I am just blown away.
I have a major crush on this place: A combination of old and new in the architecture, and lots of history. Add to this a Vipp kitchen, lots of designer furniture, and amazing details – I’m totally sold! These people are living the (my) dream…
Located in rural area in Belgium, this stunning building is a converted army fort from 1785. The Bunkers, as the property is aptly called, is now a contemporary private residence and a B&B. It consists of a main house and a barn, with the original materials, and a wooden extension for the guesthouse. The compound also includes three other bunkers, one of which now serves as henhouse, and vast fields where the family’s sheep graze. A 2.5-meter-tall tunnel was built under ground between the main house and the pool/sauna, to be used mostly in the winter time.
The renovations took years to complete, but such fastidious process was required to come up with something truly unique while respecting the original buildings and history.
It is touching to know that Axel, one of the owner, grew up in the area and always dreamt of owning the place. When the property went on the market, he jumped on the occasion without a second thought. “Every time we went by the property, I dreamt about living there some day. As I got older, I kept thinking if the property would ever be put up for sale. There’s just something about the scale of the buildings and the brickwork that has always drawn me in. (…) It is such a nice feeling to wake up every day and almost be able to wave to my parents across the fields.”, says Axel.
There are so many pictures of this fab place, I had a hard time selecting only a few… so I’m photo-bombing you below, haha! Enjoy the tour!
“We set out for the kitchen to be our favourite room of the B&B, and we wanted it to be an area that our guests could really enjoy. And we were not disappointed.”, explained the owners. “We have acquired quite a few Vipp products over the years, and one day we were browsing across Vipp’s website and discovered that they not only make products for the home, but they also make an entire kitchen! We really fell in love with the industrial look of the kitchen, and when we experienced it for thefirst time in real life, we could see that it was also very robust. Which is important when used in a professional context such as a B&B. That was a big plus for us, since we like our guests to actually use the kitchen every day, it’s not just for show.”
This is definitly one of the most stylish B&Bs I have ever seen, and it is now on my bucket list! I must see this in person.
The Bunkers
Burkeldijk 18
B-8300 Knokke-Heist
+32 (0)476 70 72 73
For more pictures, click here.
Thanks to Vipp for sharing this amazing project.
Architect : Benny Govaert, Architectuurburo Govaert & Vanhoutte bvba
Interior designer : Kristof Goossens, anversa architecture & development
Photos: Tim Van de Velde via Vipp
