Ancient mountains and blue sea. Warm local stone. Marble sculpted by island artisans. Raw concrete. Monolithic abstractions. And a traditional Greek keli – a small rural shelter for shepherds and farmers.
These key elements shape this Tinos House, a contemporary residence that deeply harmonises with its rugged mountainside setting overlooking the sea, on wind-swept Tinos, a small Greek island in the Cyclades.
Tour this Tinos House on a rugged Greek mountainside
Designed by Athens-based architect Kelly Spanou, the house is angular and compact yet open in atmosphere. It flows across two light-flooded levels, with one bedroom and walls of glass framing views across the natural landscape and the blues of the Aegean.
The seed of the house was an original keli – one of hundreds of small dry-stone structures that have dotted the elemental landscape of Tinos for centuries, traditionally built for storage and shelter from intense sun and strong winds.
The dynamism of the ancient island landscape was a driving force in the house, commissioned by a Greek and French-Lebanese couple based overseas. Boundaries between inside and out are softened by a material palette which is tactile and natural, raw and elemental (in stone, concrete, marble, wood) – with open interiors anchored by a monolithic structure on the ground floor, serving both as kitchen island and sculptural abstraction.
The couple were drawn to creating a home on Tinos, due to its rich local culture, year-round sense of community in villages and the beauty of its landscape – in particular, the powerful contrast between ancient mountains and the blue waters of the Aegean Sea.
As Spanou tells Wallpaper*: 'One of the most memorable things the client told me was that he wanted to feel small in relation to the space. Not in an overwhelming way, but in a way that would constantly remind him of the landscape and the views around the house.'
Highlighting the intensity of the landscape, she adds: 'The island is shaped by powerful natural forces: relentless winds, rugged mountains, a rocky landscape and sudden mists. Some of these phenomena link back to mythology, crafting a landscape that feels very tactile and elemental.'
The house is rooted in a traditional keli thought to be over a century old, which was previously altered by former owners in the years before the project began – with Spanou’s design consciously retaining traces of its past.
'No one had previously lived there as a permanent residence,' says Spanou, a former associate lecturer at Royal College of Art. 'One of our first decisions was to remove as much plasterboard and as many unnecessary wall linings as possible, in order to reveal the original stonework wherever it survived.'
She adds: 'One of the challenges of the existing building was its geometry. Nothing in the plan was orthogonal; there was not a single 90-degree corner. Rather than correcting this condition, the design embraces it and uses it as a starting point for the spatial organisation to encourage a continuous flow through the house.'
Materials mirror the elemental drama of its setting, with a simple earthy palette rooted in a mix of stone, concrete and wood. Reclaimed marble was also incorporated into the design, sculpted with skill by local Tinos artisans.
Interiors juxtapose layers of textures and materials: there are expanses of raw-edged concrete in the form of clean-lined internal staircases, floors and walls, alongside local stones in earthy tones and organic forms, touches of marble and custom-built cabinetry in light steamed beech.
'Reclaimed marble was sourced from marble yards in Tinos and Athens and reworked in collaboration with local craftspeople to create sinks, countertops, and floor elements,' adds Spanou, who worked on the house with design collaborator Penny Alevizou. 'Beyond its material qualities, the marble establishes a direct connection with the island's long tradition of craftsmanship and stone carving.'
And centre stage is the house’s scene-stealing monolithic structure, sculptural and raw-edged. Resting on a sharp concrete box is a strong horizontal stone and concrete counter, complete with a sunken marble sink, its smooth, upper surface giving way to an underside which is deeply irregular and textured, echoing the elemental atmosphere of the surrounding mountains.
'Through its material palette of stone, concrete, and marble, the monolithic volume acquires a strong sensorial quality, reinforcing its role not only as a functional element but also as a physical and sculptural presence within the home,' says Spanou.
'We wanted to avoid a sense of “perfection” and instead make it appear almost unfinished by embracing the roughness of the materials. At the same time, it had to be a carefully designed functional object that could effectively accommodate both cooking and dining activities.'
The line between architecture and nature is softened further by its external landscaping elements – from the curved pathways and stairs mirroring the mountain contours to the swimming pool, which is discreetly cut into concrete.
For Spanou, threaded through all these architectural details and material ingredients is a sensory connection to the setting: “The focus was not on refinement or perfection, but on allowing materials to express their natural character, texture, and imperfections, creating an atmosphere that feels authentic and deeply connected to the landscape of Tinos.”