Two small cottages are surrounded by lush trees. They are literally a few steps away from the lake. The cottages are small, but they are also not the biggest attraction of the place. Rather, they serve a practical function - here you can prepare food and hide from the rain. The real attraction of Sauerwald is the more than 100-year-oldorchard. As the owner himself says - this is the largest living room here. Marcelina Chodyniecka-Kuberska of the Chillboxhouses studio is responsible for the design of the cottages.
Basia Hyjek: How did your adventure begin? Where did the idea for such houses come from?
Adam Dowgird: When we travel, we look for intimate places, away from civilization, without service or neighbors. Good, modern architecture is as important to us as interesting history of the place and local cuisine. Unfortunately, in Poland, the combination of all these features is very difficult, because either the cottages are in the immediate vicinity of other buildings (in a settlement of similar houses), not providing intimacy, or their appearance, to put it mildly, is not very interesting.
This is exactly the type of intimate resting places we were looking for when planning our vacation
Photo: Maciej Drążczyk
A nice climatic cottage in a remote area, located in an attractive place, on a large plot of land in the forest, next to a lake - this is a rarity and an exceptional luxury these days. This is exactly the type of intimate vacation spots we were looking for when planning our vacation. The lack of an interesting offer made us set ourselves to create a place that would meet our (and we hoped not only our!) expectations.
Basia: What was particularly difficult in creating this place?
Adam: By far the most difficult was finding a suitable plot of land. A big enough one - eight hectares, wooded, in a place far away from buildings, cities, villages, but located in the forest and on a lake. Off the main tourist routes, but at the same time sensibly connected with Warsaw (the trip from the capital takes a maximum of three hours).
Instead of a TV, we leave our guests with board games and books about the history of the area, travel and slow living
Photo: Maciej Drążczyk
Basia: And what was particularly important, without which the cottages would not have been built?
Adam: The belief that we investors are not the only ones who think alike about the ideal vacation.
Time and patience - each stage of the ongoing investment required a lot of time and patience from us! Exemplary cooperation between the investor and the designer, understanding our needs and translating this into an appropriate design. Adequate budget - the cost of building the houses turned out to be a fraction of the value of the plot.
Basia: How would you like guests to feel here?
Adam: Sauerwald is meant to be a place of unique tranquility. It is not a place for everyone, but for those who are looking for the luxury of staying in a quiet place with plenty of space around the house, intimate, without close neighbors, with discreet service.
The small but rationally landscaped cottages are intended to provide a comfortable vacation for parents with children or couples, very close to nature, which surrounds and is basically part of the houses. They are to blend in with the surroundings, and the garden, through the lack of a fence, is to be an unrestricted space (there are about four hectares of land for each cottage).
The largest living room is to be an over 100-year-old orchard or a mid-forest meadow
Photo: Maciej Drążczyk
Instead of a TV, we leave our guests with board games and books about the history of the area, travel and slow living.
The largest living room has to be a 100+ year old orchard or a mid-forest meadow. We also do not charge extra (hidden) fees for the stay of a dog or the use of bicycles and SUP boards.
