Thoughtful little details – the local tiles, the time-honoured finishes – are what makes the pink bathroom in this new house so special
In a tiny whitewashed village in the southeast of Portugal is an intriguing new home. Curva House is surrounded by the characterful Alentejo countryside, known for its historical ruins, cork forests and hospitable communities. It’s a peaceful spot for a holiday home, close to the scenic Alqueva Lake, and Curva’s owners saw potential to create something very special in this pink bathroom.
To do that, though, they needed help, bringing in Lisbon architecture and interior design practice Andringa Studio. The brief was to combine three adjacent little village homes into one large private dwelling – no small request. Their plan for the bathrooms was on a similarly adventurous scale, as director Rita Andringa, who headed up the project, explains.
“The clients asked for the pink bathrooms to have the same identity and language as the rest of the house,” she recalls. “Since we referenced the local vernacular in the build, it made sense to continue this into all the rooms.”
The walls in this pink bathroom are finished in rough plaster (“with white cement and yellow sand”), while the floors are a mix of cement and terracotta. “We also included some intentional framing with zellige tiles,” adds Rita. “These become like beautiful ‘rugs’ and are more practical for a damp environment.”
The labyrinthine layout of the combined houses resulted in a number of interesting nooks and corners, which the architects took full advantage of. Odd ledges became useful shelves or built-in vanities, and light streams in from unexpected angles.
“We worked hard on the structure of the three original houses so that we could create a single house with minimal intervention,” Rita explains. “Many structural elements were replaced and the patios were opened up so we could have natural light in every room. The house ended up being full of secluded spaces and niches where we were able to add special materials. These niches almost become altars to nature.”
A good deal of consideration was given to the tiles used in the bathrooms. In one, a simple Roca tub is cocooned with slim slabs of pink. “These are cut after being glazed and fired, leaving the edges in raw ceramic and resulting in many irregularities in the colours on the surface. They’re Spanish, but we also incorporated many Portuguese and Moroccan tiles: three cultures with a great tradition in tiles.”
Another bathroom boasts square tiles at the border of its bath and leading up the back wall. They’re slightly different shades of cream and off-white, all laid completely at random to achieve an effortless, organic finish.
In both spaces, copper hues are brought in with the hardware. The taps and bath mixers are from Cifial and look particularly beautiful against the rough plaster walls. “This place was conceived as a ‘healing house’,” says Rita. “It’s a holiday home intended to provide peace for the owners. Materials like copper [touted for its supposedly anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties] were intended to contribute to these aims.”
As the Alentejo region is known for its pottery, ceramic was chosen for the accessories wherever possible. In each of the bathrooms you’ll find handmade soap dishes, vases or decorative bowls that reference that connection.
Art and objects were sourced from the likes of Oficina Marques and Portuguese artists such as Graça Paz and Valter Ventura. With such care and attention to detail, it’s no wonder the final result is the very definition of tranquillity.
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