Stone and wood in a combination that makes you think of medieval castles

It's a holiday home and I was thinking how amazing it must be to live in a house reminiscent of a castle, in a place tucked away in the mountains, but with all the comforts. That was the first impulse, but I thought to myself that it is still a stone house. But I was convinced by the perfect combination of stone and wood. The stone makes the house look like it's been there forever, and the wood seems to be offered by nature to make life easier and to "warm up" the atmosphere a bit.

The house is not old at all, which is to say not as old as you might think. It was designed and built by an architectural studio between 1999 and 2002. The house is located in Greece, as is the studio that built it. Hence the perfect combination of stones to create that feeling of eternity that the whole house conveys.

The house is located 400 m above sea level on Mount Pelion in the village of Milies, 28 km from Volos and positioned in the middle of the forest which makes it look even more natural.

There are basically 2 houses attached, a main house and a guest house. The whole construction is made of stone from demolitions, special building stone and river stone. The walls are made like fortress walls, with friezes hiding electronic appliances or shelves for books and magazines.

All the wood inside is extraordinary. There are rustic furniture pieces made from chestnut wood from the local forest. The furniture is so well made that it looks like part of the old fortress. Railway sleepers were used for the steps. The armchair in a more secluded area of the living room was made from the same sleepers.

The main house is entered from outside directly into the living room. It is a high enclosure in which all storage spaces are dug into the wall and wooden covered stone poles are built to sit on. The main piece is the fireplace, built conically, like a hearth in a cave.

From the living room, you climb a staircase made of sleepers into an open attic. Here is the bedroom and bathroom. And also from here you have an open view of the entire living room.

On the ground floor there is also the kitchen with direct access from the living room. Everything is equally "dug" into the stone. The sink, the pantry, they give you this feeling of stone walls.

The stone house is perfect for the area in which it was built. Imagine hot summer days in Greece when nothing moves at midday. Taking refuge between the stone walls that still keep the coolness of the night, stepping barefoot on the cool stone slabs seems like a true blessing.

And the exterior is made with the same attention to detail. There's a wooden deck with a table and armchairs from where you have a great view, places to drink your coffee, take a walk or have a barbecue.

Everything is very well thought out and put together. It is an exceptional achievement of the architectural studio which, in my opinion, deserves all congratulations. here.