Stattmann Neue Moebel furniture inside Atelier ordinaire’s wood house prefab in France. Photography: Julien Renault

Much like many current creative collaborations, it was Instagram that alerted German furniture brand Stattmann Neue Moebel to the architectural work of Atelier ordinaire in 2017. ‘We were so intrigued by the wooden houses that we had to send the owner of atelier ordinaire, Thomas Walter, an email immediately,’ says Nicola Stattmann, co-founder of Stattmann Neue Moebel. A couple of clicks later and they have just designed a sustainable and minimalist prefab wood house together in Bourgogne in France.

A mutual love of wood (and each other’s work) officially kicked off the project. ‘For me, the rooms in the houses of atelier ordinaire are themselves like well-made furniture,’ Stattmann explains. ‘The outside corresponds exactly with the inside. There is no disconnection – only wooden volumes, soft transitions and clear lines. I cannot picture our furniture in a better space.’ The wood for the structure and the furniture inside is all sourced via sustainable forestry, a mutual ethos for both companies.

The furniture chosen for the project from Stattmann Neue Moebel’s vast collection are perfectly paired with the simple internal architecture. Spread sparsely across the angular walls of the building are Brussels-based designer Sylvain Willenz’s Profile series of highly crafted oak and ash products that create a pleasing sense of continuity throughout. Clusters of Add stools by German designer Steffen Kehrle also pepper the space alongside his Plug shelves, that Stattmann explains ‘work equally well next to the wall or as a room divider.’

Minimalist furniture by Stattmann Neue Moebel inside Atelier ordinare’s wood house prefab

Stattmann Neue Moebel and Atelier ordinare ensured the bucolic French landscape outside was highlighted by the design too. Large windows throughout the space act as cinematic frames for nature. The outdoors is also reflected in the tones and textures used, the dark hued weather resistant exterior of the house nods to the bark of the pine trees, while Stattmann chose 11 tones of this natural wood for the furniture. ‘We selected the grey-green, white, nude-grey, and grey which match the garden, the light and the natural pine tree wood of the interior walls perfectly.’ she details. ‘To create contrast, we selected the black-blue and the dark-blue, which are strong without being loud. The harmony with the surrounding environment is not just a question of the colours. It is also the matt surface which shows the grain of the wood very naturally and beautifully.’