Restoration of a rural house in an ancient village on the Turin Pre-Alps | Studio Ellisse architetti

A piece of an ancient village overlooking the lush woods of the Turin pre-Alps. A rural house, already remodelled over the years, to be enhanced and transformed into a place to rest and regenerate.

The existing:
The stone masonry house, on three floors of 30 m2 each, with an open plan, faces south onto a terraced garden. The previous interventions, while safeguarding the stone masonry, did not keep the original floors and plaster.

The project objectives:
-Use materials in harmony with the "rural" nature of the house, which come locally and respond to the logic of simplicity and functionality typical of peasant civilization;
-Intervene without upsetting the system of the house but exploiting what is present in order to respond to new needs;
-Redevelop the house from an energy point of view, insulating the roof and perimeter walls.

The project:
-The new interior walls of the bathrooms and bedrooms on the top floor are made with a structure and cladding in locally sourced solid chestnut wood;
-The floors are in split Luserna stone with a hammered edge and heat-treated local oak nailed to joists and laid in spans;
-All cabinets and kitchen and bathroom furniture are made to measure using the same chestnut wood;
-Realization of the finishes of the internal walls of the bathrooms with waterproof lime mortars thanks to wax and soap based treatments;
-Lime painting of the plastered walls.

In particular:
Kitchen floor
The floor is equipped with a small bathroom with laundry and anteroom next to the staircase. Going down the staircase to the right, there is a reading / television corner with a small sofa illuminated by a french door. A large table dominates the room. The kitchen finds space on the wall against the ground together with a wood stove. A console cabinet furnishes the south wall where the TV can be placed. The flooring is in stone, resistant to water and trampling. The ceiling was stripped and decorated by darkening the existing pine planks. Outside, a pergola shades a table for the summer season. A barbecue corner with a sink has been installed to the side.

Living area
The floor is divided into an entrance area, a small bathroom with dressing room and the sofa area. The wall to the right of the entrance houses the staircase, which can be closed if necessary, so as not to lose heat. When closed, thanks to sliding panels, it becomes a wall in a single material, a chestnut wood plank, apart from the central area, equipped with shelves, for storing books or other objects and plastered inside. The entrance area, where you can undress and take off your shoes, will have a long bench where you can sit and store your shoes underneath and a wardrobe for hanging jackets, hats, etc. The sofa area is large and enjoys the view and the light of the windows. It can be equipped with a cabinet and television. The stove has placed on the rear wall due to the existing chimney. The flooring is different in the entrance area using stone resistant to water and trampling. In the rest of the space, heat-treated oak planks of various widths are nailed to joists and cutlery in spans. The ceiling was covered with new chestnut planks.

Bed area
The space is divided into two bedrooms and a bathroom. A small, glazed compartment illuminated by a skylight houses the shower shared with the rooms. In the bedrooms, the walls are covered in chestnut wood, the niches that house the built-in wardrobes are plastered with lime mortar and cocciopesto. The flooring of the corridor and bathroom will be in split Luserna stone, that of the bedrooms in heat-treated oak of various widths nailed to joists.