Art Loft

How would you describe Art Loft in a nutshell?

Art Loft, a 2 (or 3 on request) bedroom holiday apartment of 240 sqm is built into a hangar in the middle of nature. The expansive views of San Giovanni D’Asso, south of Siena, Italy, are enticing and only enriched by the swimming pool and fishing pond. There is space for 4 to 6 guests. The former factory’ original soul is still around and was only enhanced by the last owner, an artist, who also created the current sculpture garden. For wellness, guests are invited the new sauna, placed into a container with views at Montelifré ruin.

What was your inspiration to leave Belgium and move to Tuscany?

The decision to leave Belgium was made as we wanted to change our way of life. We got into the hospitality business and first thought about going to France, but ended up in Italy. Here, everything turned out according to our expectations. We have a far higher quality of life here than we had in Belgium.

How did the idea for Art Loft as a holiday rental start?

It started a few years ago. We saw an opportunity to create a completely different type of holiday rental, unusual for Tuscany, but integrated in a very pleasant and natural way.

We tried to keep the original soul of the place, which used to be a factory to make clay discs for skeet shooting. The local community wanted to create a small industrial area for people not working in agriculture. The place then was turned into body shop for cars and when they saw that it did not work out either, it changed into a rural environment. So it’s the only place you can find in the region with what used to be a hangar in the middle of nature.

And before you bought it, the loft was an atelier?

Yes, the last owner was an artist, Reinhold Traxl, working with sculptures and he turned part of the hangar into a big loft apartment and the other part was his atelier. There are still sculptures by him on the ground surrounding the hangar.

When we bought the loft, we moved into the apartment there and created a second apartment that’s about 240 square meters for rent as a holiday home. There’s a about 200 square meters of open space between the apartments to create a buffer so holiday guests can feel entirely private.

What’s been the biggest reward to you personally renting out this holiday home?

The biggest rewards are the friendships that we have made with guests who have stayed here and at our bed and breakfast. We have made some really good friends from all around the world and have been invited to stay with them. The people you meet are the nicest thing about the hospitality business.