Grunge, brutal and utilitarian. Country house redesign project by balbek bureau
- Architect
- balbek bureau
- A type
- private house
- Status
- completed
- Year
- 2023
- Size
- 375 sq.m.
Relogged is a private residential building in a green area on the river bank. Built in the log cabin technique, after the redesign it should be more in line with the customer's style and lifestyle.
The name of the project – Relogged – refers to the main task of the project, the rethinking of the log cabin. It also plays with the vibe of the location - a place of union with nature and a comfortable, peaceful life.
While researching examples of log cabin redesigns, the team found no references that matched the preferences and overall vision. Therefore, they decided to act according to their own intuition.
A contrasting solution was chosen for the dark wood on the walls - light wall panels and textiles, a neutral concrete floor and simple, minimalist geometry.
As for the overall concept of the interior, the client's stylistic reference was Rick Owens' apartment in the Italian city of Concordia - grunge, brutal and utilitarian.
The first request of the customer was a complete departure from the classic aesthetics of a log cabin. During the discussion, it was decided to adapt the log cabin to a modern design, but to leave exposed wood in the premises. This decision was also technically determined - complete stitching would prove to be problematic due to the mobility of the wood of the house. Since the owners are renting the house, we had to realize our ideas with minimal effort - with the help of point construction changes and thanks to the furniture and interior solutions.
The exterior log of the house is dark - that's why we decided to unify the color and tint the wood inside in a dark shade. In search of the ideal option, they tested different colors and selected the number of layers until they arrived at the desired one. Before tinting, the entire log was sanded. We also removed the cut beams of the log house as much as possible, so that the geometry of the lines looked cleaner.
The entrance to the living space is decorated in the form of a glass vestibule. A symmetrical staircase in the great hall leads to the second floor. The structure of the stairs is a metal console covered with wood. In accordance with the general concept of minimalist filling and clear geometry of the elements, as well as the wishes of the customer, the stairs are designed without railings.
To the left of the entrance is a home cinema. There is a step at the entrance - it used to be a garage with a different floor level, so the cinema room remains recessed.
The passage from the home theater leads to the kitchen. In contrast to wood, kitchen furniture was furnished with metal to add technology and modernity to the interior. The large kitchen island is made of concrete. The kitchen chairs are vintage.
The spacious living room has windows facing the river. Opposite the entrance to the house is a fireplace covered with concrete panels. The walls are equipped with seaming - plaster under concrete. The floor throughout the house is made of microcement.
Vertical metal shelves for a large library and a cozy reading chair are arranged near the fireplace area. For convenience, the shelves are decorated with metal movable stairs.
To the right of the main hall are the dining room and study areas. We removed the walls between the living room, kitchen and dining room, combining the rooms into one open space - the original beams of the log house have also been preserved here.
Paintings from the customer's private collection hang on the walls of the house. Furniture in the interior is a combination of our offers with vintage items collected by the customer.
In the process, most of the windows were replaced, except for the large front window that spans two floors. To add natural light, additional vertical windows were cut in the dining room and study, which add dynamism to the space.
On the second floor, to the right of the stairs, there is a master bedroom with a wardrobe and a bathroom. For additional natural light in the bedroom, we cut another symmetrical window in the ceiling. At the customer's suggestion, the bedroom walls were covered with wood - for this we chose wooden veneered panels.
The large bed was made to order - at first the idea was to make it entirely of metal, in the end they settled on a more practical option with a wide metal headboard. The interior was supplemented with vintage lamps. A large screen mirror was placed opposite the bed. In the rooms, the batteries were also replaced with metal ones, more in line with the overall style.
To the left of the stairs are two children's bedrooms with one bathroom. Both children's rooms are decorated with soft zones according to a similar principle. "The pocket" and the bed with soft upholstery were made to order according to our sketches. In the rooms, we added closets and metal shelves. When decorating the rooms on the second floor, there were problems with the floor level - in such houses, a large difference occurs due to the properties of wood.