The house has a formal and informal street door. The higher formal entrance is approached with stone stairs from the street and opens to the top level terrace, which in turn opens to the main living space of the house. Most people are more likely to use the informal entrance, which opens to the main courtyard, because it's the first door you arrive at when coming up from the town.

The courtyard is a great size for small parties and is private, walled and has a shower in the corner with drainage so you can immediately shower off from the beach or cool down if you are sunbathing. At the far end of the courtyard, the rare Dokos Stone changes to a slightly raised area of flagstones. Under the flagstones is the freshwater cisterna. The covered well head makes for a convenient table top to put your drinks on when you are sunbathing. Along the end wall, there is an outdoor kitchen featuring a traditional oven with a log keep below, an original flat stone sink with plumbing for washing up, a food preparation area and plenty of stone shelving.

Walking into the ground level of the house from the courtyard you enter a decent (functional) entrance hall. To the left is the first (master bedroom) and, to the right, is the kitchen. The entrance hall and kitchen both overlook the courtyard.

The first (master) bedroom is an internal room off the left end of the entrance hall. Clever use of sliding doors have been incorporated so that when open, the master bedroom feels as though it's larger and includes the end of the hall. When closed for privacy, the large top-glazed window above the sliding doors, lets natural daylight into the bedroom from the hall window. The sliding door theme continues in the master bedroom with three easy to slide doors at the foot of the bed that individually open to reveal ample hanging space and shelves. At the back of the bedroom, the ensuite shower room has been intelligently laid out with the toilet behind the door for privacy, a shower that's attractively tiled, hand basin with shelves and mirror, and a cupboard for the washing machine that's neatly concealed with good quality wooden doors.

The entrance hall has floor-to-ceiling cupboards at the bedroom end for storage, and there is ample space for a table and chairs if you want to dine inside during the winter months.

The kitchen is clean, neat and ergonomic. But it also has character. In addition to well-made cupboards and modern appliances, the ceiling is white with narrow wooden beams, and an original shallow marble sink has been expertly intergrated with the surfaces and plumbing, Even the depth of the plate cupboard has been carefully considered so that there isn't an awkward corner to get to the fridge but the cupboard is still deep enough to pile dinner plates on the shelves. All in all, a charming kitchen. And of course, it's next to the door to easily convey food to the dining table in the courtyard.

From the entrance hall, a wide corridor leads to the back of the house and the stairs to the top level. To the right is the 2nd double bedroom, and at the bottom of the stairs on the left is the Guest WC.

The 2nd bedroom also features a hanging, sliding door which saves space in the bedroom and doesn't block the corridor when open. The two windows in the 2nd bedroom overlook the street. In addition to being double-glazed with internal shutters, these windows also feature metal grills that are a throwback characteristic of the area from the time when protection against marauding pirates was a concern. This now unnecessary security measure is still maintained as it adds to the area's distinctive historical charm. The bedroom has a floor-to-ceiling built-in wardrobe and shelves next to the door to the ensuite shower room. The shower room has lots of character with its curved stone ceiling artfully blended with modern sanitary ware. 

The simple, unfussy but well-appointed guest WC is conveniently located at the bottom of the stairs within easy reach from both the courtyard and the top level of the house for guests to use without having to walk through bedrooms 1 or 2. One point I particularly like is that it's easy to mop because the toilet is wall-mounted without a pedestal. The wooden stairs have good, low-height, wall-mounted lighting, and the fuse box is inserted in a wooden door covered wall cupboard which is painted the same colour as the wall, so it blends.

The top level of the house is one large open plan space, with a mezzanine floor to the back over the internal stairs and the top floor kitchenette. Walking to the top of the stairs, you are irresistibly drawn to the front windows to look at the view! They are far-reaching and interesting, overlooking the houses cascading down to the sea at both Hydra and Kamini harbours, north-facing across the sea to the Peloponnese mainland.

The top level features a very high ceiling that's open to the painted rafters with expertly concealed lighting, a corner fireplace and chimney to the front sea-facing end and a large terrace to the side. Along the back of the room, there is a full-width mezzanine floor, bedroom 3 with 2 single beds and a bespoke wooden ladder/stair to climb up to bedroom to this cute bedroom which children will especially like. Adult guests on a sleep over will also be able to use the mezzanine bedroom as the ceiling is still high enough to enable an average height adult to more around. The wooden floor is a perfect surface for two single mattresses to be placed at either end of the mezzanine. There is a wooden gate at the top of the bespoke stairs for safety.

Below the mezzanine floor the kitchenette and four-seating bar are well set up as a serving place for drinks and breakfast preparation without having to go downstairs to the main kitchen. Breakfast can either be at the bar or outside on the top level entrance terrace.

One feature that I particularly like is the central electrical point in the middle of the upper floor. Years ago when Dimitris Bartsiokas first started building, and I was frequently asked to call in so he could show me what he were doing, Dimitris harboured plans to put a central fire place in the room. I'm afraid that Andronikos, his architect, and I disabused him of this idea saying that it was a Hydra house not an Austrian skiing chalet. But it did sow the seeds for the idea of being able to use the centre or the room rather than having all the furniture around the edges. So the central electricity point was kept to enable a table or console in the middle of the room with a lamp on it, but WITHOUT the wires trailing dangerously across the floor to the wall sockets. If you look carefully at the photos, you will see that I've pushed the sofa slightly forward so the floor sockets show. It would be possible to add a nice wooden console table at the back of the sofa with a lamp that casts a romantic and atmospheric light.

Throughout the property, the air-conditioning, except the inner corridor and bedroom 1 downstairs, is concealed with boxed-in units below each window. The controls for each unit are fitted to the front of the boxes (so you won't keep losing the controls) with the ventilation grill on the top. All a/c units can be switched to heating, cooling or dehumidifying depending on the time of year. Bedroom 1 and the corridor have individual wall-mounted units. All units are worked through the walls, etc., to the outside external units. The external units are outside next to the bottom of the street stairs to the top terrace, all neatly hidden and protected from the weather with a painted trellis box.

I took the photos and video for this listing at about 11am in September. Notice that the sun doesn't reach the courtyard or the upper terrace until just after noon in the summer, and slightly later in the winter.

I hope you enjoy browsing the photos and watching my video. Please don't hesitate to contact me for more information or to arrange a viewing. Warm regards, Kelsey