A Greek Island Dream House

Greek Island Dream Home, Claire Lloyd, Lesvos, Carla Coulson

 Claire Lloyd and rescue dog Mavrula copyright Carla Coulson

Any of you who have been following along for a while know that I am nuts about the Mediterranean in particular Greece and Italy. Well, this summer I travelled to beautiful Lesvos and stayed in a very special Greek Island guesthouse owned by the fabulous designer Claire Lloyd and partner artist Matthew Usmar Lauder.

My Greek Island Home, Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd

Felix passes the Iron bed made with antique linen copyright Carla Coulson

I knew I was going to love this place as I know Claire has a beautiful eye from all those years working as an art director in London and I adore her  beautiful book My Greek Island Island Home. Throw into the mix Matthew’s divine art and his knack for creating individual pieces of furniture and objects from found and recycled products and it was sure to ignite something big inside of me.

My Greek Island Home, Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd

Loungeroom from the front door copyright Carla Coulson

But as a photographer, I have learnt that the photos never do something really beautiful its true justice. It’s all those other dimensions that bring on the love rush, like the scent of jasmine, the exquisite view to the sea, the textures of floorboards under your bare feet, the sound of a homemade wind chime tinkling in the breeze.

My Greek Island Home, Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd

A corner of the lounge room copyright Carla Coulson

You all know since the day I left Italy a piece of my heart has been hankering to go back to a simpler, slower way of living with a little vege garden out the back and to belong to a community. To belong to a community has been my lifelong ambition!  I feel very fortunate to belong to a cyber community of wonderful people scattered around the world and for this, I will be forever grateful.

My Greek Island Home, Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Lauder

 Beautiful bed linen and Matthew Lauders. Copyright Carla Coulson

So here in this exquisite house not only did Francesco and I have a chance to relax and enjoy the fabulous scented candles, the fridge stocked with Greek Yoghurt, local fruit and delicious local wine but we had the chance to taste what it would be like if we left our lives and went to live on a Greek Island.

My Greek Island Home, Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd

 Loungeroom copyright Carla Coulson

There was nothing touristy about this experience. We were in a small hill village about 4kms from the sea in a part of Lesvos that has no tourist shops or noisy bars just the local tavernas and a rich daily life.

Lesvos, Cllaire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Matthew’s art, a found table and vintage Turkish runner copyright Carla Coulson

I loved heading down to the Platia which is in the centre of the village, a wonderful tavern sits under a 100 year old tree (they just had the party to celebrates its birthday) which is akin to the village outdoor lounge room. Everything happens here, you can drink coffee, play cards for the entire day if your desire, eat lunch or dinner, check your Instagram, or wile away the hours swapping stories with the locals.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Detail Loungeroom Copyright Carla Coulson

And right next door was the vege garden of my dreams. I adored watching the man tending it dressed in white collecting the biggest zucchini flowers I had ever seen.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson, Greek Island

 Corridor Downstairs Copyright Carla Coulson

And going on long walks with Claire and the dogs and dropping into’s Matthews heavenly studio (blog post coming soon) to see what he was up to.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Traditional Wooden box to display treasured icons Copyright Carla Coulson

I have long been in love with Greece, Francesco and I have spent the past 6 years trying to find the most out of the way Islands, to get as faraway as possible from our busy lives in Paris to recharge with long days swimming and resting.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Kitchen Copyright Carla Coulson

But this was the first time I felt like I actually was living there, when I dared to ask myself ‘what if..?”

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

 Beautiful ceramic plates in the kitchen copyright Carla Coulson

What if we had the courage to walk away from the security? What if we could live a simpler life like the one like we had all those years ago in Florence? What would we do and how would we do it?

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Francesco’s Hat on the kitchen chair and local woven rug Copyright Carla Coulson

What if we could give our cat a better life?? LOL!

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Bedroom with antique French Linen sheets Copyright Carla Coulson

Together we explored the island, had long lunches down at Kalo Limani and long dinners where there were just the four of us, a setting sun and simple Greek fare of grilled calamari, fresh fish and local veges.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

 Corner of the bedroom – Copyright Carla Coulson

Matthew and Claire’s generosity has no limits, they took us to their favourite beaches, we ate in their favourite restaurants all over the island and showed us the wonderful co-operatives where local ladies make traditional products.

Lesvos, Claire Lloyd, Carla Coulson

Corner of the Bedroom Copyright Carla Coulson

I adored popping down the road to see them, like we had all lived their forever, swapping ideas and advice on all things creative and practical and talking about our hopes and dreams.

