The entrance emerges through the green courtyard.

The old press on the north side of the house.

In the main corridor objects and pieces of furniture of different eras live together in harmony.

A portrait painted by the owner Paulien Lethen.

The sunny and colorful kitchen with on the wall a large painting by Paulien Lethen on the wall.

A corner of the comfortable living room.

The bedrooms exude a sense of relaxation and a cool breeze. The walls are decorated with paintings by folk Parian painters and works of the owner.

The house in Kounados

Photos: Dimitris Vranas (A.I.F.)

In this quiet suburb of Parikia there is an old summer house of the beginning of last century very nicely integrated in the natural environment.

Simple, unpretentious and designed to meet the needs of the old owners and the current owner visual artist Paulien Lethen, a proof that perhaps architecture, folk or urban always covered our basic needs. In the garden which is green and very beautifully landscaped, there is a well and an underground cistern carved in the rock that drips water from its roof. The space creates a feeling of relaxation and a mood for daydreaming.

The small interventions were performed with absolute respect to the original house and discretion. The main corridor connects the rooms and leads to the second entrance of the house. It is decorated with paintings by Parian folk painters and the owner, while objects and furniture of different eras and styles coexist in harmony with a special style and comfort.

Paulien Lethen tells us about her house:
We bought the Kounados house in 1971. It was the summerhouse of an Athens doctor and his wife, Kyria Lola. On an outside wall, was the year 1917. We preserved what was there and added some rooms. We got electricity in 1978 and town water a few years later.
I have always been interested in old things, objects, furniture, houses, things from flea markets, things brought back from travels, things found in the streets. In the Kounados house, these objects, each, have their own story and looking at them brings back memories, remind me of what was.