When features editor Konstantina was invited to visit this astonishing Mykonos villa – by A31 Architecture & Construction and Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio – she didn’t expect to experience island life in its plushest, most tranquil form; yet natural stone interiors, indoor-outdoor kitchens, lavish pools, and the vast blue sea ensured that she did…

Lying on a sunbed at the top of a mountain, resting my eyes on the infinity pool that smoothly gives way to endless blue waves, surrounded only by silence and goats, it hits me; this is no ordinary house.

Recently built on a hill on a former farmer’s land in the Elia region of Mykonos, this six-bedroom, nine-bathroom oasis which is yet to be inhabited, is called Aimasia. It’s named after the local, UNESCO-listed, dry-stone retainer walls, built by farmers throughout the centuries in order to cultivate grain, grapes, wheat and vegetables on the steep, arid land of the Cycladic islands.

“We started when this was only a hill,” says Tom Dixon, whose Design Research Studio worked on the interior design of the house.

When Praxitelis Kondylis and his team at A31 – who designed and constructed the property – approached Tom to work on the project together, he found their open communication and team spirit refreshing: “Working with Praxi has been great, because he’s much more collaborative than other architects. He was happy to talk about concepts and develop them with us, as we worked in tandem; which is quite rare.”

The indoor-outdoor connection and materiality

One of their and development company Orizon Development’s main goals was to deliver a Mykonos villa that was completely immersed into the natural landscape, without disrupting it.

And they succeeded, with the structure itself almost taking the role of a decorative feature – from the multi-level green roof filled with native plants, to the meticulously built, 62-metre wall made from Mykonian granite, which gently follows the site’s contour lines and is the ‘spine’ on which the entire property was constructed. Inside, the geology of the island is reflected in materials such as aluminium, cork, concrete, marble and granite.

“The use of natural, unprocessed materials such as exposed concrete, as well as local stone like the Mykonian granite, along with the use of Greek marble, give the house a feeling of ‘locality’,” says Praxi.

And Tom agrees: “We’ve used a lot of granite from Greece, and the bathrooms are clad in Greek marble. We’re always interested in learning the ‘language’ of the place where the project is based. And the work that the Design Research Studio does is quite distinct from the Tom Dixon brand which has a more singular vision. What’s nice about interiors is that each project is a different landscape, a different platform for expressing a distinct narrative. And it’s a way for us to use our own stuff in a different way, too.”

A Mykonos villa bursting with personality

This also means that all sorts of characterful pieces, some of them by Tom Dixon and others by DRS, bespoke or not, have found their way into the house. Think Tom Dixon’s iconic, 35-year-old S Chair made from a car’s steering wheel, or the brand’s artistic Pylon chair, Beat wall lights, Slab chairs, and the Etch towers (bespoke Tom Dixon stainless-steel sculptures).

Alongside these, vintage pieces such as a 1970s stereo in the living area make the house feel warmer, while adding even more character. “You’ll spot some vintage dosage around everywhere, as well as a few things with a bit of patina. In many new homes, everything is brand-new, but we try to avoid that, to make sure there’s texture and natural features,” says Tom.

Unlike all those elements made from Greek materials, the indoor kitchen island is made from granite from Pisa, and was constructed in Italy before being transported here. “It was a bit of a challenge, because of time and specific skills needed,” says Tom. Above it, the custom Tom Dixon Press Fat lights add a statement, almost futuristic touch to the otherwise organic design.

The Mykonos villa’s bedrooms

In the bedrooms, plaster bed frames enhance the natural feel, as does the ceiling which looks like wood but is actually concrete. “After the wooden planks from the scaffolding have been removed, the wood is imprinted on the poured concrete,” says Praxi. Nine minimalist bathrooms, a gym space, a dark sauna room – one of Tom’s favourites, as it feels like it’s “inside the mountain” – and a fully-equipped wine cellar complete the luxurious interiors.

The outdoor area

Outside, the outdoor BBQ kitchen feels like a continuation of the indoor one, while the wooden table and bench seating add a rustic touch.

A few feet away, the main swimming pool – there are two more private ones attached to two bedrooms – overlooks the Aegean Sea, framed by goat-populated slopes. (Some of the goats even try to get into the house as we’re admiring the view, but who could blame them?)

Any features worth including in your home?

When I ask Tom if there’s anything from the villa that he believes British homeowners could ‘recreate’ in their own home, his initial reaction is to laugh kindly. There probably isn’t much, I tell him affirmatively, but he stops and thinks.

“The indoor-outdoor kitchen element, the idea of thinking of the outdoors as an extension of the indoors, is surely a key one,” he says. “People are now more open to using outdoor elements as an integrated part of their home. Since Covid, British people have embraced the outdoors in a much more continental way. We’ve learned that the kitchen is a piece of furniture rather than just an architectural element, and it’s now become much more communal. It’s part of the entertaining area, rather than a separate feature.”

Praxi agrees, and says, “The relationship between the exterior and interior space and how the former is essentially interwoven with and extends into the latter, is a main component of this project and it’s a timeless, classic architectural principle that transcends trends.”

To give your home a warm, Mediterranean look and feel, both Tom and Praxi suggest the use of materials such as stone and marble.

The finishing touches

Tom recommends the use of portable lighting, so that you can move it around based on your mood and the ambience you want to achieve depending on the angle – like in the case of the brand’s Melt portable lights included in the property.

All things considered, and while we may never get our dream Mykonos villa, this project has taught me that embracing and respecting your surroundings, and using nature’s finest materials – interspersed with a few edgy design elements – is always a good way to go about creating your version of the ideal home. Whether that happens to overlook the azure waters of the Aegean, a garden in Oxfordshire, or a busy street in plain-old London.

Are you up for the challenge?

Photography: Mike Kelley 

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