Lake Jasna, Kranjska Gora

Kranjska Gora sits in the top corner of Slovenia, in a valley the Julian Alps close around. The house is at the southern end of it, next to Lake Jasna and off the traffic of the village — near enough to walk to the water, far enough that nothing passes the terrace.

Two small linked lakes at the edge of the village, ringed by a footpath and backed by the mountains. The water changes with the light — green, then grey, then almost black under snow cloud. It is a few minutes on foot from the door, and it is the first thing most guests go and look at.

The road to the Vršič pass leaves from the lake and climbs south into Triglav National Park. Kranjska Gora itself is a ski village in winter and a walking one the rest of the year. Whichever direction you set off in, the Julian Alps are the thing you are looking at.

In summer the terrace does most of the living: the table goes outside, the grill in the summer kitchen gets used, and the lawn takes the rest. In autumn and winter the house closes around the fireplace instead, and the heated jacuzzi becomes the one good reason to go back out. The lake and the mountains are in front of the terrace either way — only the colour changes.