A glass-lined sunken patio sets the tone before the rest of the house comes into view. Light drops into the lower level, where the basement is turned into a bright part of the plan rather than a closed-off floor. The setting is private, but the opening is generous: stone edges, clear glazing and a sheltered courtyard shape a home with a sunken patio that keeps drawing daylight inward.

Daylight pulled down into the lower level

The lower level is not treated as a leftover zone. Instead, a recessed courtyard brings daylight into the basement through a ring of glass, giving the space a direct link to the outside. That move makes room for a wellness area without sealing it away from the rest of the house. The architecture is read in three stacked layers, with strong horizontal lines and a deep overhang that cuts across the façade and shades the terrace below.

Seen from the garden side, the massing stays restrained. White rendered volumes sit above darker openings, while the long canopy extends the roofline and keeps the composition low and pulled tight. It is a clear example of a home with overhang, where shadow is not accidental but part of the section. The patio below reflects that same logic: open to the sky, yet enclosed enough to feel protected.

Glazing that keeps the garden in view

Large panes do most of the work inside and out. They bring the planting, the patio edges and the water surface into view from several rooms, so the house never loses contact with the garden. The building reads as a modern home with large glazing, but the effect is not only visual. Glass also marks the transition between the interior floors and the recessed outdoor zone, making the change in level easy to read.

An indoor terrace sits between the living and dining spaces, and the integrated canopy lets it adapt to the weather. Because it is set under cover, the terrace acts as a hinge rather than an afterthought. Furniture can sit close to the threshold, and the line between inside and outside stays open. The route from room to patio remains direct, with the glazing holding the view and the overhang holding the shade.

A covered terrace that extends the living space

The covered indoor terrace is one of the clearest gestures in the house. It does not try to disappear. Its frame, roof edge and sheltered position are visible, and that makes the connection between the dining zone and the garden easy to understand. On one side there is the calm of the interior floor; on the other, a hard-paved exterior with planting and a water feature. The terrace sits between those two conditions and slows the move from one to the other.

That threshold also gives the lower level more depth. From inside, the eye passes over a table, across the terrace, and then out to the patio and garden. From outside, the glass edge reflects light back into the rooms. The house uses its openings carefully, with each frame chosen to hold a view, not to flood the plan indiscriminately. The result is precise rather than expansive for its own sake.

Warm materials against clear surfaces

Inside, the palette stays close to beige, wood and ceppo-di-gre stone. Those tones soften the sharpness of the glazing and the clean wall surfaces without turning the rooms heavy. A large opening near the living area draws the greenery deep into the interior, while the floor and joinery keep the room grounded. It is an interior with natural materials, but the effect comes from how the materials meet light, not from decoration.

Details remain quiet. Stone appears as an accent rather than a full envelope, and timber surfaces absorb the daylight that enters from the patio and the main windows. The open staircase contributes to that sense of movement, with wooden treads and a dark supporting structure creating a clear vertical line through the house. Light passes around it, so the stair reads as part of the route rather than a blocked central object.

An open staircase shaped by daylight

The open staircase has a direct visual role. Its timber treads catch the light, while the darker frame keeps the form legible against the white walls. Because the stair is open, the upper level remains in sight and daylight can reach through the core of the house. That small decision changes the atmosphere of the plan: circulation becomes visible, and the house feels less divided between levels.

Nearby, the living room carries a long glazed opening and a built-in fire element that sits flush with the wall. The composition is spare, but the materials do the work. A light-grey floor runs through the space, reflecting light from the garden, while the darker insert around the fireplace anchors the wall. Nothing is overdrawn, yet every surface participates in the room’s geometry.

Technology folded into the detailing

Technical parts are integrated rather than displayed. A wood-burning fireplace is connected to a hot water buffer tank, and the lighting is handled as part of the architecture instead of a separate layer. That approach keeps cables, fixtures and mechanical elements out of the way of the main surfaces. What remains visible is the result: clear lines from interior to exterior, and a house where the practical systems support the spatial sequence without taking over the rooms.

The same care appears in the transitions between glazed openings, interior finishes and outdoor paving. Black window frames outline the glass, the canopy shades the terrace, and the materials shift gradually from stone and timber inside to hard surfaces outside. In the garden, a water feature and restrained paving give the courtyard a measured character. It is a home with a water feature in garden, but the feature works best as part of the larger composition of light, reflection and level changes.

Reading the house from the patio inward

From the sunken patio, the house reveals itself in layers. Glass first, then the overhang, then the pale upper volumes above. The lower space is not hidden below grade; it is framed by the courtyard and lit from above and around the edge. That clarity is what gives the home its quiet force. The plan makes room for privacy, daylight and a direct relation to the garden, all in the same compressed footprint.

What stays with you is the sequence: water at the edge, glazing around the recess, the covered terrace, then the interior with wood, stone and a stair that rises through the centre. The house uses simple moves, but each one is specific. Light enters where it is needed, views are cut carefully, and the sunken patio becomes the part of the project that holds everything together.

Gebroeders Caelen — structural work and roofing
Corswarem — exterior joinery and façade cladding
Schueco — aluminium windows
Schoeffaerts — interior plasterwork and finishing
YP Eurofix — interior
Puur Groen — garden design and installation

Photography — La-Par