A minimalist-style holiday home in the Gauja Valley serves as a refreshing retreat for travelers seeking respite from the fast-paced rhythm of life. With harmony dictated by nature, both the exterior bu Didrihsonsarchitects and interior created by LABS dizains invite serene relaxation.
The 167 m² building, created by Didrihsons Architects, creates a perfect connection with the surrounding landscape. The house not only blends seamlessly into the environment but also emphasizes the picturesque views visible through expansive glazing, as crafted by the LABS DIZAINS team. The large, frameless windows with discreet edges serve as subtle frames for the surrounding scenery. To fully enjoy the atmosphere, wide windowsills in the bedrooms offer spots for reading, reflection, or simply taking in the natural surroundings. To maintain a cohesive palette indoors and out, the walls were finished in a sandy tone characteristic of the Gauja Valley, with a decorative marble powder plaster applied for a smooth effect. This same plaster extends to the kitchen area, known for its irregular ceiling geometry with multi-level planes, while the living room ceiling is painted in a slightly lighter shade, creating a peaceful and aesthetically pleasing backdrop to enjoy minimalist yet high-quality design and stunning natural views.
The entrance zone, with its finishes, concealed doors, and LED profiles, creates a portal-like effect that enhances spatiality and opens wide views of the living area. Paneling entirely conceals the window frame next to the front door, continuing seamlessly to the other side of the glass for a sense of infinity. For the living room flooring, seamless microcement was chosen, while hidden boxes for automatic blinds were installed in the wide window openings. Built-in linear lighting in the ceiling complements the space. The living and kitchen zones flow organically into each other, centered on mutual togetherness. A substantial kitchen island, crafted from stone composite by Jānis Dābols, serves as the central focus.
The flooring features warm gray Rols eco-friendly carpet made from 100% recycled plastic, offering a wool-like tactile quality and easy maintenance. Hidden LED profiles highlight the portal’s perimeter and steps, adding a soft, ambient glow in the evenings, enough to often forgo overhead lights. However, all lighting is dimmable, allowing for adjustable, cozy atmospheres. For enhanced coziness and visual cleanliness, wooden paneling extends to the relaxation zone, seamlessly integrating doors to a bedroom and a technical room, where ventilation systems, a refrigerator, and shelves are cleverly concealed. Throughout the interior, functionality is prioritized, with little used purely for decorative purposes.
The functionality of the relaxation room aligns with its irregular shape, ensuring furniture unifies rather than divides the space. The living and kitchen zones harmoniously transition into one another, and the dining table is integrated with the kitchen island, recognizing that people often gather where food is prepared. Hence, the kitchen island is built to be sturdy and monolithic, with stone composite used to create a cohesive design with integrated drawers or carefully placed imitations. To achieve aesthetic unity, the kitchen features an integrated cooktop with a built-in extractor, and the Corian countertop seamlessly transitions into the window sill for ease of maintenance.
Discreet linear lighting embedded in the ceiling adds a subtle shadow-like detail when turned off. The kitchen's design focuses on fostering interaction, while the relaxation area offers comfort and warmth. A soft Living Divani sofa faces multiple directions, creating zones for conversations or TV watching. A custom shelf incorporates a screen and hides Soviet-era sound system speakers behind acoustic fabric, dictating the unit’s overall tonal design. A fireplace enhances the cozy atmosphere, with MDF cladding painted to mimic metal for tactile warmth while integrating shelving and LED lighting.
Bedrooms emphasize warmth and simplicity, with wooden floors, soft rugs, minimalistic reading lamps, and LED accents under windowsills and headboards.
The bathroom’s highlight is a rounded microcement shower with a custom linear drain hidden beneath a removable floor cover for easy maintenance. Black chrome fixtures complete the look, enhancing the cohesive and functional minimalist aesthetic.