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Bedside table detail Copyright Carla Coulson

Matthew’s studio in the centre of town is filled with his beautiful artwork and found treasures. It’s also filled with curious locals who can’t help sticking their heads in to see what was going on.

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Bathroom Copyright Carla Coulson

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 Collection of local plates in the hallway Copyright Carla Coulson

Lesvos is so close to Turkey we even jumped on the ferry for the day and went to Avyalik on bazaar day. It was a frenzy of photos and shopping before we took the evening ferry back.

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View from the terrace to the sea copyright Carla Coulson

I wanted My Greek Island Home experience to go on forever!

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 Felix and Fluffy Boy catching up on a little sleep Copyright Carla Coulson

Oh and for a cat lover missing her baby, not a problem there were a couple of stand-ins to help out..

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 Claire in the courtyard Copyright Carla Coulson

So to dearest Claire and Matthew the stay at your house was not only the loveliest experience yet to happen for us in Greece it was something bigger, it was a catalyst just like that Thai Takeway all those years ago in Darlinghurst that set me on a life of adventure and going after the things that really mattered to me in life.

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 Courtyard Copyright Carla Coulson

Even though I have left my life once before it was beautiful reminder of what I hold dear. Thank-you for allowing me to see that again and experience your beautiful island and lives through your eyes.

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Front door Copyright Carla Coulson

The beautiful My Greek Island Home Guesthouse has its own lovely website and if you would like to rent the guesthouse you can get in touch with Claire and Matthew here

Claire Lloyd is the author and photographer of My Greek Island Home and Sensual Living and you can check out Matthew Usmar Lauder’s work here.

If you would like more Greek Island Inspiration please click here.

“True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share.” Suze Orman

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Grottaglie A Ceramics Town – My Addresses

Grottaglie, Ceramics town, Puglia, Carla Coulson, travel photography workshop

Grottaglie from the terrace of Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

All photos Copyright Carla Coulson 

Imagine a town that has survived for hundreds of years on making beautiful hand-made ceramics. Add a twist of Southern Italian charm, workshops dug into soft stone to form grottos (grottaglie – that’s where the name comes from) and hundreds of artisans turning clay into pots, jugs, plates, cups, saucers, statues and other works of art – then you would have Grottaglie.

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Ceramics  La Grotta Ceramiche  Copyright Carla Coulson

I discovered Grottaglie a couple of summers ago when Francesco and I were at the beach and it became too crowded so we decided to head inland for lunch (no Italian in their right mind would do this in August) but this is one of our tricks to finding something magical and real.

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Ceramics  La Grotta Ceramiche  Copyright Carla Coulson

And that is exactly what happened. We found the magical Grottaglie.. I could hardly wait to finish lunch to start snooping around the hundreds of ceramic workshops.

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Hand turned vases at Fratelli Ciro e Grazio Monteforte

And we didn’t walk away empty handed…

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Hand turned pots  La Grotta Ceramiche  Copyright Carla Coulson

So when I started planning the Caravan Travel Photography Workshop I started to think of all the things I loved about Puglia and Grottaglie sprang to mind.

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Carmelo takes a break at Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

I decided to include the things I would do if I was to shoot a story on a region, include the things that I love, that visually excite me and I knew would make for interesting pics.

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Collection of antique water jugs Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

So back I went to Grottaglie and with the help of Francesca Frisa we toured many beautiful workshops and met many great artisans.

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hand painted plates in the workshop of Giuseppe Patronelli

Grottaglie has been inhabited since the Paleolithic age and is just up the rode from one of the first Greek settlements in Italy, Taranto.

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Wash basin Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

The local stone is called tufo In Italian and is soft enough to be able to dig into.  Since Medieval times there have been caves dug around what is now the castle and slowly they were taken over and used as ceramic workshops.

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Seconds on the terrace Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

Many finds around Grottaglie date back to the Classical age and the Museo Delle Ceramiche in Grottaglie has the whole story!

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Mimmo Vestita painting at Mimmo Vestita Ceramics

But on any given day you can turn up in Grottaglie and walk the area known as the Quartier dell Ceramiche and go from one workshop to the next and see artisans turning clay, painting, dipping statues in white and creating every imaginable statue possible.

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 Paints and brushes at Giuseppe Patronelli

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Ceramiche Domenico Caretta di Pietro Caretta

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 Workshop of Giuseppe Patronelli

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Antonio La of La Grotta Ceramiche  Copyright Carla Coulson

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Exterior  La Grotta Ceramiche  Copyright Carla Coulson

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 Fountain Casa Vestita

Whilst walking from workshop to workshop with Francesca she told me about Mimmo Vestita who had an incredible Mediterranean garden right in the middle of town and who recently whilst renovating the garden had discovered the floor of a Roman Villa and a byzantine crypt.

