An existing house has been transformed by Maria Kardami Design Studio into an elegant and luxurious holiday villa, set into a series of stone-walled terraces on the shore of Ornos Bay, Mykonos.
Maria Kardami Design Studio renovated and modified the original building’s interior and designed the additional structures, fusing contemporary minimalist architectural elements with the clean white surfaces and cubist forms of traditional Cycladic building styles to create a summer residence harmoniously integrated into the stone and natural vegetation of the local landscape.
The buildings are aligned to make the most of the site’s orientation and topography, with a series of terraces that descend to the waterfront. The main residence is situated on the property’s highest level. Its flat roofs, white sculptural shapes and wooden doors echo Mykonos’ famous Cycladic vernacular style. The attached terrace, with a traditional slatted wood pergola supported by massive wooden beams, overlooks a large infinity swimming pool. Wide, shallow steps flanked by low stone walls lead from the main house down a series of low terraces to the broad sandy beach area on the waterfront. This provides an ideal space for relaxing and entertaining, with walkways of wooden decking, and generously proportioned dining and seating areas sheltered under wooden pergolas on either side of a free-form swimming pool sunk between palm trees. Further steps go down to the jetty where the client’s boat is moored.
The buildings’ flat roofs are planted with cacti and drought tolerant vegetation which also insulates the spaces below from the heat of the sun. The terraces between the natural stone retaining walls are xeriscaped with plantings of grasses, large cacti and low palms interspersed with large boulders.
The design language of the exterior flows through to the interiors, which combine the straight lines and gentle curves of local design with a contemporary, minimalist aesthetic. Smooth, creamy white walls and floor throughout are made of a traditional mixture of lime, stone, marble dust and pigments, applied in multiple layers then waxed and polished. The material has a depth of colour and luminescent quality which creates a sense of cool, elegant spaciousness. Blonde wood ceiling beams in the living areas and kitchen, and areas of native stone which have been left exposed, provide a textural and colour contrast.
Throughout all the rooms the deceptively simple yet sophisticated colour scheme is accented by wood, dark leather, bronze and gold fixtures, and stone in shades of buff and grey. The individual fixtures and furnishing elements are few and minimalist, adapted to the architectural aesthetic, and exquisitely designed. Generously proportioned sofas in the living room, upholstered in white, were created by Meridiani. The simple, elegant contemporary furniture throughout the rest of the house, upholstered in the soft, natural colour of unbleached linen, was custom designed by Maria Kardami Studio. The residence’s technological infrastructure is discreetly integrated. All lighting is by Apparatus Studio.
Villa Sebastian is an example of what can be achieved when an enlightened architect and sympathetic client work together. Bridging the past and the present — incorporating the local architectural vernacular and the contemporary aesthetic — it also respects Mykonos ‘spirit of place’, its landscape and climate.
