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This old stone house is nestled in the Tuscan countryside

Article by Your Home and Garden

Despite renovations that never end, a creative couple have built themselves a sweet life in a charming old stone house nestled in the Tuscan countryside

meet & greet

Britta Herrmann (ceramic designer) and Marco Frediani (yoga teacher and university professor).

the property

A four-bedroom stone house in the Tuscan countryside, built as a peasant’s home in 1812.

The numbers alone sound like an Under the Tuscan Sun dream: a three-storey 1812 stone house in a hamlet of three homes on two hectares of land, 80 olive trees, two veggie gardens and two chicken coops, a 10-minute drive from the medieval Tuscan city of Pistoia.

And, like in the famous memoir, restoring a house that has stood for two centuries has not always been a straightforward enterprise for its owners, German Britta Herrmann and Italian Marco Frediani. Fifteen years after the couple stumbled onto the enchanting spot, the renovations continue, but they have also succeeded in finding the rural Tuscan dream: a creative and stress-free life in contact with nature.

“As soon as I saw this house, I knew it was going to be mine,” Britta says. “We chose it because of the stunning sightseeing and all the wonderful nature surrounding it. It’s an ongoing restoration work, as usually happens with this kind of house. We started it 15 years ago and still we’re not done. You never are.”

Britta and Marco have kept local craftspeople busy with their various improvements – and there are many more commissions to come.

“When we bought it, it was completely different,” Britta says. “It was a typical peasant house. The house had three bedrooms and a kitchen. Where the kitchen now stands, there was a room that was once the old stable. The kitchen was where our living room is now. The shed that now is my studio was also another stable.”

But even while they were changing the house to suit their needs, its charming character was also slowly remodelling their tastes. “In the end, we’ve always liked a more minimal style, but having this house made us change. We have become more oriented to a shabby style that suits better the structure of this house. The rooms are low, the windows are small, the plants are everywhere,” Britta says.

“We are lovers of antiques markets. That’s why much of our furniture is a mix-and-match of found objects. One thing I especially love is the huge cupboard in the kitchen, which we found in Arezzo at the local antiques market. We are often also in Lucca, where once a month the whole city turns into a large antiques market.”

As well as reflecting the historic provenance of the home, the interiors are full of the personality and life stories of its owners, with candles, rugs and many other little details that make it a very cosy and welcoming space, an atmosphere Britta is fond of. The house is something of a show home for her ceramic store Mani, which specialises in handmade items inspired by Italian architecture and colours.

“I don’t have just one favourite designer, but I’m in love with the Vox Populi works we have at home.”
The internal and external spaces in properties like this have a never-ending dialogue, and this home is no different. “In summer we are almost always out on the terrace, in winter in front of the fireplace in the living room,” Britta says. “We often have guests and lots of summer dinners on the terrace. Our guests often sleep in the caravan we decorated and adapted for this purpose.”

The owners also have plenty of personal space for their respective activities. “Marco has a yoga room and
also an outside platform, for lessons and practice. I have my summer studio outside, in the old shed. In the winter I work in my home studio,” says Britta. “My ceramics are produced in the factory in Faenza and also in Montelupo. I’m often in the factory and also in the car, so the house here is our den.”

It’s also a muse, she says. “The greatest inspiration is silence, peace. Here, you can breathe. No stress, just nature. This is fundamental for me. I’d never be able to be in a studio in the city with other people. The contact with nature, the earth – this is all important to me.”