Nel bagno, dalle pareti e dalle mattonelle bianchissime, il legno ha un ruolo
principale, dal piano che sostiene il lavabo al tavolino d’appoggio
fino alle mensole.
ENG.
The house in the woods
In a region of north-eastern Poland, a
beautiful farm has been restored in the
sign of pure contact with nature.
Living without electricity in the 21st
century seems paradoxical. However, in a
forest of Warmia, a region in north-eastern
Poland, a couple has chosen not to adapt
the farm to the modern standards of
comfort.
The building was built during the early
19th century with sun-dried clay bricks;
stables were bigger and in bricks and
stones. In the beginning, the building was
surrounded by cultivated fields but today
the forest has taken over once again.
The barn, the stables, the well and the
cellars are the only original buildings that
survived by changing their primigenial
intended use. Candles act as light sources
during the evening while recreating the
mood and the atmosphere of yesteryear.
The large fireplace without decorations,
the cast-iron stove and the old-fashioned
kitchen serve as heat sources during long
and cold winters.
First water is pulled up from the well, and
then it settles in the tank, later it is heated
up by the wood-burning kitchen stove.
The refrigerator has been replaced by the
cellar, always fresh during summer too.
The family lives in the woods and benefits
from all its gifts: mushroom season
represents an intense moment to prepare
provisions for the whole year.
The beating heart of this poetic abode is
the kitchen, remained as its former self
with white tiles.
Pots and ancient moulds hanging on the
walls are still in use. The slate clock is not
adjusted when standard time changes;
the pace of time beaten by light and
nature. What about furnishings? Basic and
spartan decorations too! For example, the
wardrobe survived a fire but marks are still
evident.
Exposed wooden beams match the shelves
of the bookcases facing each other;
walls are white and floors use natural
wood in planks. Upstairs, planks have
been whitened such as the steps of the
staircase leading to the sleeping area. In
the beginning, the upper floor was not a
residential space. Thanks to a recovery
action — the roof has been reassembled
and the addition of windows —, a new
open housing space has been created,
full of light and with minimal pieces
of furniture. Some chairs of yesteryear,
a shabby chic table with a beautiful
credenza in a vintage kitchen, the master
bedroom in light wood and a mirror dyed
using aniline.
Wood plays a key role in the bathroom
too, both for the countertop of the sink
and for the shelves in a recess on the
opposite wall. Here too, white tiles as in
the kitchen. In one of the bedrooms — on
a cabinet painted in white —, there is an
unexpected icon of the well-known Polish
artist Miroslaw Dziedzicki.
Text by Teobaldo Fortunato
Photography by Igor Dziedzicki