It all began in 2019 with a crazy mother-daughter idea.

But first…

Lidia was born and raised in Brasov, one of the most beautiful towns in Transylvania, Romania. Her childhood was not unlike the childhood described in Ioana Parvulescu’s lovely novel “Inocentii” (“The Innocents”) - translated into German as “Wo die Hunde in drei Sprachen bellen” (The Town in Which Dogs Bark in Three Languages”)

Indeed, Brasov, as the whole of Transylvania, has been inhabited over centuries by populations of various ethnic backgrounds, which left their mark upon the architecture and its multicultural way of life.

Madeleine was born in Germany, grew up in the US and studied in the UK before living in London and Paris, but always loved Brasov and felt a strong connection to her Transylvanian heritage, having spent many summers at her grandmother’s house in heart of the old centre.

In the summer of 2019, Lidia organised a trip through Transylvania for Canadian and British friends who had read Miklos Banffy’s “Transylvanian Trilogy” and wanted to see what this famed region looked like a century later - they explicitly asked us not to book hotels, wishing to be more immersed in the local character of the towns and villages they visited - so we looked for as authentic accommodations as one could find…with all the modern comfort, of course. We found some nice ones, in Sibiu, in Apuseni, in Sighisoara…but it wasn’t always so easy to find this perfect blend of traditional and modern. So, we came up with the idea of creating one such place ourselves. 

House66 is the result of six years of renovation work. Three apartments became six, after converting attics that had never been inhabited into the spaces full of light you can see now. We worked with Brasov-born architects with work experience in the UK and Germany and, of course, with Romanian, German and Hungarian craftsmen, as befits the character of this over two-hundred year old house, which has been inhabited over the years by families from the different ethnic groups local to Transylvania. The house may look small from outside on the street, but it has a wealth of character, light and space inside…

We kept as many original features as we could save - old beams, original wooden and brick floors, while adding in huge windows to let in light into the attics as well as renovating the newer apartments in a complementing style - with modern fixtures brought from Italy and Germany, furniture that fits modern tastes and wall decorations reflecting old Romanian wood artefacts as well as photos taken by our friend who runs the well-known “Brasov, orasul sufletului meu” (Brasov, the city of my soul) account on Facebook.

We endeavoured to create a welcoming, unique yet functional space in the heart of Brasov. It is only minutes away from the main square, Piata Sfatului, yet on on a quiet street and near all of the old centre’s main attractions.

Welcome to our lovely House66, welcome to our lovely town - we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Lidia & Madeleine Bradley