A Villa Away from Home
June 10, 2011 
Sarah Van Arsdale - Chances are that when you travel, you don’t want to stay in a place that looks just like your own house. And staying in a sterile hotel room can make you wonder just what city you're visiting. That’s why we were drawn to this beautifully designed property on the Greek island of Mykonos: it’s comfortable, with every convenience you’d want – and yet there’s no mistaking that here, you are very far from home. If you want to learn about terrific design, come with us as we tour this home.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )This house and property brings out the flavor of the Greek Islands, with a rustic touch and no sacrifice of comfort. The curved, white-washed walls of the living room give the feeling of being in a brightly-lit natural cave overlooking the blue waters of the Aegean Sea.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )This home, designed by Antonis Ampatzis, is available to rent. And from where we sit in New York City, it’s impossible to resist fantasizing about a trip to this sunny,well-designed, comfortable nook of the world.
One trick that makes the design of this home work so well is the nearly-unbroken background of a white palette. The white-washed walls continue throughout the home, providing a feeling of continuous calm and peace, and providing a background against which the color can really pop when it does appear.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )Because of the white background throughout the entire home, color must be carefully chosen so it will add just the right note. Here, we see a corner with a wooden window shutter painted in a brilliant celadon green, bringing in a note of freshness to break up the white and brown.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )And that vibrant celadon is used throughout the home, providing more continuity while also giving bright splashes of surprising color. Here, the color is used on the edge of a doorway, and it’s picked up by the throw rug and the artwork on the wall.
When working with such a plain and consistent background palette, the choice of accessories and artwork is particularly important. In this photo:
(Photo: Villa Drakothea)We see the dining area, with the chairs slip-covered to blend in with the white-washing and the exposed beams in the kitchen. This is typical of this home – the use of white fabrics, exposed wood beams, and wooden furniture. But here, the kitchen is brightened and the eye is drawn to the colorful fruit on the table and the faint green wash in the windowed area to the back of the photo.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea)Finally, we see the house comes together in this sitting area. The colorful blankets on the seats and the rugs on the floor exude a warmth that calls visitors to snuggle in. The room’s coziness is enhanced by the curves of the walls, which create a snug space that’s brightened by the one large window and the smaller triangular windows.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )This home-away-from-home allows the visitor to feel utterly comfortable, and yet is unmistakably Greek in flavor: a home that blends the most current thoughts about décor, while calling on the ancient techniques of hospitality. And if you do want to venture outdoors, the sun-splashed porch awaits...
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )
...as does the infinity pool.
(Photo: Villa Drakothea )If you're fortunate enough to visit this gorgeous Greek home, send us a postcard - we don't mind feeling envious - and enjoy the following video of Mykonos scenes...
If you're also interested in in beautiful design, too, I encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.
- Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
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