The small coastal village of Mavrići is part of the former Vinodol Principality, a unique cultural and historical area with a typical spatial organization featuring high enclosed courtyards, portals, and stone houses with single- and more often double-pitched roofs covered with tiles. Belonging to this period is a rarely preserved building with a yard and architectural features of stone vaults, a series of stone arches, on which the external staircase with a balustrade rests. It was built by three Maravić brothers, according to the land registry entry, in the distant year of 1865, and according to some credible written sources, even earlier.
It was the first house from which the village later developed, and today it is one of the three best-preserved houses in the Vinodol Valley, all thanks to the Mavrić family, specifically its heir Leo Mavrić, who undertook the renovation of the house following strict conservation guidelines, as it belongs to the realm of heritage monuments.
The desire to renovate it was first expressed in 2009 by Leo‘s mother Renata, when she requested an opinion from the Conservation Office in Rijeka for the purpose of obtaining a loan. Even then, the conservators praised the commendable intention to revitalize the house and its surroundings, stating in their letter that it was a rare example of folk architecture and spatial organization from the time of its construction, i.e., a house and yard whose construction was based on the original traditional and architectural characteristics of old town centers, primarily demonstrated by the masonry and stonemasonry skills of the inhabitants of that era.
- When I saw the house 37 years ago, I was amazed by its architecture, the completely preserved stone walls and vaults, and the characteristic construction of that time. I didn‘t get the loan then because the bank required me to be the owner of the building as the loan holder, so the renovation awaited my son. Leo‘s grandmother and grandfather are originally from Mavrići, and this stone house was built many years ago by his father-in-law‘s great-great-grandfather when he arrived in this area. Leo‘s grandmother, my mother-in-law, gave him this old, neglected building because Leo showed interest and willingness to renovate it - Renata Mavrić recounts to us.
Leo complied with all the conservators‘ requirements and fully preserved the old construction, which now stands as a testament to the building skills of ancient times.
- We had to replace the wooden parts of the house, such as the roof and floor beams and boards, as well as the doors and windows. According to the conservators‘ requirements, the windows had to have six panes, and the roof had to be covered with traditional tiles. The doors are in an old-fashioned style, the rooms upstairs have wooden floors, i.e., wooden boards resting on beams... Part of the upper floor is paved with beautiful stone tiles that have been retained from the time the house was built and represent a true construction rarity of that era. There used to be a kitchen here with a large fireplace. Part of that space has been converted into a bathroom with a spacious shower cabin, while the other part is a hallway leading to each room. Modern construction material was used for the construction of the front wall of the bathroom. The same applies to the smaller bathroom on the ground floor. All other walls in the house are authentic - Leo describes.
A special feature of the house is the beautiful stone arches in the interior of the ground floor as well as at the entrance to the living room. In the smaller upstairs room, a thick polished stone slab is built into the wall at waist height, protruding from the wall like a shelf. Since this was the area of a small hallway that led through one door into the kitchen and through another into a room, women used to place a water jug there, which they carried on their backs from the spring for household needs. That same spring is still at the end of the village today.
Leo himself removed all the old plaster from the stone walls. He then hired architect Marin Hajduković, who created the main renovation project for the house. Restorer Velibor Đurđević from the company Terradecor determined which parts of the wall would be plastered and which would remain unplastered.
- The plaster followed the line of the stone, so no old wall is flat, but rather has a relief structure. Before plastering, the electrical installation had to be run through the joints between the stones, and the plumbing was installed inside a wall connecting the bathrooms and the kitchen - Renata describes, adding that the courtyard floor was paved with old stone tiles. Leo removed that stone for the purpose of installing plumbing and electrical installations, and when the work was finished, he put it back, restoring it almost to its original state.
Also, part of the stone ceiling on the ground floor was drilled to install a spiral staircase leading to the upper floor.
After the completion of construction, woodwork, and installation work, interior designer Kristina Raković, originally from Rijeka and now living and working in Ljubljana, was invited. Wanting to avoid yet another coastal house with blue and white details, she envisioned the interior more in a French-Mediterranean style, without strong colors and without much furniture. And always with natural materials.
All shades of beige and brown predominate, with the exception of the sage green sofa.
The designer determined all the details in the house: wooden ceiling beams painted white, terracotta-colored tiles in the kitchen, a built-in chimney in the living room painted black, which continues through the large room where it is painted white...
Almost every piece of furniture and decorative detail hides an interesting story. In the larger bedroom, there is a large custom-made wooden double bed for Leo, since he is almost two meters tall, and an old-fashioned double-door wooden wardrobe. Leo worked on oak stumps that serve as bedside tables, and a beautiful stone nude sculpture is placed in a niche in the wall. On another wall, framed pieces of various laces are grouped together, some embroidered by Renata, and some by her late aunt. On the bench for storing clothes is an old-fashioned white decorative pillow made in rich Richelieu embroidery.
The smaller room is equipped with black iron beds, an old wooden double-door wardrobe, and two old reupholstered armchairs with small white decorative pillows—also the work of Renata‘s late aunt. On the wall, there are two original paintings with motifs of Crikvenica.
All wooden work on the house, including the large entrance door to the courtyard, was done by the old master carpenter Ivan Babić, as well as the kitchen elements according to the designer‘s drawings.
- The old white wooden cupboard in the kitchen is a gift from my cousin, who inherited a house full of old wooden furniture. The wardrobes in the rooms came from the same house, while the reupholstered armchairs on the ground floor and in the rooms are from Leo‘s great-grandmother‘s house. Leo assembled the wine corner with barrels himself - lists Renata.
In the hallway upstairs, there is an old wooden chest that Leo received from his great-grandmother from Mavrići, and on it is placed a very old black typewriter and a photo album on a stand. Namely, the Old House Mavrić is now intended for rent, and the entire renovation process has been documented and exhibited so that guests can also learn about the history of this property.
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