Single family villa, excellent condition, 200 m², Center, Hydra

SOLE AGENT - Classic Hydra family home with lots of character, 3 bedrooms, large kitchen, 2 bathrooms and stunning views from the terrace. This is a glorious example of the traditional building methods used in the 18th Century on Hydra when the master builders knew how to take advantage of the natural environment to construct homes that were naturally insulated for all seasons, offered privacy between the neighbouring houses, and were homes for families with multiple age groups. The house, constructed of stone, with tinted external plastering, wood panelled ceilings and Venitian tile and wood flooring, extends over 3 levels with 2 bedrooms on the ground floor sharing a modern courtyard bathroom, a mid level living space with large kitchen and family utility/bathroom (refurbished in the '80s), and a magnificent top level Virani master room divided into sitting area, work space and a tapestry separatiing the master bedroom end of this long room. The Virani opens to a good-sized terrace offering magnificent 180-degree sunset views of the Kala Pigadi valley stretching from the top of the mountains down to Hydra town. From the side street entrance, the ground level opens to a small courtyard with a freshwater cisterna below it. Stone stairs lead up to a covered corner porch on the mid-level.  The mid-level of the property opens to a large living space with good-sized kitchen to the front and a large bathroom.  This level of the property has Venitian-style dark red floor tiles throughout. The ceilings throughout are wood board and bead panels. The ceilings, as with all the wood in the house, are stained dark brown. It feels a bit as though you've entered an old 18th century sailing boat - and for sure that probably was the influence for the interior design originally. All the wood in the house is in perfect condition and would provide a good surface if new owners prefer a lighter colour.  The back wall of this property does not have windows (on any level) and shows the beautiful natural stone work. It's built into the slope of the hillside, so the house is very cool and on the top level, in common with all the houses in this area of Hydra, there are no windows in the back wall to ensure privacy between this house and the one above. You will also notice that the windows (on all levels) are perfectly proportioned with deep-set window sills so that both the internal wooden shutters and windows can be opened without either protruding into the room. For those who like curtains, this is great as they can be pulled without getting stuck on the shutters! The kitchen is in the front of the building. It's spacious and has lots of windows for light. It's fitted with cupboards and appliances with plenty of space to move around and even have a small table and chairs in the corner next to the windows. The bathroom is probably one of the largest on the island and has room for a washing machine as well as the toilet, hand basin, cupboards, a full size bath and a full, separate shower. Wooden stairs against the back stone wall of the living room, open to the top level, Virania Room. This is a classic Hydra architectural feature of properties from this era. The Virani was always the master room, the place where the head of the house would have their bed to one end, desk to work at and a sitting area. Today, it is used in the same way with a modesty tapestry (with a wardrobe behind) separating the 'master bedroom' from the living space of the Virani. To the back corner of the sitting area, there is a cast-iron wood-burning stove. Also, from the sitting area of the room, there's a door that opens to the roof terrace. (Above the kitchen). Bedroom 2 is a room on its own next to the street door at the bottom of the stairs on the ground level.  Opposite bedroom 2, there is a separate courtyard bathroom, with modern WC, hand basin, hip-bath with a shower over it, and neat, clean white tiling. At the end of the courtyard (under the kitchen), there is the third bedroom. In the corner of this room, a cupboard in the wall hides the space where the original internal wooden stairs connected this bedroom to the living room on the mid-level.  There is a small storage space for tools under the external stone stairs in the courtyard. A pergola covers half of the courtyard with a well-established grapevine growing over it. For full details, more photos, plans, etc or to arrange a viewing, please sign up as a site member on my own www.saronic.net website. I hope to hear from you soon, regards Kelsey