Apartment Νο 15

I enjoy learning, it uplifts my spirits. Many years ago, I completed a short course titled: The Art of Curating. Later on, in 2014, just before handing over this project, I was capable, even excited, to hang a beautiful collection of black and white art photography by Yannis Kordakis.

To start from the beginning… The apartment is located on the first floor of a two-storey building that dates back to 1936. The ground floor entrance hall and the first-floor apartment feature architectural elements of the Art Deco period: high ceilings with decorative plasterwork, timber doors and windows with muntins as well as colourful cement tile floors.

When our team first visited the apartment, I was petrified. I loved the potential it possessed but was shocked by its dilapidated state. Nevertheless we took the plunge and -working closely with the owners- decided to start by structurally reinforcing the load bearing walls. We then carefully renovated the whole apartment, respecting and restoring its original elements, to comply with contemporary standards for safety and comfort. Regarding the layout we made several changes. We began by moving the kitchen adjacent to the dining area, which we placed in the spacious entrance hall. We then designed a twin bedroom where the kitchen was and also created a master bedroom. These two rooms have access to a cosy private backyard we fashioned by removing the old staircase that connected the first and second floor apartments. Lastly, we provided for an extra bedroom, with a tree view too, in order to maximise the sleeping capacity since the apartment is destined for short-term rental.

We wish to acknowledge the expertise of our tiler, Mr Doukas, who carefully took out, cleaned, put back and polished the characteristic cement tiles after which the apartment was named!