After we published a report on a rental property in our country, we have countless times heard the ‘complaint‘ from readers that all these properties look identical. Unfortunately, this is often true. Uniformity, always the same furniture, colors and materials, and even the style of decoration seems to have become a template job that most do ‘just because‘ or ‘because that‘s simply how it is‘. That‘s why we are glad to take you today to an atypical rental house located on the edge of a forest, 1.5 kilometers from the center of Sveti Ivan Zelina, specifically on a hill in the village of Cegci.
- The house is located at 275 meters above sea level in the heart of Prigorje and its official name is Cegci Hill Residence. Its area is 59 square meters on the ground floor and 35 square meters in the basement, which can very easily be a separate unit like a small apartment - says Ivanka Cegec, the owner of the house and the main initiator of all works and maintenance processes. But she is not alone in this: her daughter Nika helps her, whose role, as she says, is managing the house, which includes all tasks related to reservations and other things needed for guests‘ arrival.
In talking with them, we also learn that the house was not originally intended for rental. It was purchased, they reveal, as a weekend house, and after the death of the first owner, Ivanka bought it and decided to turn it into a holiday (rental) home, but not just any kind.
But first, a bit of history to clarify the beginnings of this building.
- The house, then a weekend house, was designed in the 1960s by architect Josip Dumancic, father of sculptor Hrvoje Dumancic. Although small in square footage, the house is brilliantly planned so that four people can stay in it. After the owner‘s death, it was closed for a long time, and in 2021 it was purchased and required adaptation, from the foundation to the roof. We did most of the decoration ourselves and with the help of craftsmen and family for larger works, using at the time only available materials and furniture, since everything was in the midst of the pandemic and harder to get. The emotional motivation was that the land originally belonged to my mother‘s family, so my mother‘s grandfather, my great-grandfather, sold it because it wasn‘t arable and was of poor quality. Then a family from Zagreb built a weekend house there, which by chance in 2021, now with the entire land, became ours again - Nika laughs and explains that the goal of the renovation was to create a space where people would feel comfortable during their vacation, that it is simply decorated but maximally functional. Inside the house, the layout was not changed, the floor plan was kept in its original state, but Ivanka and Nika tried to arrange it to be both modern and traditional.
- We decided to build a large fireplace from old bricks given to us by my uncle Vlado, which were originally produced in the former brick factory in Sveti Ivan Zelina and have the original SPS stamps (original name: Stjepan Pucek and sons). Much of that brick is found in the paths and outdoor beds in the garden, as well as in the outdoor barbecue and kitchen. It‘s part of Zelina‘s heritage and we are proud to have kept and protected it. We independently made the tables in the living room from raw oak planks - they add.
The house consists of a ground floor with a hallway, a small bathroom, three bedrooms, of which two are small singles and one larger master, as well as a living room with dining area and kitchen. From the living room, there is access to a large terrace with lounge furniture, which continues to the pool and offers a view of the green slopes and cinematic sunsets (reels, highlights, and photos on Instagram) as the terrace is west-facing.
- The basement was an unattractive cellar that we converted into an additional space that has a living room with a small kitchen, laundry room, and a larger bathroom. It serves as accommodation if two couples come on vacation, and since we mostly get families, it is used as a workspace or for children‘s play as well as an auxiliary kitchen next to the lower terrace, which has a barbecue and a dining table - emphasizes the owner Ivanka. She adds that the house is mostly dominated by white tones, the warmth of wood, brick, and obligatory shades of green. They focused, says Ivanka, on blending with nature and making sure the decor was not strictly defined by design.
- When we started decorating, we didn‘t have a defined style because everything was done on the fly. The pandemic began and many planned things could not be obtained, so we opted for simplicity, for a warm and pleasant space, and some things we are still slowly changing from what we originally planned. The house is dominated by white tones, the warmth of wood, brick, and obligatory green shades. Our goal was also to create a ‘rural feeling‘ from the entrance to the courtyard, through the house and continuing through the terrace and pool to the surroundings inspired by the Mediterranean - say Ivanka and Nika.
All the furniture in the house is new, mostly from domestic manufacturers.
- My condition was that the kitchen and wardrobes in the room are from Ikea because that company offers the possibility of changing fronts and a complete visual transformation of the kitchen and rooms. The tables in the living room are our work, that is, the work of my husband Darko. He also made the paths from blocks of old bricks, from the house to the vegetable garden. We didn‘t plan designer pieces, but we exclusively look to change the space over the years according to our own preferences and with our own pieces of furniture or details - explains Nika and adds that guests always first notice the fireplace made of old bricks, which really put the finishing touch on the space, especially in winter. - It was made by our local craftsman Puki and no matter how much I wanted the fireplace to be classic and with straight lines, during the construction he had to give it his artistic touch so he added a border and polished parts of the brick. That‘s why it now looks special and delights all guests. That craftsman is also responsible for shaping the outdoor terrace from brick as well as the barbecue and sink - reveals Nika, who also shared what she and her mother Ivanka are most proud of.
- We are most proud of the small wooden greenhouse under the centuries-old oak in the yard, in which we constantly change the scenery depending on the season and holidays. The house is nothing impressive, just a small building on the edge of the forest, but when the lavender and immortelle bloom at the end of June, the pines smell, and fireflies come out at night, it becomes a small designer arboretum shaped by nature. That‘s how we came up with the special hashtag #ze(N)lenaZe(N)lina, because here it really is zen amidst the greenery on the hill above Zelina. And in winter and for the holidays, the greenhouse becomes a place for gathering friends and family in Christmas attire, with lights on the pines and birches - Ivanka and Nika laugh.
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