Sleek Athens House Blends Stone With Concrete Textures
This impressive home, set in a densely-populated residential area of Athens, features a combination of ultramodern residential cues and personalized, regional materials. Its main structure is concrete, metal, and glass, but it contains other cues that give away its more unique nature. Designed by WoARCHITECTS, a Greek firm, the large house uses locally-sourced stone patterns for its lower exterior level. These patterns bring a touch of tradition to the decidedly contemporary architecture, integrating it into its surroundings. The home’s overall structure contains a few spaces for private relaxation and recreation, uncommon in an urban environment, placed just off main rooms. The first floor and its adjoining exterior spaces make for perfect entertaining spaces for the residents and their guests to enjoy.
Inside, each public room has its own distinct design theme, defined by color choice. The living room is a sunken den-type space with dark tones, surrounded by uniquely-finished flooring leading to the kitchen. That kitchen is much brighter than the living room, with neon accents and open-faced storage. Private spaces, upstairs, combine the brightness of the kitchen with the intimacy of the living room.
The house sits on a sloping lot, with its bottom floor equalized with the top of that slope. Combined with the effect of a wide deck railing, this elevation gives the building a tall, imposing facade from the street.
No natural stone patterns are included past the home’s first level, diminishing upward to be replaced by more contemporary concrete.
Each overhang and deck structure of the residence has some element that makes it unique. This one replaces traditional railings with slatted metal rods on one side while keeping the other completely open.
A few colorful artisan touches are integrated into the dwelling’s design. These primary color birdhouses are grouped randomly on the exterior wall next to the entrance walkway.
Because the home’s first floor is elevated, a set of modern “floating” steps ascends to a platform that houses its low-key porch and inset doorway.
The opposite edge of the property includes a courtyard-style patio, enclosed on three sides, with overgrown vegetation and space for entertaining guests. In a densely populated area, it’s a rarely-seen private recreational space.
Various concrete and metal portions of the house, such as this connection between the master bathroom and its privacy wall, aren’t actually integral to structure. Instead, they serve mostly to complete the overall image of the structure.
At the front of the house is a dedicated entertainment and relaxation space, with a large patio, swimming pool, and grassy lawn surrounding it. Contrary to tradition, this space is able to be placed on a public side of the design because of the large stone and concrete wall at the roadside.
Direct access to the patio comes from the living room and courtyard, while the kitchen’s windows overlook the swimming pool without containing a doorway to it. Plenty of light enters the house through these huge window sets.
The waterline of the pool is set as close to the floor of the living room as practically possible, creating a visual continuity between the indoors and outdoors.
Inside, the lower floor is mostly open and contains an inoffensively-colored transit space between the living area and kitchen, which have two decidedly different color palettes.
The living room is constructed of deep red and black hues, creating a space that retains a large physical size while seeming intimate and warm at the same time.
The room is sunken to further enhance its environment and show a separation from the rest of the floor. Despite this, it still is open and has a direct sightline into the kitchen.
Out of the way, a compact but chic staircase made from metal girders provides a path to private rooms.
The kitchen has a brighter selection of the colors than the living room, but distributes those color choices in a non-overwhelming fashion. A strip of neon green cabinetry and set of white lights are all the tools required to make the room a bright and modern place.
Since the kitchen isn’t covered in super-bright accents, it still manages to be as serene and livable by night as it is entertaining and friendly by day.
The master bedroom is almost a combination between the styles of the home’s two major public rooms: it has the flooring and color combination of the living room, but has the white accents and lighting solutions present in the kitchen. This results in a space that is airy and spacious while being private and comfortable as well.
The adjoining bathroom brings back the creative sponge-rubbed greyscale finish present just beyond the living room, making it the dominant element along its walls. The privacy lattice outside lets in light while obscuring the view inward.
Countertops are minimal and sleek, with elevated porcelain basins to offset the cool grey surroundings and bring warmth into the room.
WoARCHITECTS
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
