Berge

You must have seen the works of German designer Nils Holger Moormann around including some of the following:


The Kant table in various sizes with its bent edge to locate books and knick knacks by just one tweak of the flat surface.


The Bookinist chair with storage and lamp that can be moved about based on the concept of a push cart. It can store 80 paperbacks!



One of my favourites, of which the husband brought back from Strangelets one day, is the Der kleine Lehner, a tall side table with the option of tripod legs of just two legs to lean against the wall. This is where we dump our keys on next to the entrance door.

Well, now we have a 'retreat' wholly designed by the maestro himself called Berge, located in Chiemgau, 50 miles southeast of Munich. Renovated from a former 17th century village bakery and opened last year, there are 16 holiday apartments with a pared back natural style and integrated storage spaces and surfaces of his signature whimsical style and timber laminate materials. The raw stone walls and exposed structures provide a rustic ambiance for his furniture designs which are used in the rooms.





Branded more as a self-serviced apartment than a hotel, there are no service staff and no breakfast served. Guests are encouraged to roam the neigbourhood and treat this rented space as a personal respite. There are no televisions or telephones here - they provide books instead - the ideal getaway. I can imagine browsing the local grocers for fresh produce and making a warm meal in the kitchenette and then climbing up into bed to snuggle up with some Yeats of Thoreau snuggled in between the sheets. Between $110 - $350 usd per night, this makes for an affordable getaway with the luxuries of solitude and good design.




More lovely images and information at Dezeen.

Images from Dezeen and scanned from Taschen's Favourite Hotels