Five centuries of history are at the heart of Jasper Conran's Greek island house
In Jasper Conran and Oisin Byrne’s Lindos home, the Sala—formerly the hub of the house—is never used. “This is where the magic lives,” explains Conran—the magic being the spirit, the genie in the bottle, that blesses the house and imbues it with a peace that allows for the comforting rhythm of a Mediterranean life, where friends, food, and beauty are always center stage. Conran and Byrne’s house is, in reality, two 500-year-old houses that were put together last century; the Sala is the grandest of the rooms, surrounded by a cluster of smaller ones and gardens.
What today is their bedroom was first conceived in the sixteenth century as a command post for the seafaring captain and original owner of the house. From there he could plan voyages, study the daily weather, and monitor activity in Lindos harbor. Conran feels that the bedroom is still a sort of command post, from which he and Byrne can keep up with their daily lives and interests across the various countries where they have professional activities. This is not forgetting, of course, their Mediterranean life. Between calls and emails, they read in the lemon grove, enjoy meals under 800-year-old olive trees, have cooling dips in the plunge pool, and allow time to just sit and take in the beautiful view of the eastern Rhodes coastline and the sea beyond.
Friends, pets, delicious meals, and laughter all swirl and dance around the room where the magic lives. And what about the Sala? It has been left untouched, pretty much as the couple found it when they bought the house—the raised platforms where entire generations lived together throughout the centuries are still there. Children were born and grew up in that room and then, when it was their turn, had their own children there, and so life went on. Conran and Byrne feel that they must respect the rhythm of the past, the rhythm of the magic. They are guardians of the Sala and will protect it, keeping it intact until, in the future, someone else inherits the mantle.
Stepping out of the busy medieval alleyways in the bustling harbor town of Lindos, one enters the main courtyard of this sixteenth-century house. It touched me to hear Conran speak about the house, as it was clear how much he and Byrne are aware of the building’s long life and know that, under their care, it must be preserved and treated with the respect that it deserves. The house is certainly in safe hands.
Haute Bohemians: Greece by Miguel Flores-Vianna, is published by Vendome Press on 4 May
Miguel Flores-Vianna1/9The courtyard, where the principal areas of the house converge: the Sala, the dining room, the kitchen, and the stairs that lead to the primary bedroom. The stone-carved facade belongs to the Sala, the main room in the house.
Miguel Flores-Vianna2/9Conran and Byrne have kept much of the Sala’s original structure intact. Religious imagery and textiles are the main decorative elements, with a beautiful metal and blue glass chandelier as the main luminary decoration.
Miguel Flores-Vianna3/9
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Miguel Flores-Vianna5/9Leading off from the Sala is today’s dining room, in the room originally conceived to take meals. Conran is a gifted cook, and it is wonderful to escape the midday sun to enjoy, in this shaded space, his Mediterranean-inspired meal.
Miguel Flores-Vianna6/9Framed collections of religious Muslim calligraphy adorn the primary bedroom’s walls. This was originally a room from which the ship’s captain who originally built the property could keep an eye on the comings and goings in the harbor below.
Miguel Flores-Vianna7/9During my days in Rhodes with the couple, I often found them reading under the covered terrace next to the house’s lemon grove. Conran told me that he had designed the metal frames of the recliners.
Miguel Flores-Vianna8/9From their bedroom’s private terrace, Conran and Byrne have commanding views of Lindos harbor and eastern Crete.
Miguel Flores Vianna9/9
