Black Rural House Featuring Minimalist Interiors

This house in rural France was built between the walls of an existing one and was painted black for a modern feel

Design studio arba was commissioned to design this timber dwelling in Thomery, France, the architects, rather than tear down the walls, decided to respect them and build a new building around them, giving birth to the name of this project – ‘the house between the walls’.

Despite retaining the existing wall, the architects have inserted one single bay opening on the south-facing elevation. The house is placed immediately behind this opening and is positioned in such a way that three distinct gardens are created within the site. one to the east for morning light, one to the south for midday, and one to the west for evening light at the end of the day. A narrow external passageway connects these three outdoor spaces, promoting fluidity throughout the house.

To the east and west, the gables – each fitted with three wall bars – are vertical extensions of the adjacent gardens. The house, coated with black pine tar under an imposing roof that covers the wall, brings its own poetics to the place. The atrium of the house is conceived as a habitable, soft, and comfortable hollow behind the opening created in the rough and imperfect wall.

The new poetry of the place includes a bit of mystery that comes from the fact that the house is hidden – only the black roof and the belly of the atrium can be seen. This same mystery emanates from the coexistence of the new and the old – of what has always been present and what has just been built.

The back of the house looks like this – the inner spaces can be opened to outdoors, there’s a stone wall surrounding the house

There’s a small deck around the house and wooden slab screens that cover it

The main layout can be opened to outdoors with sliding doors, it inspires indoor-outdoor living

The main layout comprises a kitchen, dining and living room, it’s fully clad with light-colored plywood and features a hearth in the center

The dining space is done with a large bookshelf unit and a view, the furniture itself is very simple

The living room shows off a lot of books, too, there’s a modern sofa and a vintage chair, it’s a large play space for the kid

The storage is done with sleek plywood panels with no knobs at all

a platform bed is a quite practical solution for a bedroom

There’s an eentrace to the balcony here, which is covered with slate screens

The kid’s room features a bed, a teepee, some bold art and garlands and an entrance to the balcony