There’s something ancient and mystifying about the way light hits stone in Crete. And something radical about designing modern life around these structures.

I recently spent time at the newly opened ADAMA in Matala, a luxury hospitality project where I shot some content as well: a cluster of homes, a hotel, built like a village, imagined like a feeling.
It reminded me of something we rarely name in branding, architecture, even lifestyle design: the subtle difference between creating for function, and creating for belonging.

What makes a space feel like home, even when it’s not?

It’s not just clean lines, or curated interiors, or even a perfect view.
It’s rhythm, an invitation and an unspoken permission to just be.

ADAMA was concepted and built by a team of visionaries, ZaloSpaces and Tzagkarakis+Associates, and its interiors were styled with soul by Carola Born of Hidden Gem Home. But more than the names behind it, what stood out was the thoughtful balance and genuine sense of connection woven into every part of the design.

It made me think about how we design experiences: in physical spaces, online, or through brands. The same principles apply: tension between form and feeling, between clarity and warmth. Between offering a frame, and letting life fill it in.

This is the kind of design that inspires my work as well. Whether I’m building a brand, mapping a strategy, or shaping a narrative. I’m less interested in performance, more in coherence. I want things, places, ideas, people, to feel like they belong to themselves.

Because that’s what creates connection. And that’s what lasts.