3 ideas to dress up your home in the Portuguese style

Typical Portuguese house - Photo credit unknown

From the kitchen to the living room, discover our 3 ideas to decorate your home like the Portuguese!

Add a Portuguese touch with azulejos

Azuléjos are the must-have of Portuguese decoration. Whether for the kitchen or the bathroom, this type of typical Portuguese tile adapts to all colors.

The kitchen, which is a very important room in a Portuguese house, is often well equipped, but above all beautifully decorated. From the walls to the floor, the tiles are present and it is the azulejos that give the typical Portuguese look to this room.

Azulejos Padrão 11x11cm - Luisa Paixão collection

Tableware is also an integral part of Lusitanian decoration and many Portuguese people have ceramic or fused glass dishes reminiscent of azulejos.
 

• In wall fresco for a grandiose effect.
• As a coaster or under glass, for a discreet touch.
• On tableware to decorate the table with taste (mug, tray, appetizer dish, plates, table spoon, etc.)
• On household linen to adorn your home with the colors of Portugal (apron, tea towels, potholder or tablecloth for the kitchen, cushion cover for the living room or bedroom)

"Azulejos"  Cushion covers - Luisa Paixão Collection

The azulejos also make a great ornament for the bathroom. With objects inspired by the colors and patterns of azulejos (tissue box, stoneware bathroom set, soap dish or ceramic cotton box), you will beautify the bathroom in a flash.

Sardines, swallows and rooster for a typical Portuguese decoration

In Portugal, ceramic swallows and sardines are symbols that cannot be ignored. To dress up your house with the colors of Portugal, there is nothing like small objects in the shape of swallows or sardines to hang on the walls. In Portugal, you can find them scattered outside as well as inside the houses.

Ceramic swallows affixed outdoors - Photo credit unknown

You can use them discreetly from a few units...

Ceramic swallows on the wall - Client photo

or, on the opposite, in a majestic way by using several tens or even hundreds of pieces as here in the hall of the Poussada "Citadela" of Cascais.

Hall de l'hôtel "Citadela" - Cascais

but you can also put them discreetly on a piece of furniture, in a bookcase or on a desk, they are supposed to bring luck. And why not in modern colors such as gold or silver?

Swallows in gold and silver ceramic - Luisa Paixão Collection

• Marinha Grande's handmade glass sardines, to hang on the wall or hang up.
• Ceramic striped sardines that remind us of the fishermen's houses of Costa Nova.

Striped ceramic sardines on the wall - Client photo

Another typical symbol of Portugal is the rooster of Barcelos. You can get this small statuette in clay or ceramic to decorate a sideboard or a display cabinet.

Rooster of Barcelos in black ceramic - Photo by client

Portuguese handicrafts: an asset to decorate your home like the Lusitanians

Cup in the shape of shell "Concha" - Photo client

We have seen above the traditional swallows and sardines in ceramic. Ceramics is indeed a very famous Portuguese art. This is also the case for stoneware and glass. Thus, typically Portuguese colored vases will instantly recall Portugal in a bright room with light tones.

"Madeira" Stoneware vases  - Luisa Paixão Collection

Conversely, if you need to bring some light into your space, Portuguese textile craftsmanship will allow you to play with color. Fringed plaids, Portuguese cushion covers and typically Portuguese woven rugs will be perfect for bringing color and brightness.

Recycled natural fiber carpet - Client photo

Finally, for a typical Portuguese artistic interior design, you can count on :

Boneca Bariguda 40cm by Prazeres Côta - Luisa Paixão Collection

• The Boneca Barriguda ("Belly" doll) or the Boneca Minhota ("Minho Doll"), by the artist Júlia Côta. She is one of the greatest living representatives of the "Barcelos Figurado", artistic movement, expression of the Portuguese popular culture.
• An original photograph by the Portuguese photographer João Cabral.