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Antique Mediterranean garden Casa Vestita

I had co-incidently seen his garden and crypt in the beautiful magazine Cote Sud and begged to have a look.

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Ancient wine pots in the  Mediterranean garden of  Casa Vestita

It was a garden like I had never seen before. So beautiful in it’s simplicity and it’s devotion to the Mediterranean climate, plants and his collection of over 4000 pieces of ceramic.

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 Mimmo Vestita in his splendid Mediterranean garden Casa Vestita

Mimmo generously opened his garden to the ‘Caravaners’ and kindly showed us the floor of the Roman Villa his renovator found whilst restoring the garden.

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Byzantine fresco in the crypt at Casa Vestita

He also lead us down in to the exquisite Byzantine crypt that had been closed for over 400 years.

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Part of the byzantine crypt at Casa Vestita

Whilst restoring another part of the garden and pulling away broken debris and trees the gardener found a carved column. They called in the archaeological society and together they went on a magical mystery tour and found a true treasure the underground crypt.

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 Grottaglie’s Mediterranean garden in front of the castle entrance.

If you are in Puglia don’t miss a visit to beautiful Grottaglie. She’s real, she’s artistic, she hasn’t been trussed up for the tourists and there are many wonderful photos to be had.

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A giant vase inside the Ceramics Museo della Ceramiche Grottaglie

The fabulous Ceramics Museum has a collection of ceramics from the beginning of time, it’s a journey through history and habits, of simplicity, decoration and form and…. it’s free.

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 A view of the castle from Mimmo Vestita’s terrace

All photos Copyright Carla Coulson 

A giant round of applause to the all the artisans who gave their time and talent to us, who allowed us into their bottega’s to see how they work, create and maintain an ancient tradition. True southern hospitality at it’s most generous. I look forward to showing the participants work soon.

By the way, try leaving empty handed!

My addresses:

Casa Vestita

Via Crispi, 63

Grottaglie

This is a private Mediterranean garden and the best one I have seen to date. Mimmo Vestita, the owner has a ceramics workshop up the road and not long ago unearthed a Byzantine Crypt underneath his garden and the floor of a Roman Villa. He opens the garden to the public for a small fee in August from 6pm to 10pm and regularly has exhibitions of some of his 4000 pieces of antique ceramics. DON’T MISS IT!! Follow on Facebook here.

Mimmo Vestita

via Santa Sofia

Grottaglie

Mimmo’s bottega is up a little set of stairs and removed from the street but worth sourcing out. He sells beautiful objects for the home, vases and water jugs.

Antonio La Grotta Ceramiche

via Papa Leone XIII, 9

74023 Grottaglie

Antonio La Grotta comes from a long line of ceramists and still hand paints beautiful traditional design in all forms.

Guiseppe Patronelli

via Crispi, 23

Grottaglie

Specialises in hand painted plates and pure white dinner services (I bought one)

Fratelli Ciro e Grazio Monteforte

via Salita Camini, 1

Grottaglie

Beautiful Maolica pieces with colourful traditional designs

Cocci D’Autore

via Santa Sofia, 11

Grottaglie

Heavenly white statues dipped in white

Pro Loco Grottaglie

This is the local tourist office and one of the most helpful in Italy. This should be your first stop when you arrive in Grottaglie to gather information on what you are looking for and where to eat!

You can follow the fabulous Casa Vestita here

THANKS GROTTAGLIE, WE LOVE YOU!

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“Each has his own happiness in his hands, as the artist handles the rude clay he seeks to reshape it into a figure; yet is is the same with this art as with all others: only the capacity for it is innate; art itself must be learned and painstaking”. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 

If you want to know how you can live more wholeheartedly, reconnect to your joy, creativity and purpose, download my Free Workbook above.

overhead view of beach sifnos greek islands by Carla Coulson one of the places I love to visit

Sifnos – Places I loved

Photo of beach and white houses Sifnos

Today I am very excited to share with you places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos!

When the oversized ferry dropped its giant door and let us off on another Greek Island the excitement was high, just the same as the first time I put my big toe on a Greek Island.

Love rush is an understatement for how I feel about Greece and the Cycladic Island of Sifnos is now one of my new favourites.

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Cheronnisos Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

Sifnos is surrounded by crystal clear water and if you love swimming as much as I do this is a real TREAT! Old fashioned beaches that look like they belong in a 70’s postcard abound and I imagine if you go out of season they would almost be deserted.

