About Adamas
FROM DREAM
TO REALITY
The creation of Adamas
Adamas began as a dream, not a business enterprise, but a holiday home on our favourite Greek island. Lefkada was a well-known place for us, as we had visited it on numerous occasions, and it was the obvious place to investigate what was available and if we could find our dream place. A ”For Sale” sign close to our hotel was enough to evoke the idea of making contact with the person on the other end of the telephone number. Our estate agent finally showed us a new plot that had only come onto his books three days earlier. It was perfect. We would be back within a few weeks to place a deposit. Adamas began as an ”Olive Grove”. Tiny trees bearing few olives. But they were ”our” trees – growing on ”our” land. So, we were officially agricultural farmers with land in Greece during the first two years. 8000m2 of land. It was like falling in love again. We had absolutely no plans as to what would become of this adventure we had begun, but things began falling into place, and after three more years and a lot of hard work, we slowly began the process of building an impressive villa. The Greek word Adamas translates into Invincible or Diamond, which reflects the impression it emanates.
The Build
Staying at our hotel that summer was an English family who was to share our anxiety. We will never forget the comments from them when we presented the idea. ”You’re a brave man”, declared David Ireland, in a lovely Lancashire accent. Fate had given us our first helping hand. It turned out that David Ireland was, apart from a wonderful person, also an eminent architect! So after a year of saving clippings and ideas from magazines, our two families met once more on the hotel lawn, where the first draft of Adamas was drawn – with David declaring it as being the first building he had designed whilst wearing swimming trunks!
Two years passed, and we had put together the first finances to begin the build. Our physical involvement began once the cement framework was in place, and it was time to build the walls. We chose Ytong, a lightweight block-work that has good energy insulation values. A professional builder was employed to do this, but a misunderstanding arose, and on arrival one Spring, we found that ”Little House” had no walls. So we entered the house-building world and completed the walls just one week later. During this time, we became more familiar with the surrounding nature. Every morning, we took a short break and sat silently whilst the weasels came to play, and the iguana ran by with his red breast visible when running on his hind legs. Even the small tortoise surprised us a few times. All of this felt exotic to us and we were very humbled to be part of their daily lives.
Our involvement didn’t finish there as we spent the following summer laying the indoor floor tiles ourselves. 150m2 of them, together with 1000 metres of floor central heating water pipes, and insulated the foundations against dampness. Both were more or less unknown at the time. But the biggest success was the underground collection of all rainwater from both the terrace and roofs. This is stored in underground tanks and used during the dry months in an advanced garden watering system.
Getting things right
It was decided at an early stage to have generous grounds, with both tiling and crazy paving. For every tree we lost in the landscaping, two new ones were planted. Ceremoniously, they were dug down, watered and given a name. One of the first to arrive was Jack (our first Lemon tree). Then came Jane, the plane tree; Ivar, a creeper given as a present by close family – the Ivarssons.
We would like you to share our dream.
Lefkada is a magical island, and no less so in Sivota. We want your stay in Adamas to be one that brings back fond memories in the years to come.
WE CARE
Let us offer you an experience you would rarely find in your typical villa rental.
We want you to enjoy your stay, however long, and depart with fond memories. During the creation of Adamas, we met and became part of a nature that was unknown to us. It’s humbling to see how nature interacts on the hillside, and we do our utmost to show respect to all wildlife on the land. No poisons are allowed, and our plants and trees are watered primarily by collecting rainwater stored underground. Although some fertilizer is necessary because of the leached soil, we are slowly adding mulch and chippings to improve the quality. Even the worms are moving back in! It’s a work in progress and one of the reasons why it has taken 12 years to get this far. We now feel we can share this paradise with fellow lovers of Greece.