Australian designer, Claire Lloyd, visited the Greek island of Mytilene 17 years ago, bought the old house of a local priest and turned it into a tourist’s dream.
Speaking with iefimerida, Claire shares how she moved from Australia to London in 1983, before she visited Greece in 2005 to reconnect with her creativity and never left.
“As my feet touched the ground, I felt a strong sense of belonging here,” Claire said in the interview.
“I do not know why, but as we drove from the airport at six in the morning to Molyvos, on the northwest coast of the island, the feeling became stronger and I began to feel that the place had become mine.”
After that, Claire bought the old house of a local priest and began to document the renovation process on Instagram and in her book ‘My Greek Island Home.’
Claire said her and her partner tried to keep as much as possible of the traditional house, but they had to renovate the bathroom and kitchen and expand the garden a little bit.
Ultimately however, it is now the home of her dreams.
“I think the best times for me are early in the morning, the beginning of the day when everything wakes up and the birds sing and late in the afternoon when the sun hits the edge of our house and you can see the sea as the sun sets on the horizon,” she said.
“I have been on the island for so long and I have not yet discovered or experienced everything that Lesvos has to offer.”
Source: iefimerida.
