A couple in Sweden found the perfect glazing solution for their Mediterranean style contemporary villa with Westcoast Swedish aluminium timber ‘black edition’ composite windows…
At the end of Sommarvägen in Vaggeryd, in the south of Sweden is a whitewashed villa that stands out from the other homes in the neighbourhood. With Scandinavian lines, Croatian inspiration and large black composite windows from Westcoast, Dejana and Mato Pilipovic have created their dream home.
The Pilipovic family has lived in Vaggeryd for over eleven years and always dreamed of owning their own villa. When the dream was to become a reality, Dejana and Mato began to look for inspiration from existing house builders.
“We basically ordered every single house catalogue available. But we couldn’t find the right house that felt perfect for us. That was when we decided to do it ourselves”, says Mato.
In 2018, Mato began to sketch out what their dream house could look like.
“It was great fun at first. We started with a blank piece of paper and made several trips to Husknuten in Gothenburg to get an idea of the sizes of different rooms and look for other inspiration”, says Dejana.
Once they had decided on the basic design, the couple contacted a designer for help with the specification of the construction. During this time, Mato received quotes from various suppliers to be able to determine a realistic budget.
“I work as a buyer, which probably helped me a lot with this project. I received lots of quotes from many suppliers for materials, windows and other items”, says Mato.
Finding a construction company, however, proved to be a little more difficult. Despite a clear budget and vision for the design of the house, there was little interest from many construction companies. They finally had a positive response from a smaller builder which specialises in building with lightweight concrete and has extensive masonry experience.
Compromises were made – but not on the windows
During the project, Dejana and Mato made some compromises in the choice of material and floor plan to stay within their budget. But some things were too important to compromise on.
“We wanted large windows, flat roofs with a low slope and no visible beams inside”, says Mato. The result was a concrete structure with steel beams as a skeleton throughout the house. The windows are from the Westcoast triple glazed Design series and are painted in matt black throughout – a colour that isn’t often used on the internal wood finish.
“I may be a bit old school, but I like to talk to suppliers on the phone. When I got in touch with Westcoast, I received a good response where they not only took our ideas seriously but came up with several of their own suggestions for clever solutions. In addition, it only took a couple of days to receive their quote, so it felt perfect”, says Mato.
“We love the fact that they’re Swedish-made and maintenance-free. But there are also small details that we liked about Westcoast windows, such as being able to have the external hinges lacquered to blend into the rest of the house”, says Dejana.
The house has a living area of 220m2 and the inside is light and airy.
In the entrance and the living room it opens up to the second floor which creates a nice light living area and a sense of space. In some places the ceiling is almost six metres high.
The family moved into Sommarvägen in June 2021, and they remain very happy with their new home.
“It feels great that we dared to go our own way and fully realise our dream. Many people advised us against it. But you don’t always have to be like everyone else. There are many suppliers who can offer what you’re looking for without it costing much more”, says Mato.
Take a look out our IMAGE GALLERY for more individual and unique homes using Westcoast aluminium timber composite windows.
CONTACT US to discuss your project on 01359 241944 or email info@westcoastwindows.com
