This was an ordinary mid-class penthouse of the 70’s, in the city of Athens, with the architectural typology of the apartments of that class& era. It consisted of a front room with a sliding door opening to a bedroom, a corridor leading to one more bedroom,  one bathroom with a storage overhead and a narrow kitchen at the other end of the social area.

Changing the plan was essential to the requirements of the clients, an Italian couple who love Greece and wanted a pied-a-terre to the city center. They needed an open plan space, integrating living-dining and kitchen, consisting a second lounge area which could offer sleep when visited by their 2 daughters or friends.

At first glance, the apartment was very bright, with all the spaces exiting to a large L shaped balcony, facing east-south, and also enjoying all the warm colors of the sunset.

The structural alterations included the demolition of all the walls, and changing the positioning of the various uses.

Our thought to maintain the beauty of this apartment found common ground with the Italian clients who also wanted to celebrate the original features.

In all Athenian apartments of the 1970’s, one finds marble kitchen sinks, and so this one was polished and placed in the new kitchen. The original handles of the apartment were re-used and although the flooring was not consistent in the different rooms, we agreed with the clients to reproduce a single wooden floor in the classic herringbone pattern of the time.

Also, the extensive use of green marble from the island of Tinos at the entrance of the building, was cherished at the kitchen’s countertop. In the bathroom, a custom designed metal structure holds the vintage glass to separate the shower, and we decided on white marble for coating the walls.

A careful search on doors leaded to a 4 -set of iroko wooden ones, that were found in an old warehouse, sanded and re-polished by hand.

An extensive dialogue with the Italians was about colors. Coming from an art environment, they loved bright shades, that were incorporated in the apartment. All furniture were shipped from Italy, celebrating the vintage style that was decided for their Greek residence.