Thessy and Georgio Batsinilas open their Mediterranean Brisbane home
Entrepreneurial power couple Thessy and Georgio Batsinilas are opening up their impressive home to others keen to be transported to Greece.
Walking up the olive tree-lined path and under the arched entryway towards the heavy wooden door, it is easy for one to mistakenly believe they have been transported from a leafy suburban street in Brisbane’s south to a relaxing island locale in the Mediterranean.
And all without the 21-hour flight.
It was the feeling that entrepreneurial power couple Thessy and Georgio Batsinilas set out to achieve when crafting their forever home, which drew upon their shared Greek roots.
“Home is Australia, but heritage-wise, it’s Greece,” Georgio said.
“We’re there every year and for a lengthy period of time. I’ve spent time over there for years on end. We love it; it’s just amazing.
“When you close your eyes and think of Greece, you think of a white and blue house. Whereas, when you actually go deeper, there are these kinds of homes.
“We didn’t want it to be visually like a Santorini home in the middle of (Brisbane’s) Holland Park West, but when you walk through the door, you feel like you’re in Greece.”
The home is aptly called “Grece”, and draws upon a Santorini-inspired modern Mediterranean style that balances strong natural materials of concrete and stone with functionality for a young family.
Both Thessy, who co-founded the fashion label Sabo Skirt, and Georgio, who is the co-owner of boutique inner-city gym and online fitness business, FitazFK, are minimalists at heart.
Everything within the five-bedroom home has its place, which allows the simplicity of the neutral colour pallet and styling by interior design firm Fform to shine through.
The couple bought the block in 2019. Thessy’s brother, George, and wife Yiota, who also co-founded Sabo Skirt, told the couple that their neighbour’s house was coming on the market.
Initial plans of buying in Camp Hill were immediately put aside after they were blown away by the Holland Park West site’s 180-degree views of the city skyline and rolling hills.
Their budget too jumped from $750,000 to $1.2m, with the pair snapping up the existing red-rendered brick home for $1.14m.
“No one was taking this house,” Georgio said. “I went into the auction like a bulldog.
“The guy we were bidding against at the end came over and said, I saw in your eyes that I was never going to win that home.”
Not only is family to one side of them, but another of Thessy’s brothers and his family live on the other. Two of Georgio’s brothers also live across the street.
Thessy said: “For the children, I don’t think they’ll ever understand how rare that is, to be able to grow up next to your cousins, aunties and uncles and having family around every single day.”
Like everything else in 2020, their scheduled six months of planning quickly ballooned into 2½ years owing to pandemic lockdowns and supply chain issues.
But the Batsinilases took it in their stride and worked closely with Esat Design and builder Batspac, operated by Georgio’s brothers, to refine and perfect the home.
“It was lucky because it was a completely different design to what you see now,” Georgio said. “I like to think of this as something you’d probably find in Mykonos, whereas the other one was a bit more traditional island vibe.”
Thessy, the creative at heart, took carriage of the design, drawing inspiration online for years before they were ready to build.
“I always had a vision,” she said. “When we bought this land, I started culling and became more specific.”
She knew stacking stone was a must, as were micro-cement, niche walls and planter boxes built into the facade.
In fact, she was so particular in their wants that at the very last moment, measurement day no less, they decided to swap out the imported stone they had ordered for another Patagonia stone imported from Italy.
It pulled the whole room together. It was decisions like this one – which took into consideration the past, present and future – that made the house work.
Tiling in the bathrooms is reminiscent of that in Georgio’s grandmother’s home.
A crucial consideration was creating spaces for the family to be together – such as the internal courtyard and rumpus rooms that work for Zani, 5, and Jay, 2, not only now, but for when they become teenagers.
Glimpses of the couple’s careers can be seen throughout the home. Thessy’s walk-in wardrobe is the size of a standard bedroom, while the ground floor of the three-level home is dedicated to wellness.
The gym, complete with Grece-branded equipment, is complemented by a sauna and cold plunge pool for restoration.
And the home has been featured in each of their endeavours through photo shoots and marketing. They are offering the home as a shoot location for brands after noting a gap in the Brisbane market.
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