It’s a marvellous thing, when a home manages to encapsulate all of the images you’ve had in your mind about that perfect island retreat beside the sea. Visions of panoramic sea views with all of the hues of blue at your fingertips. Where the Mediterranean merges with the Ionian and Adriatic seas, blending its warm currents that ripple over the cobbled beaches and sandy coves of the island.
Kouloura House is a holiday cottage where, when relaxing between water sports, you’ll watch all of the boats go by, from the sublime comfort of the shaded verandas, overlooking Kouloura Harbour and its flurry of nautical action.
Kouloura House’s interiors generously embrace you in its living, cooking, dining and reclining spaces, setting the tranquil tone of the holiday to a pace of perfection. Where the cicadas sing the sun’s position, as the olive, citrus and cypress trees whistle in the breeze. Yes, it’s a glorious moment in discovery, when you walk through the front doors of a beach home, cushioned into the rolling hills above the sea, that delivers on every front. That moment when romance meets reality with a seamless synchronicity.
Kouloura House was built by its owners, who’d traversed the globe for years, in search of that vision in its physical form. The views of the little town of Kalami below, the sea, the surrounding landscape and neighbouring islands from the hideaway are deemed inimitable.
The local community of farming, fishing, and footloose and fancy-free residents are all in line with their own tempo – totally laidback and full of vigour simultaneously. It’s a lifestyle that implores you to flirt with every opportunity that comes across your path. Sail around the islands, hike the abounding walking trails and cliff paths, swim in every cove and feast at every taverna.
Hire a jeep and let it be topless. Or a scooter so that you can whizz around the island feeling the atmosphere even more intimately. It’s that kind of place that will have you sporting a sarong, a sunhat and sandals around the clock. Occasionally slipping into something a little more sophisticated when you venture out into the local towns.
Feasting, sight-seeing, swimming and snoozing
The roosters will get you up nice and early, ushering you to the veranda for your morning brew. Marvelling at that view. Of course there are black-out blinds for those that need the extra snooze, otherwise it’ll be into the pool at dawn, onto the cliff paths, and perhaps another coffee at the local taverna.
Then back for brunch around the table on the veranda. There’s a little gym for those that would prefer to stretch it out indoors instead. Then off to the beach. There are so many to choose from, you and the clan will be exploring something new every day.
An afternoon nap is mandatory. Beside the pool, in the TV room, or in one of the three classically quirky bedrooms. Romance and rebellion at the helm of the narrative in each design. Maybe a little sauna session before heading down to the beach for an early evening dip. More feasting at one of the restaurants on the sand. Or home for a calamari salad, all of the Greek essentials, including buckets of tzatziki and baskets of bread. Your days at Kouloura house will certainly pivot around the menu. And isn’t that just a marvellous notion of a holiday.
Edited by Dawn Kennedy