Mezi Plutky

When our local heroes, a creatively talented Czech couple, serendipitously stumbled upon this 200-hundred-year-old dilapidated mountain house - it was as if it had just been waiting for them to find it. An architect and interior designer paired with an antique collector, gardener & foodie were instantly spellbound, and it was just what this ill-fated house required to not only restore the property but to give it a new sense of purpose and love, lots of it: Mezi Plutky and neighbour former log house, Mezi Lukami, were creatively born.

Set against the dramatic canvas of the forested Carpathian Mountains and the high Beskydy (Beskids) range of Czechia,  Mezi Plutky is a tiny boutique hotel that sits on the county ‘fence’ of Wallachia and Lachia, where one folk architecture connects to the other. The house is surrounded by meadows and a canopy of mature trees that shade in summer. You can tell that the owners are prolific restorers of historical buildings: the poetry of it has been considerately preserved so that the original bones of provenance continue to cradle Mezi Plutky; including reconstructing the shingle greyed larch roof tiles, exposing the once thickly-painted beams, refurbishing the doors using local crafted Czech oak and rediscovering the gorgeous old sandstone floorings. Inside, the filtered design of Mezi Plutky gleams in limed whites, flagstone milky-greys, honeyed gabled beams, planking and lots of putty-coloured linens and throws. There is an obvious sense of connection to the heritage and spans both old and the new. Passionate custodians of culture, the arts and the crafted, Mezi Plutkys’ owners filled it with curated furnishings by the likes of Karl Andersson Soner, Hay, Ronan Bouroullec, Patricia Urquiola and the bemusing rocking-sheep by Povl Kjer.

Music hums throughout the house as you would expect, as does the art which completes the circles of culture and heritage with pieces dating from 1613 to a wonderfully large Moravian tapestry. The library, lounge, kitchen table and winter garden with large fires burning are as enticing as the countless perches found in the herb gardens around the natural outdoor pool.

A home of dialogues between the past and present, old and new, the grassy meadows to the Beskydy Mountains, from indoors to the gardens – the credo of Between Fences makes for a casual ‘barefoot’ den for those who share a passion for heritage, nature and a smooth design narrative of composed elegance. Set within steps of the hotel, the equally loved and restored former log house, the two-bedroom Mezi Lukami, captures the essence of preservation, design and heart.  

With just four bedrooms in the main house hotel, it feels like owners Daniela and Petr have put generous thought and time into the creation of these spacious suites. An overarching use of tactile materials greets you on arrival, especially if you choose the ‘guest’ suite, located in the heart of the old house, with gleaming terracotta flooring, stone flagstones, rough walls and wooden beams.

Up in the loft, two suites are masterpieces in minimalist design with grey-brown wood smoothly lining the walls and floors, painted beams in white and white tiled bathrooms behind large, glazed screens. The look is softened with sheepskin throws, white cotton bed linen and handmade quilts. There is also a “Summer House” bedroom located in the newly built barn.

Mezi Lukami

Mezi Lukami is a private-hire house with two spacious double bedrooms housed with characterful log beams and restored provenance. With big comfortable beds and small windows facing the silence, meadows, forest, hills, streams, facing all directions. In the attic, there are niches/ cabins for dreaming or relaxation during the day or for children. 

As passionate foodies, the sustainability of the produce is close to their hearts, as does who and where it came from, and organic at Mezi Plutky is naturally a no-brainer.

Breakfast is prepared with the love of food in mind - Petr bakes dark bread, the housemaid makes blueberry jam and bakes the cake of the day, and the farmers deliver their cheeses, yoghurts and cured meats. And then there are famous Petr’s eggs with lard – perfect before hitting the famous Beskydy. Mezi Plutky is casual, so make a pitstop anytime for tea/coffee with your afternoon cake or pour yourself a glass of wine from the oversized Smeg honesty wine fridge. 

Dinner is optional, chosen over breakfast from the daily menu that co-owner Petr conjures – and be warned, he is a true foodie with a talent for the kitchen. Alternatively, the owners have compiled a listing of their favourite foodie haunts in the area.

Mezi Plutky is close to the picturesque village of Čeladná set within a natural setting “where you meet more deer and hares than people, find mushrooms, and pick blueberries. From the other windows, you will see the highest peaks, deep woods and soft meadows.”  Home to the highest Carpathian Mountain range called Beskydy (Beskids) and in one of the best-preserved hill landscapes of Czechia, Mezi Plutkys is located between forests and meadows of the silent Podolanky Valley. There are several nature parklands close by, including the national reserve Knehyne. The village of Čeladná is just 35 km from the third-largest Czech city, Ostrava.

Čeladná is the perfect base from which to explore the Carpathian Mountains, summer hiking, horse-riding, a round of golf and equally, in the winter months for ski, cross-country walking and escapism to the snow-capped Beskids.