Yay! You just bought a house (or apartment) in Greece! Do you feel to modernize and improve your new accommodation with a smaller budget as well? Follow our tip below!
Modernize and improve your house in Greece with a smaller budget
We are always happy when we can help our clients to find the house (or apartment) they love and buy. But of course in a lot of cases the accommodation needs same improvement. Most often, our customers want (primarily) to upgrade the kitchen and the common social spaces indoors and outdoors.
“Elwira, can you recommend us a local interior architect? Someone who has a modern thinking and who can work also with the clients with smaller budget? And who also can preserve the past?”
Of course! Let us present a young and talented interior architect from Kalamata: Alexandros Hoholis.
Alexandros: “The challenge is to create beauty and aesthetics with few elements and with small budget”
Create beauty and aesthetics with few elements and with small budget
Alexandros Hoholis is an Interior Architect with a studio based in Kalamata, Greece.
He finished his studies at ΤΕΙ of Athens with a diploma of Interior architecture-design and furniture design.
Alexandros specializes at visualizing 3d renders of interior and exterior spaces, before the construction implementation, always taking into consideration the uniqueness of each project.
He works with both private and corporate clients and his Instagram and Facebook is a constant source of inspiration.
E: Hi Alexandros, many of our customers buy houses that need to be modernized. Sometimes their budget is not that big. Do you also work with smaller projects?
A: Hi Elwira and thank you for the interview. Yes, I work with different clients and the budget is never a problem.
Nowadays my philosophy is to accomplish the maximum aesthetic with both the minimum elements and budget.
Usually I plan a meeting with the customer and check the place. I always focus first at the elements which are maybe timeless and will be a part of the final design.
Alexandros: “If you can’t hide it, make it stand out”
Then I work on that base to make them stand out with modern touches new materials and constructions. A well known truth in the architecture says: “If you can’t hide it, make it stand out”.
Our clients not need be in Greece when the project is on going
E: You have an excellent working concept and step by step planning to start up new projects. For all of you who haven’t read our blog before: click here. All good things take time but is it necessary for the owner to be in Greece during the time you make your work?
A: At the most of the in between steps of my work no, it is not necessary. We could easily communicate with emails or some video applications. But it could be helpful to be in Greece at the time when we will have to decide about the furniture for example. The rest of the process doesn’t require him to be in Greece.
E: In cases where you work on a whole project, from drawings to completion, where do you find the interior design products?
That depends pretty much on the project. So I cannot really give a straightforward answer. My belief is that every project is unique, so it requieres different solutions. In most cases I urge my clients to create custom made constructions and furnitures in most cases. With this way we are able to accomplish the maximum design aesthetic and the best fitting to each space.
In any case I have many different known and reliable material suppliers and manufacturers in order to choose the most fitting ones depending on the project.
Alexandros: an outdated kitchen tips
E: Which is the most easy way to modernize an outdated kitchen? What are your tips?
A: Well, I can only provide some basic tips on this occasion, as every project is very unique in its nature and requires different approach and different solutions. However I can definitely give some broad guidelines.
- Suppose the kitchen has a door in good condition, someone could very easily paint it a different color – that would definitely give different aesthetic to the kitchen and is something that can be done easily and cheaply.
- Now let’s talk about the bench. Many clients wonder what is the best material to achieve the maximum longevity. Marble and wood are materials that can not get the job done in most occasions. So my suggestion would be a good quality granite of big size (say 60×120 cm), which I can guarante will remain as new no matter how many years pass. Also tiles could be used as they nowadays have various looks such as marble, concrete and more.
- Now we can talk about gentle touches. Handles are broadly though to be a detail, however the details are the ones which will paint that final touch to your space, so having a second thought on the handles that you’ll use in your kitchen could be a game changer..
Alexandros:”Bring the light and space” tips
Many of the new owner want to bringing in light and space in their houses (or apartments) without starting buildings project. Is this possible in a traditional stone house? What is your tips for make a house feel bigger and brighter?
A: The most practical and direct way to bring in natural daylight to the interior of the house could be bigger window openings. That is pretty easy with the help of an «undisturbed cutting». With that way you could convert a small window to a bigger opening or even create a new one, without destroying the rest of the wall and yes it can also be applied to a stone wall.
Now when we speak about a bigger space feeling, I strongly believe that the base of everything is always the right and smart use of ergonomic needs. If those needs are solved we can think about a design and aesthetic level. It is well known that warmer and lighter colors reflect more light than others. You could use that in order to achieve a brighter look.
Another practical tip is to use lightweight looking furniture with no furniture rubble if it is possible. With this way you definitely achieve the wanted result of a bigger looking space, because the eye doesn’t stop to a big and heavy weight furniture, but instead expands to the surroundings.
Links
- Contact Alexandros Hoholis: Webpage, Instagram, Facebook
- More from us
- Invest in Greece
- Our properties for sale
