The guest house is located on the banks of Peipus Lake (Чудско-Псковское озеро), buried under the knoll that divides the wood from the meadow of the shore.

The charming location of the building, on the margin between two different natural ecosystems, inspired us to interpretate the interiors as a threshold.

The house is fully built of pine logs that are interrupted just by wide windows located on the façade overlooking the water.

The smell of wood pervades all the rooms, enhancing the intrinsic quality of space.

We visited the building when the structure had just been built and windows had not been installed yet. The contrast between the monochromatic rough walls and the vivid colors of the sky, water and grass that the apertures framed was astonishing: inside everything was still while outside it was fickle.

After the visit, preserving this contrast was at the heart of this project. To strengthen its effects we decided to add in the pure space just what was essential, to make the house functional and comfortable for guests.

Beside the wood we used quartzite of the same tone to realize all custom made features: the top and backsplash of the kitchen cabinetry, the countertop washbasin in the bathroom, the fireplace mantle, the low screen that hold the tv and the cladding systems of the walls in the showers.

All the elements of the design project contribute to create a warm sense of place inside this timeless retreat suspended between serene domestic scape and mutable natural landscape.