this swimming pool is actually a jewelry store in mykonos

athens-based studio SAINT OF ATHENS thought outside of the box while designing this jewelry store for italian brand gavello in one of greece’s most visited summer spots, mykonos. the architects and the brand came up with a design that breaks the island’s stereotypical looks with a creative and aesthetic idea.

all images by gavriil papadiotis

gavello nel blu by SAINT OF ATHENS and dive architects is a jewelry store within a pool. the store has a typical cycladic façade and is designed to resemble an actual pool on the inside. light blue tiles, beach balls, striped bolsters, lockers, and a pool ladder on the wall create a familiar ambiance and evoke an oblique summer feeling. the designers included practical elements as well as conceptual props such as mirrors, cushions, display cases, d display cones, and cylinders— on which someone might even want to hang their towel— that enhance the pool concept.

the jewelry items are displayed inside four niches embedded inside the tiled wall and lit with 2 linear LED strips. another display element would be the main rectangular table that dominates the interior space and includes the rest of the jewels. according to the architects, cosmopolitan and picturesque places like mykonos tend to trap themselves in a dipole of rigid tradition vs forced extravagance. in gavello nel blu, the aim was to show that a few square meters are enough for interior design to show its surreally ingenious side and for opulent products to acquire a whole new market context.

project info:

name: GAVELLO nel blu

designer: SAINT OF ATHENS

location: mykonos, greece

concept: SAINT OF ATHENS & elisabetta gavello

architectural works: dive architects

photography: gavriil papadiotis

custom displays: urbi et orbi

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom