The real small house in the meadow is well hidden two steps from the bustling Kifissia in the center of Athens Greece. The environment totally countryside: garden, bohemian, lakes and animals.

There live Sotiris and Fouli Georgakopoulou who have a lot to remember from a happy life of almost three decades in the house of fairy tale.

“As an unmarried couple, we were people in the center, we stayed in an apartment with the minimal necessary furniture in Lycabettus. When the family started to grow up, we wanted a house of spit … to look like country house, to have a garden, to smell the soil, to have animals. We found this here in Paradise of Amaroussion, a large estate, with a house near a cliff, and a garden with herbs one and a half meters high.

Since then, the house has grown as the family grows, and we continue to build, shred, add, change. We have been living for 25 whole years, just as our daughter, who brought her here a 35-day-old baby. Think that we did all this and continue without our home even belonging to us, we are staying with rent.”

We almost made it from scratch. We changed the interior layout, made insulations and all the technical work, we used some of the old materials. We added sherds that give a lot of light and the feeling that you are completely in the nature, we built in the big garden three houses, one stone, one wooden and one brick, we built a pool, a lake, a playground with a pit … and not one, but two wonderful tree houses.

Your home gets unexpected colors, tasteful furniture, and objects, lots of imagination … Have you worked with an interior designer?

All the technically-functional was edited by my man who is an architect, with the rest I took care of – although I have no relationship – I love the decoration.

How is it to live in a story of fairy tales in the center of the “harsh” city?

First is a luxury. Although it gives the feeling that we are in the far countryside – until a few years ago, imagine, around us was a field of sheep – it is at a hub and is ten minutes from the center. On the other hand, it is introverted, and that can hide the “trap” of isolation. But it’s nice in the city center to know that everything is for us “little house on the prairie.”

Describe us a “daily” day of the house …

The house “wakes up” at 7.30 in the morning. From that time onwards people are coming – you suddenly discover that Sotiris junior (the 14-year-old younger son) has brought his three friends, is constantly cooking, in the evening we almost never go out, we spend hours together in the conservatory and according to the family habit, something new we make, we deal with animals …

And a day of celebration?

The day for us is when the children are gathered, who now have these own children, our grandchildren. Then we lay a large table, adorned with the best, a whole ritual. The celebration wants banquets, spoons, good food, wine and loved ones.

What gives soul to a place?

People. Always.

What is your favorite style of decoration?

In seasons and according to the phases of life I have passed through all. The environment also plays a big role. Previously, before we got married, the apartment in the center was almost empty. This again here is like a farm, country to say?

And your favorite color combinations?

A! From colors, we have it all! We continuously change and paint walls and furniture. Besides, all colors in the spectrum are combined.

What will be your next home purchase? What are you missing?

Now I’m not getting any more, I most thank give! In the past, with my husband, we were gathering glasses, glasses, glasses … and enough dishes, even from our trips we were carrying. But our old furniture also transforms them, we paint them, we change their use. Of course, we have a great collection of computers, the whole family is a fan of technology.

Which is the busiest point in the house?

The conservatory that gathers either us or all of us at some point. And the garden in the summer.

We also see a lovely cat and an even more wonderful dog. How do call them? Are they in harmony? Are there other animals in the house?

The cat is Mozart and the dog is Charlie, and they are very dear. There are other dogs, including chickens, ducks, rabbits, parrots, other birds, fish in the pond, and my son’s hamster.

Tell us that there is a vegetable garden too?

Of course, and it nourishes the family! We have spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, rocket, and all the vegetables in the summer. And still, there are lemon, orange, pear, pomegranates, peach trees, almonds, mulberries, arbors.

Where and how do you imagine your after ten years?

In a country. As soon as the younger child goes to study, I could go even further. In a province, on an island to see the sea … somewhere near nature. The fact that the house is not ours is something that frees us, we can more easily redefine our lives.

What is the best compliment you have for your home?

The best compliment our children do it to us. Although they have grown up and have traced their own paths, they always return home here, near us, they are their paradise.