We first came upon the work of Pallas Kalamotusis through the brightly hand-painted vessels she makes with London-based ceramicist Freya Bramble-Carter. The two are collaborators, and friends; Freya does the pot-throwing, Pallas the painting, adorning each candlestick and vase with colorful motifs, and their mostly one-of-a-kind Pallas and Freya pieces are in limited supply and high demand. (For our feature on the duo, see “Beauty Is Eternal”: Colorful Ceramic Vessels by Two London Creatives.)
In the rest of her time, however, Pallas is the interior designer behind Studio Krokalia (“based in London, bred in Greece,” she writes on her site), and like her ceramics, her interior projects effortlessly balance pattern and spareness, color and quiet, with nods to antiquity. Join us as we take a look at one of her projects—in collaboration with Athens-based Studio Pale—on the island of Patmos, Greece, in the Aegean Sea.
Photography courtesy of Studio Krokalia.
Above: The house dates to the 18th century. “A few years before, an architect had started the renovation,” Pallas says, “but it had been abandoned quickly so the place was quite a wreck. Wires everywhere!” Her goal, in picking up where the last architect left off, was to keep the interiors “functional, classic, simple, but beautiful.”
Above: Now redone, the house has laid-back island spirit.
Above: In the living room, a low custom-made wood sofa provides ample lounge space. “Each piece is also a storage unit underneath,” Pallas adds.
Above: The rattan loungers are antiques, found in Brussels.Above: In the absence of a designated entryway, a bench and simple rod with S-hooks does the trick.Above: The trim throughout the house—and a wall-mounted plate rack in the kitchen—is painted pale grey. “We color-matched a grey used locally,” says Pallas. “You just take a scrap to the local paint shop and they copy it!” The pendant light is from Hand & Eye.Above: The stone kitchen sink is paired with a wall-mounted faucet. The spatterware jug is by Crow Canyon.
Above: The Smeg fridge is tucked away in a convenient niche.
Above: Stone steps lead upstairs.
Above: The bedroom gets its color from antique rugs and a locally woven textile as a bedspread. (Another idea worth borrowing: the comforter draped over the headboard for extra cushioning.)
Above: The house, Pallas says, has an unobstructed view of Patmos sunsets.Above: In the bathrooms, cabinetry is painted a very Greek pale blue.
Above: “This is very Patmian,” says Pallas of open shower setup. “Think wet room. Embrace the water mess! It’s so hot anyway during the summer it soon evaporates.”
