Tran Viet Anh (1993, Hanoi) is known as the founder of the Spiderum writing platform, and he is also the owner of the Viet Retreat apartment complex. The story begins with his parents' decision to "leave the city and return to the countryside", escaping the cramped life in Hanoi's inner city. The whole family wanted a green living space imbued with the old Northern countryside.
"With the wish that my parents could live in an open space or take care of the garden every day, and live more in harmony with nature instead of the hustle and bustle of the city, I started to build and renovate the land," Viet Anh said.
Space overlooking rice fields at Viet Retreat
Located in Xom Coi, Tan Vinh, Luong Son, Hoa Binh, nearly 50 km from Hanoi, Viet Retreat with an area of 10,000 m2 was built by the owner of the house with a rustic, simple beauty, a peaceful and quiet setting for relaxation. The whole house is like a miniature village, in front of the rice field, surrounded by many trees.
According to Viet Anh, the name Viet Retreat has many meanings. Viet here means Vietnam because the objects in the house are decorated with bold colors of the Northern Delta and Vietnamese culture. The houses are mainly level 4 houses, using Ha Giang yin-yang tile roofs, renovated stilt houses bought from the Northern countryside... all recreating very Vietnamese things.
The renovated stilt house area
The Crocodile House and the Dream House were built in the style of stylized stilt houses. The upper floor was used for sleeping, the lower floor was for common activities. Among the 6 small houses, the Ngoc Lan house was the largest, although it combined the old beauty but still ensured modern conveniences for living.
Viet Retreat has a total of 6 houses, named after the surrounding trees: Apricot House, Crocodile House, Mango House, Jackfruit House, Grapefruit House, and Magnolia House. Each house has its own color and decoration. The houses at Viet Retreat are built in harmony with nature, relying on the original features of the terrain to create a harmonious architectural whole. Cutting down trees in the garden is minimized, while reusing and recycling handmade, nature-friendly furniture.
Interior of a house at Viet Retreat
Viet Anh's mother is an antique collector so she spends a lot of time hunting for items to display.
The house has many antique decorations, imbued with traditional culture. All the objects are collected and displayed by the skillful hands of Viet Anh’s mother - the one who “breathes life” into the Viet Retreat area.
Viet Anh said: “In the past, my mother was a secondary school teacher of Technology. Therefore, my mother took care of all the work such as cooking, flower arranging, house decoration, buying old items to decorate the house... When coming to Viet Retreat, visitors often see beautiful flower arrangements or water jars with flowers in them, looking very charming... All of this was done by my mother's meticulous hands."
The meticulous flower arrangement and decoration of the house was done by the skillful hands of Viet Anh's mother.
Compared to some other places to stay, Viet Retreat has a difference. The house uses a lot of recycled materials, reusing old furniture. For example, buying old stilt houses to renovate, old yin-yang tiles from Ha Giang, recycled stone mortars for pounding rice to plant trees or water jars...
“These objects are like a collection of my mother - a nostalgic person who likes to preserve the old values of Vietnam. Collectible items such as wooden sugarcane presses, flour mills, rice mills... are all associated with the old Vietnamese countryside. Many of the furniture in my house were bought and recycled from old houses in the Northern countryside when people demolished them to build new houses, both saving costs and preserving their own unique features,” Tran Viet Anh shared.
Large swimming pool for the whole family to relax, unwind and have fun together
The most commonly used wood in the house is the pepper poles used to grow pepper for many years, over time and termites, only the core remains. This wood is used to make everything from lamp posts, fences, wooden bridges to home interiors…
Viet Retreat is located in Hoa Binh, just over an hour away from Hanoi, so it is like a suburban house. To have a quality, happy and comfortable life, Viet Anh wants to make this house closer to everyone, a quiet space to relax and rest.
Viet Anh added: “Viet Retreat is considered a milestone for my family. This is a place that connects everyone together. It represents my style, a place that speaks to who I am. A place where I can not be swept away by the hustle and bustle, but return to a simple, comfortable lifestyle, in harmony with nature.”
