the property. We enjoy settling into a place, caring for it properly and becoming part of its rhythm for a while.
We would bring a quiet, caring presence, plenty of outdoor energy and genuine enthusiasm for the place and animals we are looking after.