Dream by Lake Naroch. How a family from Minsk is transforming a hundred-year-old house into an agritourism estate
A little over a year ago, spouses Aliaksandr and Yana bought a house in the village of Mikoltsy, Myadzel district. Land here is not cheap — reflecting its proximity to Lake Naroch, the pearl of Belarus. It is planned that this area will become not only their personal sanctuary but also an agritourism estate in the future. In the Naroch region, the demand for recreation and accommodation is consistently high, so the investments are expected to pay off, writes Kraj.by.
Photo by the author
From Minsk to the Village
The couple lives in Minsk, but they try to spend every free moment in their village house. In a year, Aliaksandr and Yana have already completed a colossal amount of work: they updated the foundation, re-roofed, and changed the doors and windows. Inside, the floor, ceiling, and walls are ready – a lot of effort has been invested. The 25-sotka plot is also gradually being put in order.
Family Approach
Aliaksandr does a lot with his own hands. Yana is the conceptual inspirer and loyal helper. Eight-year-old Kira also helps out in their future paradise nest.
All the work draws considerable money from the family budget, if not to say almost all of it. But the expectations and the dream are worth it.
Aliaksandr admits: "To realize a dream, sometimes a healthy dose of madness is needed."
A Dream of Their Own House in Their Native Village
For Aliaksandr, the village of Mikoltsy is his native place. His great-grandmother's house is located here – old, rustic, but so dear. His parents use it as a dacha.
The idea of buying his own house matured in the young man since childhood. He spent every summer in the village. When he started dating Yana, he brought her here, and each time they exclaimed: "How cool it is here!"
"Two years ago, leaving once again, I felt such sadness... I just didn't want to leave. We needed something of our own, because grandma's house is just for visiting. And we got excited: we want our own house," recalls Aliaksandr.
The spouses searched for a house online for a long time, but wanted to buy specifically in this village, despite the "biting" prices here. This house was put up for sale, and the announcement was hanging right on the facade. His uncle noticed it and told Aliaksandr, and that's how the spouses found their future corner.
"When we bought the house, according to documents, it was approximately from the fifties. Neighbors came to get acquainted, started telling stories, and it turned out that half of the house — even a larger part of it — once stood across the road, with a large family, even before the war. After the death of their parents, the brothers decided to split, and one of them moved half of the house here, to our current plot. This log cabin dates back to 1924, and after the war, another part was added, so it has stood for more than a hundred years now," Aliaksandr recounts and notes that things used to be built with quality and to last centuries.
Start of Restoration Work
For a dilapidated and old village building, the price was quite high, but judging by the location and the real estate market, it was adequate. The demand for recreation in these places is high, especially during the summer season.
"This will be a place where we will come to relax. And, perhaps, it will help recoup some of the investments — for ourselves, but with profit," the owners share their plans.
They decided not to demolish the house, but to restore it.
"If I had known then that it would be easier to build a new one... But the walls remained, there was a minimal foundation. The foundation had to be reinforced. The roof didn't necessarily need changing, but we 'went for it' and changed it. Masters, local guys, and relatives help with the construction work, one could say, the whole village. Compared to Minsk, prices for work here are cheaper, but they still add up to a decent amount."
By Trial and Error, with Google's Help
"When we came to the plot, it was entirely fenced, the whole plot was divided – people used to like to fence everything. There was a large barn – a whole complex. We immediately demolished and burned it. The same story with the furniture: we took out the old stuff – no one needed it, so it had to be sent to the bonfire. We did the foundation the old way: we left the old stones, dug a trench around them, replaced the lower log courses, and poured concrete in a 'П' (Pi) shape. The foundation turned out to be concrete, and underneath it – boulders weighing 150 kilograms."
Aliaksandr is not a builder; he admits that he often turns to the omniscient Google. He partially regrets not having consulted professionals or designers, as some mistakes and unnecessary expenses could have been avoided.
"You do it, and then you realize — it could have been simpler. But your eyes are burning, your hands are working: you want it faster."
Renovation Exceeded the Initial Budget
The owners poured the foundation and decided to install underfloor heating. Together with his wife, they installed everything: insulation, pipes, and even Kira helped. But then it turned out that the electrical line in the village was old, and it wouldn't support the underfloor heating. In theory, a boiler could be installed, but it would operate at its limits.
For now, everything is under concrete, the pipes are laid — as a foundation for the future. According to the owner, there is a project to replace the electrical grid in the coming years. It remains to hope and wait.
They plan to finish the house with wood. The toilet and shower inside are already fully functional.
The owner also said that they have already exceeded the planned budget, and repeatedly.
"We thought it would cost around 15 thousand dollars. We'd just do cosmetic repairs, change the windows and the interior setting, install water. Then it started: the floor needs changing, but what to lay? We could also put in underfloor heating. One thing led to another, we decided to do a major renovation. We 'didn't fit' into the initial figures — we've already spent twenty," the spouses share.
How Construction Changes Rhythm and Brings Satisfaction
— Aliaksandr, do you remember that very moment — when you were deciding whether to take this house or not? Were you overcome by doubts and how did you overcome them?
— "To achieve a goal, a dose of madness is needed. We discarded rationality, calculations — all these 'what if it doesn't work?', 'how much money is needed?', 'can we handle it?' Maybe it's wrong, but these thoughts need to be cut off, and you just have to jump into battle. Once you're involved, there's no turning back. And what we have already done inspires us to move forward. That's why everything works out."
And overall... Life, of course, has changed. When you become the owner of a house and a plot — it's constant work, a different rhythm. I don't lie on the couch; I know that on weekends, I'm busy. I tinker with something, carry things, break things, build as much as I can. That's how I reset my head from my main job. And, you know, for me, it's a thrill. Yes, it's constant movement, but that's where life is. When you make something with your own hands and see the result of your work — it inspires and gives true satisfaction.
Aliaksandr runs a blog on TikTok "Step by Step". He talks about building the house and shares many interesting details of this process.