
Many books have been written about house and home, about what separates these meanings, but everyone knows the difference I guess: it is the sense of familiarity! Maybe not many of us can put this feeling into words, perhaps we find it difficult to identify it with “something” specific because familiarity comes from the realm of our inner world. Most often it is a positive feeling, a pleasant return in the past. We all have an idea of what “home” means. Not necessarily the place where we were born or raised, but the place where we were protected. You are at home where you feel comfortable and comfort comes from the feeling of being safe, sheltered, accepted. This feeling is related to no particular architecture, no particular area, no available services nor special occasions, it is simply related to objects that define the character of a given space. It really is that simple, it is about objects and the way light falls between them. We all have some object in the house in slight discord with the rest of the design, an object that comes from an experience we want to keep enclosed in that object.



The object is thus transfigured, it receives a load related not to design but to emotion. We often find people moved by and attracted to old objects, seemingly devalued, unaesthetic or damaged. Objects can tell stories about people who made and used them, they talk about tradition, culture, social or intimate habits. Old things have a gloss of time and wear, which is totally missing in a new object.
If there is a house where guests are greeted and surrounded by such objects, that house is called Casa Moşului! Why ? Because…We wanted to create a place where the visitor can feel the warmth of grandparents and ancestors, of the good and clean country life. Casa Moşului is made of local wood and stone and is decorated with old objects gathered from the valleys of Făgăraș. Casa Moşului is not a big house, because we receive guests, not tourists, because the old, white-haired householder must take great care of anyone who crosses the threshold.

It’s not difficult to imagine that it is so, the logo makes one think of the cover of a book of immortal tales, narrated from generation to generation: The creator of the logo is our friend Raluca Vescan – product designer now in Amsterdam (www.ralucavescan.com). The small chair (in the Casa Moşului logo) reminds us of a nostalgic past, we can feel the warmth of the wood crafted by a father or grandfather for the household. The symbol of the sun-flower points toward folk craftsmanship traditions that cherish simple geometry brimming with symbolic meaning. This sun-flower symbol has been used in Europe for thousands of years and it connects us to our common past, while the chair is a practical object of common use, with a clear function. The combination of the nostalgic idea of the past with the practice of using these traditions today is the essence of the Casa Moşului brand, a space where the leisure of traditional country life blends with modern life. As a subliminal element of design, a man with a rod is hiding in the shadow beneath the little chair – where he does not sit, the chair is for you, honored guest of the house!

The owners of this guest house are not simple… innkeepers, the way this place looks like… was carefully planned! Objects that give the space character are sought after and restored by themselves, because they prefer objects with a story, coming from history, objects that make guests feel they are in a special house. A house that has something from the country house of grandparents, for those who have had such a thing, and for those who did not, it offers them a fragment of rural history with a message meant to keep us from the daily hustle and bustle: Have a seat and a meal with us, experience the warmth of life in the countryside, tell stories over a glass of wine, a wholesome meal, or just sit quietly on the porch, admiring the sunny courtyard.



