A house in a vineyard

Josef comes from the Austrian capital, whilst his wife Daniela is from Chrudim. The couple’s journey to find their dream home near Vienna also has a Czech connection; at the end of this journey lies not only a new home, but also a family business based on Czech products.

The house in the vineyard wasn’t the first project in which the Nowaks realised their dreams. It all began with a loft conversion in the centre of Vienna, where they were able to enjoy all the benefits this beautiful city has to offer. They lived right by the Danube Canal, close to cafés, historic landmarks, as well as children’s playgrounds and schools. As their children grew up, the couple began to look for a home further away from the city centre.

Josef, a builder by trade, was working on a major project to build detached houses at the time. This presented him with the opportunity to buy one of the most attractive semi-detached houses and enable the family to live in a house with a garden. “With the benefit of hindsight, it turned out that this opportunity for better housing was also a very sound investment. Over the past seventeen years, the value of our house has more than doubled,” says Joe.

Daniela had always dreamt of a house with a view. Given that Vienna lies on flat ground, there are few sloping plots of land and those that do exist are in the city’s most expensive areas, so Joe was rather sceptical about the whole idea. However, Daniela searched tirelessly and, after two and a half years, found exactly what she had dreamt of: a beautiful plot of land with a view of Vienna. There was an old house on the plot, though, with an unsuitable layout. The view of the forest, with Vienna in the background, however, outweighed everything else. What’s more, it was an attractive location in a wine-growing region where Viennese people love to spend their free time. In the picturesque village of Hagenbrunn, just 200 metres beyond the Vienna city limits, there are fifteen traditional ‘Heurigen’ – family-run wine taverns offering local specialities and wine from local vintners, not to mention lovely walks through the vineyards.

Renovation is in many ways more challenging than building from scratch. “It certainly helped that I’m in the trade. The experience and contacts I’d gained so far came in handy. In the end, we managed to renovate both the house and the garden in seven months,” adds Joe with satisfaction. They had a clear vision of what their new home would look like right from the start, which made the architect’s job easier. “He ultimately took our ideas even further. We were already very attached to the design, but the best was yet to come,” says Daniela enthusiastically.

The new house in Wolfsbergen was a Czech-Austrian project from the outset. Whilst an Austrian firm was responsible for the construction itself, the kitchen, fitted wardrobes and furniture are all Czech. The interiors are dominated by the pleasant honey-coloured wood, which contrasts with the dark window frames, selected accessories and, above all, the kitchen, which is finished in shades of black. Daniela, who worked in the fashion industry for many years, took charge of furnishing the house and the overall design.

The overall renovation is by no means intrusive on its surroundings; it does not seek to negate the architectural style of the old house, but simply refines it into more elegant lines. Compared to its original form, the house now features large windows facing the garden and a spacious terrace covered by a pergola. The pergola is walkable and thus also serves as a balcony on the first floor. The garden has also undergone a transformation. A striking feature is the wooden terrace, which slopes down in terraces. Given the surrounding terrain, there is a magnificent view of the surrounding woods from here.

From the outset, the terrace was designed primarily to accommodate a swimming pool with a hot tub. However, choosing one wasn’t straightforward, as the owner recalls: “We’d had an inflatable pool at our previous house for twenty years, so we finally wanted to treat ourselves to a proper one. A friend of mine tried to talk me out of it, though. He warned me that it was supposedly the most expensive hole in the garden, because the running costs are enormous. But he recommended a successful Czech company, USSPA, saying they had an alternative to a swimming pool.”

Our very first visit to the showroom in Dobrouč sealed the deal. “We’d originally gone to look at a thermal swim spa, but once we’d experienced the difference between active relaxation in a swim spa and total relaxation in a hot tub, it was clear we’d need both,” smiles Daniela, who loves the water. “As it turned out, it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We’ve made good use of the spa right from the start, even though our jobs involved a lot of travelling and our free time at home was limited. We’ve found that we spend every spare moment in our home spa.”

The combination of the Swim Spa M, the Persea^iN hot tub and the sauna has proved to be the ideal place for the family to relax.