Amphora villa is a typical cave house in the heart of the traditional village of Finikia, in Oia, Santorini. The settlement of Finikia stands out for the unpretentious beauty of its alleys and the unique architecture of the houses.
The original use of the house was as a «canava» which is a wine cellar. The wine cellars are storage areas where the vine growers and the old winemakers stored the grapes after the harvest. This particular wine cellar is dome-shaped and is made of a volcanic ash named «aspa».
The interior architecture has been carried out by the award-winning Lime Deco office of Maria Chatzistavrou. The name of the Amphora Villa cave house, was inspired from the storage ceramic vessels used for storing wine and sometimes oil, the amphorae. Ms Chatzistavrou's aim was to attribute and acknowledge the humble but important history of the site and to make it a museum space that can accommodate visitors, with all the modern amenities.
The shell of the cave remained the same, while the bathroom area was remodeled, as its primary space was on the outer side of the courtyard, cut off from the main space, as it was in all the older buildings.
The various recesses that are now decorated with amphoraes, were the different places where the grape varieties were deposited and separated.
Color-wise, ecru dominates as the main background, while black has been chosen for some furniture or smaller elements. The fabrics are in bright blue tones. In the courtyard, the volcanic red color of the volcanic sand was used. A special study was made on the lighting to maximize the relief of the spaces and for the most part, there are indirect lighting fixtures.
The ceramic amphoraes are made by Cretan hands from the Pottery art workshop of Mr. Michalis Choulakis in Arkalochori, Heraklion, Crete.
As the site was the summer residence of a family, there were ceramic vases which were kept. The utilitarian ceramics such as the plates and cups were made by the Sifnian ceramists George and Nikos Mamidas. (Mamidas Ceramics).
The logo of Amphora Villas was designed by the well-known Greek sculptor and graphic designer Lito Leontis.
Project: "Amphora Villas", www.amphoravillas.gr
Concept & Interior Design: Maria Chatzistavrou - Lime Deco -www.limedeco.ch
Photographers: Peppa Konstantina- Pitsikali Georgia
