The wooden cottage near the Castle of Lut

I wrote at one point about some children's playhouses that looked like something out of a fairy tale. It was remarkable the skill with which the American artist was able to render the irregular lines typical of fairy-tale houses. I was happy to discover that it can be done here. The wooden cottage in the picture is in the courtyard Lut Castle in Fairy Valley from Porumbacu de Jos and was made by Nicu Ivănescu, known by many for his skill with solid wood.

I found out about Nicu almost a year ago and really liked the tables he made. They are those tables made from a slice of wood, as little as possible, and only to emphasize the beauty of the wood. I told him I liked them butterflies with which it catches the cracks in the wood. He told me he calls them bow ties.

We wanted to talk more since then, but there were always other and other things to do and we didn't succeed. Maybe it wasn't time yet. In the meantime I saw some photos of this little house on a profile group and I knew the time had come. So, I got in touch with Nicu to find out as much as I could about the little house, how he ended up building it, and about himself.

He told me that at some point he was contacted on Facebook by the owners of the Castle of Lut. They landed on his page and liked what they saw there. They suggested him to make a wooden house in the rustic style, the way he thinks a cottage in the castle courtyard should look like. He made several sketches, they chose one and he got to work.

When working, Nicu is what you call a lone wolf so he did everything mostly alone. He worked on the wooden cottage for about two weeks. He admits it's less rustic inside, but that's only because certain requirements have to be met. It has 10-centimeter basaltic wool insulation and pine flooring. The interior walls are also pine.

For materials, he used, as he says, pretty much what other builders reject, i.e. beech beams, hornbeam for the pillars and untreated pine plank. The roof is 2 rows of untivitated pine plank and a layer of OSB to support the waterproofing. On top of the OSB will come a frame, also made of hornbeam, which will be loaded with six to eight inches of soil. Because the roof of the cottage will be green, as happens abroad in such places.

I was curious to find out what tools he used. I figured he'd be rattling off all kinds of fancy tool names. "As tools... more chainsawIn fact, it's all from a chainsaw" he told me.

At some distance from the cottage, close to the fence, another one has appeared, also made of wood, but of whole thin logs. Nicu also made it. It has a two-pitched roof, to the ground, also made of logs. Only the doors are made of planks. Do you know why he made this little wooden tent? You won't believe it, but that's where the toilet will be.

Now the cottage is almost ready. The green roof still needs to be put on and it can take over its function as the castle's outdoor bar. I think it will be very pleasant to have a beer around here.