A three member family who has travelled extensively and lived most of their lives abroad, decided to create a home in a 280 sq.m. apartment located in a 60’s apartment building on Lycabettus Hill, in central Athens. The «L» shaped layout with large windows offers ample light during the day and breathtaking views of the city of Athens and the Acropolis.

The complete renovation and transformation has been a challenging project for the design team whose aim was to combine the family’s brief and aesthetics and its own design principles. After numerous meetings, design changes and presentations as well as extensive research into materials, textures, techniques and lighting, a fusion of diverse «styles» and aestehetic approaches becomes the final outcome. By mixing heterogenous influences and pushing beyond classicism, a set of welcoming spaces emerge.

The existing fragmented layout with numerous small and dark spaces and two labyrinthic corridors gets transformed by removing 35% of the existing walls and by forming one main axis leading to the private areas of the flat. Functionality coexists with flow of circulation throughout the flat. The layout becomes coherent and dense, allowing natural light to diffuse in all spaces. The intense incoming light gets filtered by linen curtains and the expected dramatic cast of shadows in the interior diminishes.

The new layout comprises an entrance hall, living areas (kitchen, dining area and sitting area), three bedrooms, two bathrooms as well as a guest room. The interior decor was coordinated by the couple giving a very personal touch. A very careful selection of key pieces became a joyful venture.

Key components such as the hand treated dark wooden floor, the detailed skirting boards, the gypsum ceiling ornaments, and finally the paneled doors and cupboards   come to aesthetic terms with the light toned colours of the walls and ceilings. Thus the perfect background for highlighting great pieces of art, was created.

The integral role of the kitchen and dining area in the family’s everyday life is highlighted by the change in floor covering as the italian terrazzo tiling blends in with the blue-gray Georgian kitchen furniture. The solid oak island kitchen counter visually connects with the adjacent custom made solid oak dining table that sits predominantly in the dining area. The space continuity of the living areas and circular route get disrupted only by choice through the use of the black steel sliding doors.

The distinctive bedrooms, as more private areas, are characterized by a careful selection of ethnic lighting fixtures and vintage pieces of furniture. In the bathrooms the all- embracing austere presence of Greek marbles on the walls and floors contrast interestingly with the brass taps and fittings.

-The design team