Our story

When the love for the Slovenian countryside, for old houses and for the beautiful nature of the rugged river Kolpa meet, the story of the renovation of the old heritage-protected Mimi house and its pig barn is born
About us

We are Bauer family

Klemen; a man full of ideas, enthusiasm and zeal for work, who participated with his own hands in practically every part of the renovation, while he needed a new challenge after the end of his professional sports and he certainly found one in the seemingly endless sanding, painting, plastering and “screwing”.

Neža; which the current final image of the house at the very beginning (when the only shower after a whole day of removing the old plaster was the spring-cold river Kolpa) eluded her, but she took on the furnishing of the house with the greatest joy when the worst was over.

Aksel and Lars; who were happy to help with renovation and painting, and they even preferred to have the company of the surrounding children.

Despite the fact that we are essentially travelers, we have found our second home in this old house, whose warmth and homeliness we are happy to share with you.

Renovation

If you are interested in how the house and the pig barn looked at the beginning and during the renovation…
 
The house was in pretty bad shape when we bought it. In the space where the wellness is now, there used to be a stable, so the house sank in that part. The roof was in fairly good condition, but the interior had been neglected and musty for many years.

Exterior

The first thing we done was the renovation of the old pig barn, which is also heritage protected. For many years it served as a place for “old junk”, so we first completely emptied it, then demolished it and replaced all the wooden walls with new ones. We kept all the old supporting beams and all the doors. Today, it has been converted into an additional living unit for four people, which offers all the comforts of large facilities in a small space. 

The renovation of the house itself originally required extensive construction work, including excavation of the building, implementation of waterproofing, walling of the foundations, drainage and installation of sewers. We reconstructed the escarpment, replaced the windows with locally made wooden replicas, removed the old plaster, restored it and built a new concrete cornice. The healthy roofing was preserved, the roof needed to be replaced and the L-shaped balcony (locally called “gank”) renovated. We managed to preserve a next-to-the house vine, which is probably as old as the house itself.

The biggest challenge was the replacement of four moisture-damaged oak beams that were part of the supporting structure. Before replacing them, it was necessary to stabilize the wooden part of the building with construction supports. Many interventions were necessary in the interior as well. In the basement, where the stable used to be, the manure had to be removed first. Today, the basement rooms have been transformed into a wine cellar and wellness area, which are accessible from the outside as well as from the inside, via a newly made hatch in the floor of the corridor.

The wooden floors were replaced in the living area. Since the house is heritage protected, we were not allowed to cover the outside of the building with insulation, so we insulated the walls from the inside with a 5-centimeter layer of stone wool and attached a reinforced mesh to it, and then plastered the whole with lime plaster.

Interior

The aim of the interior design was to brighten the house and create harmony between the old and the new. In the interior, we didn’t want too much “heavy”, massive, old furniture, but as bright elements as possible, which would open up the space. Since the windows are small and there is little natural light, we kept the walls light. The equipment itself is a mix of new and old. From the original furniture, the two sideboards in the living room have been preserved, the chests are also original, but they needed a little refreshing. Even the beds in the children’s room are very old and the work of a local carpenter. A striking part of the living room is the fireplace, lined with panels, designed by famous Slovenian architect Plečnik’s, which brings additional warmth and romance to the home by the Kolpa river.

The mirror in the bathroom has old house windows installed on the sides, which we also set in the wellness area, as part of the newly built wall.

The attic, once empty, has today been converted into a mansard, which can be accessed from the high ground floor via new wooden stairs. A small gallery and two comfortable and relaxing bedrooms had been made there. Both beds are made of old wood from the house, and the interior walls are also made of “recycled” waste wood that was left over from the neighbors when they were replacing the roof.

There are many more details in the house, “salvaged” items from the old house, such as an old renovated coat hanger by the front door, old, renovated outdoor lights, a renovated chest, a sideboard in the lower room, renovated nightstands in one of the bedrooms and in children’s rooms and many more.

Great Stay Experience at Kolpa Holiday House

HOUSE MIMI

Heritage protected old house with 3 bedrooms, well equipped traditional kitchen, living room with fireplace, wellness area with Finnish sauna and big garden, only 5 minutes’(just a stone’s throw away from the riverside/Kolpa river) walk to the riverside.

Close
Close