The Beauty of Homecoming: A Charming House with a Spacious Veranda and a Thatched Roof

Basya has been living in a small village in Poland for several years, married to a half-Swiss man. She managed to instill a love for the village in him and her sister. Yes, life here is challenging, without urban conveniences, and running a household requires effort. But life here is peaceful, in tune with the rhythm of nature.

Basya has vivid childhood memories – she remembers her grandmother Kati’s wooden blue house, her garden full of asters and cornflowers. Her grandmother knew how to cultivate them and loved doing so, and she passed on this passion to her granddaughter.

Another memory is of Basya and her sister walking together to visit their neighbor, a schoolteacher. She had a beautiful antique cabinet filled with vintage porcelain. In childhood, it seemed so mysterious to Basya! Their own home didn’t have such objects, and perhaps it was then that she developed an appreciation for beautiful things with a history.

These memories stayed with her even when she moved to Switzerland, where she married Andre, a half-Polish, half-Swiss man, and brought her sister Anna back, who also fell in love with a local boy named Christopher.

The family’s country house project with a veranda there was no rush, so they were able to carefully consider and prepare for everything. The sisters, along with their brother, purchased land in their grandmother’s native village. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Basya and her husband collected antique furniture and porcelain, while Anna and Christopher restored them.

Then the project for the little house came about. It had a fairly traditional layout for the area, with one exception – they thought about future guests, as they intended to rent out this house.

Thanks to this, they were able to fit a large comfortable sofa, a dining table with chairs, and even a country crib that now serves as a flower pot.

The entire house and garden were built within seven years, the time that had passed since the family’s move to Poland. They used part of the wood discarded from an old school building for the construction of the new house. The old boards were covered with layers of paint, requiring them to be cleaned and repainted in a blue color. This shade was the same color that adorned their grandmother’s house and was traditional for the entire region associated with water. This hue also helped create a sense of carefree idyll that they wanted to capture here.

Yuri, the sisters’ brother, took charge of the construction. It became a family project, with everyone contributing their efforts. Basya tended to the garden, and together with her sister, they took care of the guests. Basya’s husband, Andre, whom everyone in Poland calls Andrei, did most of the work with his own hands.

Another dream emerged. Andre, a jeweler by profession, became fascinated with artistic forging and now has a burning desire to build his own blacksmith workshop next to the house.

Both sisters were responsible for the interior design. They furnished all the rooms with antique furniture, hung old photographs and plates on the walls. The fireplace, with its glossy tile decor, serves a purely decorative purpose, as the main heating system in the house is gas.

In the kitchen, one can find everything needed for cooking, including a mixer and dough kneader. But guests from the city love everything here, especially the tranquility. Life in the village is different.

A different life in the village
The guests tell the hostess that it’s beautiful here, and they feel like they’re in their own grandmother’s village house. These words melt Basya’s heart.