Under the skies of Halkidiki

Located on one of the three peninsulas in the Halkidiki region of northern Greece, the village of Ouranoupolis is home to a resort opened just a year ago but perfectly integrated into this area of outstanding natural beauty. The Eagles Villas resort, consisting of forty modern luxury villas between 65 m2 and 140 m2 in size, stands on a panoramic hillside offering splendid views of Mount Athos. Despite its dominant position, it respects the surrounding environment. The project was created by 3SK Stylianidis Architect. According to their website: „The creation of a successful building or development plan starts way before the discussion on how to allocate the various uses to the plot of land. It starts by deciding which uses there shall be in the first place. A successful development plan is the consummation of financial, social and ecological goals.“ The interior design project was commissioned from French architect and decorator Fabienne Spahn, an eclectic designer who also works in the fields of set design and fashion. She discovered the Belgian brand Umbrosa while working on set designs for the Vivre Côté Sud show in Saint Tropez, and for the current project drew inspiration from the brand’s lines of parasols for the elements in the open-air central lounge area. While the white parasols and sails give the spaces a very elegant style, at the same time some of the interior accessories stand out for their use of colour and patterns. Fabienne Spahn has been working in the Greek hotel industry for more than eight years and has completed projects for the Tor Hotel Group and the Kouros Hotel & Suites in Mikonos with Zoè Spa, to mention just a couple. „Eagles Villas is a luxury resort for happy people,“ she says. „It caters for families with great expectations. The architectural elements, the furniture and the decorations combine unique elegance with a simple lifestyle, creating a real home from home.“ However, the welcoming, familiar environment represented a new challenge in terms of design and stylistic elegance. The choice of soft colour palettes and discreet elegance creates a sensation of relaxation and well-being. „My main goal in this project was to recreate the atmosphere of Halkidiki through the use of many small details,“ she continued. „The choice of colours was inspired by the nearby copper mines, so I worked on this warm metallic colour combined with oxidised blue and green tones. Although the colour of Greece is white, I opted for an off-white colour accentuated by the contrast with a black-grey and a few dark burgundy touches.“ With this in mind, the designer chose the Fossil Brown line of 60×60 cm ceramic tiles from Refin for the surface coverings in the communal spaces, giving a highly distinctive look to the entrance foyer, the lounge and cocktail bar area, and the restaurants. The Fossil line was designed by Kasia Zareba and developed by DTS, the creative laboratory set up by Ceramiche Refin in 2005 to develop original solutions for porcelain stoneware. The design is inspired by the prehistoric impressions left by plants and animals on rock formations, which are interrupted and superimposed in random patterns like traces left by time. „In the process of sketching we drew particular inspiration from the markings of the fluted shells of extinct ammonites,“ explained the Polish designer who now lives and works in the Netherlands. „The fact that the pattern is drawn by hand gives it a unique look, resembling the impressions in stone left by primordial creatures.“ The collection won the DTS Create Your Tile competition in 2014. For the exterior spaces, Spahn chose several pale grey tiles with a natural stone effect and a glossy line in two sizes for the swimming pool level (Ariostea Ultra Pietra Piasentina 60×60 cm and 120×60 cm). The same product was chosen to give a sense of continuity to the indoor swimming pool. A smaller 15×15 cm size was used for the open-air restaurant to create a cobblestone effect and maintain colour continuity throughout all the outdoor spaces.