In the midst of this unique landscape, on Vormero Hill, Giovanni and Janine have turned their dream home into reality. They bought a ruined 14th century monastery, completely restored it and fitted it out with a stylish mix of modern and a timeless design. For the bathroom and guest WC, the couple chose Kaldewei’s steel enamel bathroom solutions that connect the historical and modern in a very unique way.

However, the dream of living in a former monastery ruin could only be turned into reality after an extensive examination of the terms of the preservation order and establishing that the monastery had indeed been used as a residential property in the past. The strict provisions of the preservation order, for instance, specified that the same materials used to build the monastery around 700 years ago, such as chalk and regional sandstone, also had to be used for the restoration - no cement was used at all.

Since the couple wanted to retain the character of the monastery ruin, the interior planning corresponded with those wishes: restrained and respectful of the ruin’s history. To help them implement their ideas, Giovanni and Janine called in the architect Antonio Gravagnuolo, who specialises in listed projects, and the German interior designer Stephan Pöppelmann.

In fitting out the spacious bathroom, the designer was inspired by the former monastery’s distinctive vaulting. So it was opted for the Meisterstück Classic Duo Oval bathtub from Kaldewei. With its seamless panelling, the bath, made of elegant steel enamel, is the classic archetype of the freestanding bath. The Centro countertop washbasin with its spacious surround, designed by Anke Salomon, also exudes a sense of purity and simple elegance. “Naturally, we were impressed by Kaldewei’s natural and classical yet modern shapes. Since we had a round-arched ceiling in the bathroom, we wanted to pick up on that shape with the bathtub and the washbasin. That’s why we decided on the Centro countertop washbasin, whose interior echoes the rounded shape, and the Meisterstück Classic Duo Oval bath,” says Janine, explaining the decision behind their choice.

The Kaldewei trinity in the bathroom was completed with the floor-level Scona shower in a restrained Pearl Grey matt. This shower surface fits harmoniously into the colourfully tiled floor, while the round, centrally-positioned waste cover made of steel enamel also picks up on the round-arch shape. The space-saving wall-hung Cono washbasin works well in the guest WC. The characteristic design element of this rectangular washbasin is the square waste cover which is also enamelled. “With the Kaldewei steel enamel bathroom solutions we have created a Perfect Match between product and room architecture,” says Stephan Pöppelmann.