around a house
An atypical couple
The original idea for the JK’s project comes from the formulas that Jacques and Katia themselves were looking for for their vacations in a previous life. He running the De Greef jewelry store and she heading the restaurant Viva m’Boma in Brussels. Jacques: “When I was still active in Maison De Greef, we had already opted for formulas excluding hotels during our holidays. Tired of intrusive stares, we already rented houses: a bit like shelters. Our objective ? A real rest, far from any imperative of representation. We changed our destination every year, with a marked preference for the islands. But little by little, these islands have become real breeding grounds for great tourism.
The authentic life of the natives often disappeared there under the pretext of the globalization of holidaymaker’s tastes. Then one day, Katia and I discovered Crete. And more precisely the region of Apokoronas around the town of Chania in the northwestof the island. This land seduced and touched us so much that we returned there for several years. Architecture has always been a passion for me, as has decoration for Katia, so we decided to take the crazy gamble of launching ourselves into a second life and building the house of our dreams there. “
A global architectural project
Bon vivant and followers of a stylish but authentic lifestyle, Jacques and Katia set themselves a few strict criteria from the start: the house should be spacious, comfortable, offering a balanced compromise between tradition and modernity and breathtaking views around. All accompanied by a service and infrastructure worthy of the best hotels. The house should obviously be tucked away out of sight, close to traditional restaurants and to medium-sized towns within a 30-minute drive. And above all: no bling-bling entertainment like you can find in super-trendy vacation spots these days. If desired, authentic local life should take the place of animation.