Maria Kardami Design Studio were asked by a professional client who lives abroad, but visits Athens frequently for business, to transform a split-level penthouse apartment on Levedi Street—a minute’s walking distance from glamorous Kolonaki Square in the centre of Athens—into a pied-à-terre which could also accommodate his family during holiday trips.
In renovating the spaces, the team used a highly restrained palette of colours and forms to create a contemporary aesthetic that gracefully combines the traditional and the contemporary. The predominant colours throughout are shades of white and palest cream, with sparse touches of black and gold. Blond chevron oak parquet flooring visually unites the communal and private spaces. Panelled wood walls throughout the apartment are complemented by delicate floral cornice mouldings and ceiling rosettes in every room which add a visual delight to the interior spaces.
Instead of the typical division of rooms for kitchen, dining, and living, spaces on the lower-level look towards each other. Big, softly curved and rounded white Pierre Augustine sofa and armchairs rest on a round Minotti rug like an island archipelago in the living room, where black bookshelves flank a black marble fireplace surmounted by a large mirror.
The Baxter dining table is of black marble, and Apparatus lighting fixtures and ornaments are in black and gold, as is the Piet Fran arched side console.
The dining area leads directly into the kitchen, whose countertop, splashback and asymmetrical island with bar-seating are of gold-brown veined white Patagonia marble. Fixtures, cupboards and built-in glass-fronted wine cabinet along one wall are black.
The large master bedroom suite occupies half the second floor, and the
The master bedroom is designed to incorporate a sleeping area and an intimate living area. On either side of the wide opening from the sleeping area to the living area built-in bookshelves with recessed lighting seem to float, as does the bed on its white platform base.
The living area, with built-in wardrobes along one wall, opens to a large balcony screened by lacy bamboos and shaded by a contemporary metal version of the traditional Greek pergola.
Minotti outdoor seating and coffee table create a comfortable, private retreat in which to have a late evening drink or peaceful early morning coffee.
The master bathroom design is completely contemporary. Walls, floor and counter are entirely of Calacatta Gold marble, with outlined golden and pale grey streaks on an-off white base. Cocoon sink and shower fixtures are gold.
The other two bedrooms, with built-in closets, are equally airy and light, with gold Oluce lighting fixtures, custom side tables in black and white, and rounded Gallotti and Radice armchairs.
