Type:  Interior Design / Furniture Design / Styling/ Lighting Design
Status: Completed
Area: 135 sq.m.
Year: 2018
Location: Athens
Design: Io Carydi in partnership with Yiannis Machairas

Conversion and renovation of an apartment to office space in a listed interwar period building in Lykavitou street designed by renowned architect Constantinos Kyriakidis (1881-1942), a representative of the eclectic classicism in Greece.

The South-West oriented apartment is situated in downtown Athens at the second floor. The aim of the design project is to house Octo Impact Studio (Business Consulting Company) and also to provide facilities that co-house partners of the company. The client requested the facilitation of communal meeting spaces but also the possibility to separate spaces for private functions when needed. Folding doors with wooden frames and striated glass where constructed in order to facilitate potential segregation of areas without blocking natural light to reach inner areas.

The design approach aims for prisms, lines and frames modular custom-madefurniture mostly as free-standing objects, employed to contradict with the art-deco ornamental details of the walls and ceiling friezes. Walnut veneering, anthracitemetal, cypress –green cupboards, cleaf laminates, birch plywood and white marble from Thasos, include the cool toned materials used in the design. Suspended “hairline” lighting features where carefully selected to complete the ambience.

The wall color palette comprises of cobalt blue and cool grey aiming for subtle and less bright tones to relax the glare effect of the south oriented facades. Cobalt blue was particularly effective for calmness and concentration and provided a dramatic contrast with the white coated decorated friezes, cornices and ornamental details that are characteristic of the eclectic style of the period.