Where to begin telling you about my classmate, Monique, who invited me to her house to photograph her house during Holy Week in Greece. 

Let me start by explaining that Monique is a native Rhode Islander who came to the Aegean Center as a student in the 1970’s and never left.  She and her family run a ceramics studio on the island (Studio YRIA), have an incredibly chic interior design shop in town, and recently restored a beautiful house in Paroîkia just around the corner from me.  

I popped by on Good Friday while Monique was making Pascha cookies, or koulourakia, a traditional Greek recipe she learned from her mother-in-law involving sesame, fennel and cardamom, which went wonderfully with a stiff cup of Greek coffee.

 I love the space that she has created with all its subtle earth tones, ample light, and modern restraint that was softened here and there by something fuzzy/squashy and comfy, or punctuated by a well placed, delicate antique.  She sees the potential for every aspect of life to be aesthetically considered, that even the most functional spaces, outfits and objects can be opportunities for careful thought and playful design. 

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