A wooden paradise — a log home in the forest, by KONTIO

The couple built themselves a wooden paradise, and they're thrilled with their luxury KONTIO timber home

Vanessa and her husband Michael are both big fans of wood, and both come across this pleasant material often in their professions. Michael is a carpenter, and as such has a clearly positive relationship with wood. Vanessa works in interior design and often, happily, uses wooden elements in both traditional and modern interiors.

Vanessa and Michael own a large stretch of forest in the Belgian Ardennes, and decided to build a solid-timber home on a beautiful forest clearing. Now, several years after completion, they're enjoying the benefits of living in a luxury timber home with 350 m² of floor space.

Vanessa and Michael both wanted a home in the forest, and had a new house built on this beautiful spot, which they could use for recreation. They also wanted to rent the house out, set as it is in such a beautiful place in the middle of the forest. Vanessa says: "We already had some experience planning a house build, so we knew exactly what we wanted. We used the plans from our original house, which we then modified. We wanted the new house to be bigger, and we wanted a different layout too. Overall, we had a clear vision of our future house."

Wood's particular aesthetic, warmth and scent are unique qualities that nothing else can replace. No other building material gives you what solid wood does. The couple wanted a beautiful mountain-style house, one that could be passed down from generation to generation with dignity, elegance and beauty intact. Building in wood was practically a given on this lovely forest plot — a timber structure carries on the beauty of the nature around it.

In Belgium, the couple didn't find any offer that matched what they had in mind, so they headed to a French building trade fair in Épinal, in north-eastern France, where they first came across KONTIO, who specialise in designing and building homes from Arctic pine. After the fair, the couple compared two offers, and KONTIO's appealed to them more. KONTIO won Vanessa and Michael over with their professionalism, speed, and the quality of their responses to the project. KONTIO assured them the build and all the paperwork involved would go smoothly and professionally — and it really did!

Once the couple decided on KONTIO and handed over their house study, things moved quickly. KONTIO's experts, together with a structural engineer, came to inspect the building plot. The paperwork involved in getting a building permit caused a delay, but the construction work that followed moved quickly and efficiently. "KONTIO's representatives and the site manager were always professional, yet friendly, and paid close attention to our wishes and requirements for the house. We followed the construction work closely, visited the site, and everything always worked and kept moving," says Michael. Construction began in February, and the house was handed over in April. Given the top-notch quality of the work, the speed of the build is genuinely impressive.

The finishing work was done by the owners themselves. They wanted their own personal touch to be visible in the house, and mostly used natural materials. Finishing and furnishing the interior took around three months. Wood is used practically everywhere, since it pairs beautifully with natural stone, slate, fabric and faux fur alike. They also managed to source various old and antique items, like ice skates and wooden skis, hunting trophies and other pieces that pleasantly round out the interior and give it charm and patina. Michael and Vanessa also treated themselves to a little luxury, with a beautiful sauna and a modern hot tub built on the spacious timber terrace. In the evening and at night, the whole terrace area can be lit with pleasant, soft lighting.

The couple are thrilled with their timber home. Their house feels both authentic and modern at once. Vanessa particularly loves the living room, with its beautiful fireplace at the centre of the room, comfortable seating and a unique wooden coffee table. "We love coming here, to our house — we feel at ease and relaxed right away. We're in the middle of nature, in a beautiful, tasteful house, full of calm and comfort. Even in summer, it's always pleasant inside," Vanessa says, full of praise.

This beautiful, one-of-a-kind house is also regularly rented out. It's popular on Instagram and Facebook, and there's huge interest in staying in a house like this. It can sleep up to 14 people, with eight bedrooms and Italian-style bathrooms. Among wood's many benefits is its ability to dampen sound, and the house's internal layout offers plenty of privacy. Guests, who arrive from every corner of the world, love it here — they appreciate all its beauty and benefits, and happily fall for the charm of this enchanting log home.