BaBatchas Design Studio

Fresh from their startling refit of Athens’ new hotel Monsieur Didot, we take a look at design studio BaBatchas, and the architectural powerhouse duo that bring their unique skills together to create boutique hotels and stylish private residences.

Based in Athens, the creative directors of BaBatchas, Chrysi Makri and Nefeli Gkyzi, were drawn to each other by a common love for their homeland of Greece and Athens in particular, where they both found its modern idiosyncrasies and ancient peculiarities an inspiring place to live and work. Both are interior architects with experience in the luxe hospitality sector; both found a method of working together that allowed ideas to freely flourish and develop.

They cite their shared vision as one that ‘creates interiors that evoke emotions and remain honest and close to their context and location’, by fusing warm interiors with modern design, achieving that hard-to-create yet seemingly effortless feeling of simultaneous worldliness and comfort.

A perfect example would of course be Monsieur Didot, although this successful remodelling didn’t come without its challenges. The first was their desire, alongside the owners of Didot to preserve as much as possible of the Neoclassical building – allowing to core to exist unchanged.

On entering, the soaring atrium and carved wooden staircases speaks of heritage past, set to a modern colour scheme of wet-plaster pinks and blue-greys. Ceilings come with intricately restored paintwork in original, curved designs, mosaic work is carefully brought to life and the marble balconies form a focal part of the building’s DNA. Dotted around are the confident use of designer lighting, artwork, and custom-made furniture bringing the hotel-guesthouse into the modern day.

Elsewhere on BaBatcha’s portfolio of acclaim, you’ll find several soulful, Grecian projects which are ongoing, from the azure Aegean vistas of Santorini to cliffside private residences in tiny Paros in the Cyclades Islands. Watch this space for BaBatcha’s next move – something we’re sure that’s bound to pop up on our radar too.