Inspiration Oia

June 21, 2011, Oia, Santorini, Greece: In the home of my dreams are paint colors from the town of Ia, Santorini. That bright, deep Mediterranean blue. That ever so slight shade of gray, dashed with a hint of purple stirred into the palette. Those neutrals of the stones wedged between walls of whitewashed concrete, lining the switchbacks to Ammoudi Port. The home of my dreams is decorated in the inspiration of this little town of Oia, stop No. 1 on our honeymoon in Greece. So too, the home of my dreams (seaside, of course) is a mix of modern luxuries and the oldest remnants of civilization. It includes a weathered wooden fence over a salty horizon, the steps below leading to a home not visible from this pedestrian walkway. It includes the windworn metal lamps at our hotel, Fanari Villas -- windworn lamps edged pale green in the sun, clasped to the edge of the cliff, inviting guests to sit back in the rattan chairs facing the sea and write by lamplight at white marble tables. Come belly up to this bar by lamplight. It is the perfect place to sip a cocktail and write a novel.

Yes, the home of my dreams, with its Oia-inspired paint colors and rustic wood floors and weathered fences overlooking an expansive sea, is the prime place for that. By lamplight over the water, it is the perfect place to sip a cocktail and write a novel.