Last week, near a pebble beach on the island of Tzia, my family sat under the shade of pale green tarp to have lunch. “In any other setting, this would be a weathered, old tarp,” I said to my Mum who was travelling with us.. “Here, it looks like an artful canopy.” I felt the same way about the rusty old olive oil tins packed with fresh herbs surrounding the taverna. And the chipped terracotta pots stuffed full of geraniums on the beach nearby.  The white walls and lapis blue shutters on s small stone house up the dirt road from the taverna were decreppid, but in this setting, the house was charming and romantic. Between relentless winds, rain and the intense heat and light of the sun, island homes and everything in and around them, are at the mercy of the elements. But it’s that natural decay that makes them so beautiful.