Much more than a home – a change in lifestyle with Kontio
Martine and Yves Scellos and their children live in the French Pyrenees. They longed for a home that was out of the ordinary, and so they turned to Kontio. Kontio’s turnkey project has provided the family with a beautiful, healthy home in splendid surroundings.
“We had lived in Paris for 20 years, and then in Toulouse for 17 years in a traditional house with a swimming pool, near the city and far from the mountains. When we heard a radio programme about traditional log houses in Canada, we were immediately inspired. Our first idea was to have a small log cottage behind our house, but soon we began to think bigger: we would build a new home, entirely from wood and in a beautiful setting.
We set out in search of various possibilities, and at one housing fair we attended we met a Kontio representative who presented some of the company’s solid wood houses. We were hugely impressed! We found a plot to buy, and chose Kontio’s “Chamonix” model and construction work soon got started.
The work progressed excellently from the very beginning. The plot was bought in November, the slab was poured in March, and the assembly and finishing work were carried out from June to September. Everything was done extremely efficiently and professionally, to a high standard and within budget. The distributor was reachable throughout the construction process whenever needed.
Architecture and design
What really made the difference was the perfect finish that gives our home its unique touch. We get many admiring comments about this. Although many people still think that a wooden home can only be a log cabin, Kontio proves that that narrow view is completely out of date and false. Our home is a genuinely modern single-storey house with large bay windows on both sides, and 145 m2 of living space with high ceilings. We also have a 50 m2 terrace that’s perfect for enjoying the outdoors. We have chosen cosy interior fittings where the rooms remain genuinely spacious!
The house is always warm in winter and pleasantly cool in summer. We have noticed that living in our Kontio home is subtly changing us, as we have adopted a new, more organic lifestyle that is in tune with Finnish culture.
The indoor atmosphere is very healthy, with a stable humidity of around 40 percent. This helps to ensure that we will not have colds winter, and also keeps insects at bay in the summer. The floors are made of chestnut wood, which repels insects. So all in all, our new home is excellent for living naturally and feeling good! Recently we have ordered a Kontio wooden carport and garage for the house. It will also be possible for the garage to be adapted for use as an extra room if necessary.
