This is a vintage rural cottage in China that was renovated with contemporary furniture but retained its original features and charm
How to integrate modern decor into a vintage rural cottage? Fashion designer Sun Min and architect Christian Taeubert showed how to do that renovating a neglected cottage and its courtyard in rural China.
The dwelling is 76 square meter and was built in the 1970s but had collapsed perimeter walls and overgrown grounds. It retains many of the its original rustic features such as its original timber beams and roof, which sit alongside modern additions such as the large sliding glass doors. The cottage was refurbished with an open plan layout and using mainly locally-sourced materials.
The central space is occupied by a lounge with a wood burning stove, a kitchen and dining area and a small sleeping space on a raised platform at the far end. A master bedroom and bathroom sit at the other end of the dwelling behind a stainless steel partition wall. The bulbs are hanging on the beams, rocks are stacked to create a coffee table or placed on legs to make a side one. The furniture is ultra-modern: there are wire chairs, stainless steel kitchen cabinets and wooden benches and seats to soften the stone and metal look. The contrast between the rough stone walls and wood items and contemporary furniture and stainless steel touches is striking and it really turns the space into a work of art.
The renovation also saw the outdoor courtyard and its dry stone walls overhauled with new turfed and graveled areas for playing and lounging. The gravel areas are neighboring lawns and there are cushions and pillows to sit right on the ground.
The kitchen is done with stainless steel cabinets, and the dining space features a wooden table and wire chairs
A stainless steel wall separates the open layout and bedroom, there's a hearth in the corner and some stone stacked furniture
The lounge space is a wooden platform with pillows and rugs and a wooden stump table, look at the antique-looking walls
The outdoor spaces are styled with gravel and lawns, there's stone cladding and benches made of logs
The pebbles that cover some paths allow sitting right on them, there are large pillows and cushions and a stone table
What a gorgeous home and landscape outdoors that invites and shows off the original charm of rural Chinese cottages