shops on the street. There is no reception
area, and no common space, just a key
that
invites
visitors
first
into
an
entryway and staircase clad in Carrara
marble, with walls and doors in pine with
a vertical striped relief, then into the
apartments with flooring made from wide
boards of local pine heated from below,
and windows framed by original granite.
With a respect for place, each apartment
is filled with items of Portuguese origin,
from the eclectic mix of cups and plates
in the kitchen cupboards, to the brightly
packaged Claus Porto toiletries in the
marble-clad bathroom, and the welcoming
bottle of port on the dining table.
Breathing new life into old Portuguese
traditions, breakfast is served in a
colourful reed basket, traditionally used
to take food to agricultural workers in
the field, and placed outside the room
in the morning for guests to enjoy at
their leisure. Bread is encased in an
embroidered cotton bag also nodding to
the past: “People would leave, tied to the
knock on the outside of the door, a little
cloth bag embroidered with things like
pão and the baker would leave the bread
inside. That was something very common and
traditional, even in the cities, 30 to 40
years ago,” explains Flattered co-founder,
Miguel Mateus.
Two De La Espada homes occupy the top floor
of Flattered Apartments Porto. Each is
split-level with a dining room on a raised
platform, a living room with a hidden pull-
out bed, and on a mezzanine level, a private
bedroom with a pitched roof and skylight.
Furniture made just an hour’s drive away
at the De La Espada factory in Mira fills
each apartment: Neri&Hu designs in the sea-
facing home, and a combination of Autoban,
Luca Nichetto, Matthew Hilton, Neri&Hu and
Studioilse designs in the city-facing.
After travelling the world, we have brought
our exhibition home to Portugal. Come in,
kick off your shoes, grab a book from the
library, and indulge a glass of port before a
seaside walk. Welcome home to De La Espada.
At
De
La
Espada,
we
enjoy
creating
micro-universes for our furniture, our
international exhibitions often feeling
more like small homes accommodating a place
to eat, rest, sleep, and work. Now we have
taken it to the next level with a rentable
holiday home where visitors can rest their
tired feet, get a good night’s sleep, and
experience the De La Espada lifestyle first
hand.
In partnership with Flattered Apartments,
we created a home in Porto that serves as
a retreat, an intimate recharging point for
the exploration of a city entwined with
our history. Optimally located in Foz do
Douro, the apartment is within easy reach
of the seaside, the historic tram service,
local design shops, and the Serralves
Museum
designed
by
famed
Portuguese
architect, Álvaro Siza. The home harnesses
the thoughtful hospitality of Flattered and
combines it with exclusively De La Espada
furniture and styling.
Flattered is a house-hotel established
by three design-conscious veterinarians.
The Flattered founders, Miguel Mateus,
Catarina
Silva,
and
Catarina
Alves,
acquired a historic building renovated
by Barbosa & Guimarães, and worked with
architect José Carlos Cruz to design the
interior spaces. The project reflects an
empathy for locale and the building’s past:
local materials and original features
serve as the framework for a space that
is contemporary yet rooted in history.
Drawing from insight gained while working
with people and their unwell pets, the
Flattered founders created an inviting
refuge with all the conveniences of home
plus a range of services including in-room
massage and yoga sessions. “We learned
a lot how to deal with people and their
expectations on an emotional level,”
explains Miguel Mateus.
A seemingly endless stretch of beach leads
to the apartments, waves crashing into
large rocks, then a lighthouse, before
the turn onto Rua Senhora da Luz. The
building’s exterior is unassuming, sitting
quietly among the other residences and
AT HOME WITH DE LA ESPADA IN PORTO
