In recent years – and especially after the quarantines – we have strongly redefined our relationship with our personal space, whether it is our home or the office. Words such as hygge and Feng shui, but also design schools, such as Scandinavian minimalism or japandi, have become colloquial terms with which the city is becoming more and more familiar.
Α new wave of shops that embed creativity has started to flourish, showing us the way to authenticity, beauty, practicality and uniqueness. The Bohemian Athenian in this respect does not explicitly follow any particular trend. Between order and disorder his curated collection passes a message that everything can be combined harmoniously, without any guilt, provided that they bring us joy and add that – not always explainable by logic – ‘something’ to our atmosphere.
It began online in 2021 and now it also has a multifaceted physical presence on the 3rd floor of the building at 12 Zoodochou Pigis street. It functions as a place to receive your purchases, but more importantly as an environment for you to get a connection with the items.
A community of creative people who have become its ‘tribe’ has already been cultivated around it. The Bohemian Athenian, in its deliberately ‘hidden’ physical presence, essentially simulates an urban home and how it can be transformed with the touch of its products. Well, in this ‘house’ we also enjoyed a coffee with its owner, Elena Baltouna.
‘The whole concept is based on expressing ourselves beautifully and freely,’ she says. ‘We love slow living, we believe in the uniqueness and expression of each individual through their space, we love colour, the marriage of ideas, we are advocates of sustainability’. ‘For me it’s wonderful to combine different things, the aesthetics must above all be authentic’. I see her passion and think, in the times we live in – that test endurance and tolerance – is there anything more beautiful than coming back to a home that brings you joy after a hard day at work? The Bohemian Athenian has certainly answered this question.
With nick and knacks starting from just 2 euros, I see carpets around me, I look at the most beautiful stationery – diaries, to-do lists, notebooks – I smell the canned candles in beautiful packaging, I fantasize about his one of a kind vases in the dining room my – what flowers should I combine them with? An experience of the 5 senses, with so much beauty concentrated that it really excites you. Then there are the books, plates, and mugs, everything you dreamed of shopping for on your next trip, you can find them here, in the centre of Athens.
We may all understand things differently, but we can find common bridges to unite us in designing.
The Bohemian Athenian
Zoodochou Pigis 12, Εxarcheia, tel. +302103806968
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