Hallway
Baskets from Laos and a unique square kilim from Iran are placed under the windows.
Living Room
The stone wall was half finished and a retired bricklayer – the stone whisperer – restored it with love all the way to the ceiling. A chimney was added to accommodate the Danish fireplace. The teak wood coffee table is made out of one big tree trunk.
Wine Cellar
On moving in to the house this cellar had a simple dirt floor and had served as an earth refrigerator for dried meat. However, with some research we established that the cellar has a consistent humidity and temperature that is just perfect for storing wine.
We engaged a Bavarian ‘Weinkellerbauer’ to design and build the much needed wine cellar. They retained the original ceiling and used the rocks found in this room to build a step, as the cellar floor was very uneven. The Bavarians brought house bricks from an old factory in Germany, which were cut in half and retain the original stamp of the bricks.
Horst found an old wine barrel which we now use as table for Wine and Schnaps tastings, or as Tatjana’s Dad would say ‘for our meetings’.
Lounge / Guest Room
I longed for many years to find a wall where I could remove the plaster to see what was underneath i.e. the original stone. Hard work and persistance paid off and I am really happy with the outcome. Changing the original green doors, which were not the same height to sliding barn doors made this room so much bigger. We also updated the lights in this room, which will be used as a Bedroom, Office and occasionally as a fitness room.
Master Bedroom
A little farmhouse style was added via the iron curtain rails and handmade curtains, made of a block-printed fabric from India in this bedroom, which was a Pig Stye in a prior century.
The handwoven wash basket is from a minority tribe called ‘Sop Moi’ who live in northern Thailand on the border to Myanmar. We added spot lights to the alcoves and antique pieces from Myanmar. The clothes rack is from the famous flee market Panjiajuan in Beijing, China.
Master Bathroom
Natural marble and teak wood gives this bathroom a warm look. The old horse bench is Qing Dynasty from China.
Kitchen
This room was originally used as ‘smoking room’ for ham and sausages, in austrian called ‘Rauchkuchl’. To bring light in this room we built a fairly modern kitchen, using solid wood and stone and grey slate floor tiles. The paintings from Chattuchak Market in Bangkok, bring some colour in this room.
Ground Floor Hallway
It was clear from the start that the orange terracotta tiles had to go. However, they clung on for many years until I found this gorgeous travertine marble stone shipped from Turkey. It matches the grey tones of the stone in the walls and steps to the cellar. A chinese wooden bucket traditionally used for a foot bath is filled with colourful felt slippers for all our guests, as the ‘Talhaus’ is a ‘shoe free zone’.
Dining Room
In the old days, this room was the dining room, living room and sometimes also a place to sleep in winter. The original ‘Kachel Ofen’ takes an age to warm up, but when it gets there it’s warm for the whole day and serves as a nice bench. The long side board is made out of Elm wood and is from China.The old dining table was restored and also enlarged with a frame of cherry wood.
Guest Toilet
Not only can you get hand hammered stainless steel as cutlery and serving dishes, but also as a sink. Always loved polished concrete walls in Asia, however it is not very commonly used in Austria. To keep the wall looking natural we added old teak wood tiles from Thailand.