White greek church on Vathi beach sifnos photo by carla coulson

Vathi Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

We were so excited about Vathi beach and it’s tavern we were literally the only ones on it at 9am and camped under the tables to be sure we wouldn’t miss out on a lunch spot. I LOVED this tavern where you sit under the tamarind trees with your toes in the sand. The  food was amazing. I ate enough big beans to start sprouting!

white church on the greek island of sifnos

Vathi Copyright Carla Coulson

This picture-postcard church is at Vathy and you get the double whammy with water from both sides.

Zoodochos Pigi church on the greek island of sifnos by Carla Coulson

Zoodochos Pigi Copyright Carla Coulson

Now the Greeks know about building beautiful monasteries and they seem to like to build them in out of the way places, hanging off cliffs, perched on boulders or as in Sifnos’s case on its own private rocky Island.

 boat in the water and tavern on Cheronnosis beach sifnos by Carla Coulson

 Cheronnosis beach Copyright Carla Coulson

Loved this beach and the tavern that runs along the mini dock. Yep loved this tavern so much (not pictured) I was almost sleeping under the tables here too! Didn’t want to miss out on a seat at lunch.

 Francesco and Octopus drying at Faros Beach tavern on greek island of Sifnos

 Francesco and Friends at Faros Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

You will be forgiven for thinking we passed our entire time eating (well we almost did). We pledged to try as many taverns as possible and that came true! On the rocks at Faros was another fave.

The port from Saint Eliseus monastery sifnos photo by Carla Coulson

The port from Saint Eliseus Copyright Carla Coulson

The Port from  Saint Eliseus up on the hill. Looks like I was in a plane but just trying not to be blown off the cliff whilst taking this pic.

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 The transparent water always so difficult to leave Copyright Carla Coulson

Photo of Appollonia from Kato Petali on greek island of Sifnos by Carla Coulson

 Appollonia from Kato Petali Copyright Carla Coulson

I love walking the old paths that once connected the villages before the roads were built. This pic was taken on the path from Appollonia to Kato Petali.

places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos white stone Entrance to  Zoodochos Pigi monastery on the island of Sifnos

 Zoodochos Pigi Copyright Carla Coulson

Sifnos has 365 churches on the island and this is the big kahuna. In a spectacular setting..

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 Appollonia Copyright Carla Coulson

I was obsessed with this house and it’s simple entrance. I could imagine living here.

Pink bougainvillea shade cover Artemonas sifnos by Carla Coulson

Artemonas Copyright Carla Coulson

And here. Now if that isn’t the best bouganvillea I have ever seen!! Love Artemonas a combo of village houses and big neoclassical homes with large gardens and lemon trees.. Divine. Definately would stay in this village next time.

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 Figs Kato Petali Copyright Carla Coulson

Gawd was having daydreams of living on this island and drying my own figs in the sun. Ate kilos from the trees along the roads

ceramic workshop places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos

Ceramic Factory Vathi Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

This is one of the old ceramic factories in Sifnos up the end to the left of Vathi beach. I now drink my morning coffee out of the sweetest coffee cups this man and his son made.

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 Kittycat Copyright Carla Coulson

And the greatest thing about leaving your beloved cat at home is wherever you go in Greece you are reminded of him. Cats everywhere and I loved this little guy at the shop in Vathi.

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 Francesco Copyright Carla Coulson

There is a saying in Greece ‘una faccia una razza’ (which is actually Italian) which means ‘One Race One Face’. The Mediterranean has seen so many exchanges of culture through the centuries that it has become one place. When Francesco is in Greece they speak to him in Greek and he gets that inner glow of happiness to think the Greeks believe he belongs to their great country.

And of course just being in Greece makes you enjoy their love of life and teaches you about Kefi.

What to do in Sifnos:

Stay:  In the fabulous village of Artemonas with it’s neoclassical homes and lovely gardens. Divine village

Swim: At Vathi behind the church, At Cheronnosis and the beach on the left before you arrive. Faros is lovely too

Eat: Gawd you can almost go anywhere on this island but don’t miss Manolis Tavern under the tamarind trees Vathi. Don’t miss the tavern at Cheronnosis that flanks the water. Fabulous.

Shop: Almond sweets! The island is famous for the beautiful sweets and Artemonas is the home to three great shops. The oldest one is after the square on the path coming from Appollonia. Ceramics.. Sifnos is famous for it’s beautiful ceramics and there are many shops in Kamares and Appollonia.

See: The villages on foot, take the path to Artemonas from Appollonia and also the villages of Kato Petali and Exambela. Beautiful.. Oh and as many of the 365 churches on the island.

If you would like some travel photography tips please click here or if you would like more Greek Island Inspiration please click here.

I hope you enjoyed these lovely places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.??? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba The Greek

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