Bakers Townhouse

Revealing a Traditional Townhome’s Good Bones

Like the shiny, satiny, pink-kissed nacre inside of a seashell, this early 20th-century townhouse, formerly home to a local baker and his grandmother, has been renovated top to bottom by a Lisbon architect couple.

Honoring the home’s humble rural history, the modern refurbishment was calibrated to show off the building’s simple, raw qualities and recreate a serene, slow-living, small city hideaway. Located near the river in a community where time has seemingly stood still, the two-story townhouse was stripped back to its thick country walls and soaring pitched ceilings, with its rustic wood shutters and doors refashioned. Aged, smoked oak floors were laid and a soft, matte-pink plaster applied to the walls, imbuing the home with a quiet, gentle style that’s also unaffectedly modern. 

The upstairs area is now open plan and airy, its ceiling timbers whitewashed and bright over the new kitchen, dining, and living room, the kitchen counter area featuring glinting white azulejos set in pale pink mortar. Ground-level bedrooms and baths are soothing spaces enclosed in matte plaster walls and simply furnished with several standout pieces.

Additional features

Convection stove and oven, refrigerator and freezer, Berkey drinking water filter system, Nespresso coffee machine, Apple HomePod for music, Dyson air purifier and heater, dehumidifiers, electric heaters in bedrooms, walk-in closet for suitcases, mosquito screens on all windows, wood stove (for winter use only), beach towels and beach umbrellas.

Around

Set on the banks of the Sado River, the rural Portuguese town of Alcácer do Sal has been a place of retreat for the home’s owners for a decade. The town takes its name from the salt industry that once thrived there, replaced today by rice paddies. In addition to the paddies, a nature reserve surround the small urban community for miles in every direction beyond its flowering cobbled streets, shaded alleys, and tumble of whitewashed homes that climb up from the riverbanks. The town is one of Portugal’s oldest settlements, dating from Neolithic times, passing through Greek, Phoenician and Roman eras, too. Because of its privileged location on the river, the community thrived as an ancient port city and flourishing site of the town’s namesake salt trade that supplied regions near and far. 

The small city’s narrow streets and picturesque alleys all lead uphill to a dominant castle, once a Moorish fort of some 30 lookout towers, later conquered by Crusaders and the Portuguese King Alfonso II. Within this fertile river delta, flamingos flock, and the protected estuary is home to dolphins and abundant bird life, too. The beaches of Comporta are only about 20 minutes away, and other beaches along the Tróia Peninsula, known for their powder white sand backed by evergreen forests and dense scrub, give the peninsula's turquoise coves a deserted island vibe.

Location

Alcácer do Sal, Alentejo, Portugal. Nearest airport: Lisbon (50 minutes)

Best time to visit

April to October