Tradition morphs into design

Everywhere you look there’s blue sea. Turquoise suffuses the rooms of an exquisite apartment complex perched on the northern coast of Cyprus, tempting visitors to take a long, refreshing plunge in the Mediterranean. The Palm Bay View holiday village in Esentepe reflects the picturesque villages that typify the surrounding area. It’s a complex of terraced villas built of stone and light-coloured plaster, surrounded by olive groves and Mediterranean maquis. It’s a supremely relaxing spot, a stone’s throw from the sea, where tradition morphs into design, and the atmosphere is thick with fishermen’s tales and their island’s history.
The interiors of the apartments – some of which are owned, others rented – have a simple, refined style, built around colours that reflect the natural setting. The unassuming lines of the furnishings leave centre stage to the wall coverings of certain areas of the living quarters and sleeping quarters, and the floors and walls of the bathrooms, which are dominated by a marine-inspired explosion of colour. The eye focuses instantly on the Cerasarda tiles and their turquoise tones, which are typical of Sardinian tradition and seaside homes. And the pairing with natural wood, which puts you in mind of the salt-worn decks of old fishing boats, highlights the sheen of these ceramics with their myriad nuances.
The new „Sardinia“ collection evokes all these sensations in a distinctive range of formats, accents and ceramic mosaics. Their styling is as simple as the scent of the sea and the heat of the sun, but they are refined too, making them the right fit for any contemporary home. Agnon Granoth, the Israeli architect who designed the apartments, recounts how he „fell in love with their craftsmanship, shapes and colours“ when he visited the company’s Sardinian plant (a Romani Group member). „I drew inspiration from nature, the sea and the earth for this project, so I chose these unique coverings to blend with the beachfront location“, he explains. „In the minds of Israelis,“ concludes the designer, „Italian products are synonymous with design, luxury and outstanding quality.“