A cheap and cheerful Portuguese attic

Paula Catalão was just like any other young city-dwelling Portuguese graphic designer in that she found it hard to find the right property. Nothing would please her until, after dozens of viewings of cookie-cutter apartments, she asked an estate agent to show her the attic of the building she was looking in. And there she found her home. It had all the charm and character that she was looking for packed into the 50 square meters. As the building was originally put up in 1907 the kitchen and bathroom had to be added in but she was left with a lovely bright space to make her own. People living in tiny flats really interest me because my own dwelling is only marginally larger than a shoebox. She made a point of painting everything white and then adding dashes of colour to accent and highlight the space so that the whole place looks clean, bright, relaxing and welcoming. I've always been a big fan of coloured walls and certainly would have been tempted if I'd had her natural light but the decor here really works. The lesson here has to be to explore every possible location that might be inhabitable by humans and don't just stick to the estate agent tour!




Photos via Maxima Interiores