An historic residence in the heart of the Austrian Alps renovated and lit by Bronzetto

From the splendours of Belle Epoque to the reality of a modern and cosy vacation home with a strong character. VillaKraft a new life thanks to the extreme choice by a young durch couple

We are at Bad Gastein, Austria, a charming place surrounded by breath-taking panoramas, spa waters and places full of history. In fact, it is named Monte Carlo of the Alps. With its tops overtopping 3000 meters and dominating the glaciers of High Tauern, this charming Belle Epoque resort has a lot to offer, not only to the sport enthusiasts. The wonderful alpine scenario of the Gastein Valley is the perfect framing not only for skiing, mountain bike and hikes in the mountain, but also to relax and to simply enjoy the surrounding beauty.

Here, at the foot of the old town centre of Bad Gastein, within the quite district of Badbruck, Villa Kraft stands on: a new name for the centenary “Haus Lindebner”, a 19th century building which lived its glory days during the Belle Epoque and then it was abandoned for a long-time until 2019 when a young Dutch couple, Peter and Jadwiga, bought it.

Peter and Jadwiga make an extreme choice. They leave Amsterdam with their three daughters in order to follow the call of mountains where they have always felt at home. The couple personally work to the project to restore the house which ends at the beginning of 2021.

When we bought Haus Lindebner, it contained histories and treasures from the times of Belle Epoque to the First World War, from the Roaring Twenties to the Second World War, until the booming days for the city, until its decline and its return to life. Since Haus Lindebner was an abandoned place, our dream was “to bring its history back to life” by restoring the building with a new and modern style, and yet safeguarding its events.

The structure of Villa Kraft

This house, which consists of a ground floor and three additional floors, was transformed, and divided into a vacation home consisting of 4 totally independent apartments. Each flat is equipped with all the comforts and with balconies with a view of Bad Gastein or of the skiing area of Schlossalm, on the side of the house bordering with the ‘Kotschachtal’ river. On the ground floor, you find the communal areas, the kitchen dining room, the living room and the games room from where you have access, through the garden, to the “skiraum” (ski storage) and to the saunas.

Interior Restyling

The accurate restyling kept the original external aspect and the house structure unchanged. Whereas it played with the interiors giving the rooms a more essential and modern touch which is, in any case, absolutely relaxing and comfy. Pastel colours perfectly integrate with various natural shades of wooden components, which were recovered and restored. There are many references to the mountain, but never exaggerated: they are softened by continuous contaminations with industrial style referring to lighting accessories of the Wormhole and Satellite collections, designed and made by Bronzetto.

In their versions of floor lamp and wall light, Wormhole lamps give a vintage touch and a contemporary flavour to the central stairway and to the communal room. The result is obtained even thanks to the chromatic choices for the lampshades, which range from mud shades to the classic black with the interior of golden leaf, and for the structures in natural finishing of brass. A special choice for Marquinia black marble for the base of the Wormhole02 floor lamp.

The spotlights, which are mainly used in the living areas of the apartments, belong to the Satellite collection. This choice represents one of the most widespread solutions for lightening during the latest years. They are versatile and not very bulky, they succeed in directing light exactly where it is needed, enhancing a specific point or piece of furniture, characterizing modern and essential places.

WORMHOLE lamp

The peculiarity of the Wormhole line, items for lightening, of the Brass Brothers & Co. Line by Bronzetto is undoubtedly the characteristic lampshade with a double lighting system, conceived to light up the two hemispheres of the space where it is located, through a symbolic analogy between the company past and future. All the types of Wormhole lamps are available in a lot of forms and dimensions, from floor lamps (simple, for reading or with several joints) to chandeliers, table lamps and single wall lamp or with joint. And it is possible to fully customize them, in chromatic terms, choosing among several colours and finishing for the aluminium of the lampshade and the brass of the structure. Plus among several typologies of tops of marble: some colour versions are available from Marquinia black to the pure Carrara white, from Alps green and to Emperador brown.

SATELLITE lamp

Satellite is the collection of lamps with a brass structure drawn by the Florentine artist and graphic designer Agnese Matteini for the Brass Brothers & Co line which takes its name from the double cylinder-shaped lampshade made of painted aluminium. It reminds two heavenly bodies which gravitate one over the other. Thanks to its articulated arm, it is possible to rotate and to point the lampshade as needed. Plus it is possible to customize it to your taste with one of the available RAL bright colours. This essential and clean collection, with its modern taste, is adaptable to any possible lightening solutions for interiors, from wall lamps to table lamps to floor lamps; it is also possible to customize it as for measures and multiple brass finishing.

Just as the centenary “Haus Lindebner”, Bronzetto tells a story, the story of the Florentine master artists who make works of bronze, able to combine a long experience, an in-depth knowledge of materials as well as their working and the creativity and the high professionalism of their teams and of the Florentine companies they work with on a daily basis, in order to renew the charm of a sophisticated beauty in line with the trends of residential spaces.