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Casa João Alves
Trancoso, Bahia, Brazil
Casa João Alves
Trancoso, Bahia, Brazil
A Modest Fishing Hut Gets a Stylish Update
A colorful fishing hut redesigned in partnership with Dutch fashion designer and hotelier Wilbert Das, this breezy home on Trancoso’s historic town square combines whitewashed walls with wood and exposed-tile ceilings. There are also plenty of driftwood- and sea-glass-inspired interior décor touches for a bright, cabana-like home that feels comfortably sleek and deliciously tropical, and brims with genuinely weathered accents and refined coastal styling.
Located in the protected heart of Trancoso village, this colorful coastal refuge is named, as are all the homes on the town square, for its first local resident. The single-story structure was restored in partnership with Dutch designer Wilbert Das, the former creative director for fashion brand Diesel, whose local, architecturally celebrated Uxua Inn is located nearby. Once a modest fishing hut, the house retains its original footprint but offers clean, contemporary coastal styling that’s big on rustic charm.
The traditional Bahian tile roof now features sunny skylights, and the original ceiling beams and weathered tiles have been left exposed overhead, creating a rich topper for smooth whitewashed walls and floors. Shades of glassy greens and blues accent the pristine white environment, and furnishings feel refined and antique, echoing the home’s colonial era past. Wood is the décor material of choice, and the space features handcrafted tables and chairs, driftwood accents, cane lamps and colorful patinaed doors and shutters.
This vacation home rental in Brazil offers views of the UNESCO classified town square and further out to sea, and also features a relaxed back deck insulated by tropical foliage. Its two-bedrooms can be expanded for a group by booking the neighboring deck property, Casa Dona Olava.
AROUND
This vacation home rental in Brazil is located in Trancoso. A low-key beach town that was once a favored, way off-the-beaten-path hippie destination, it's now more hipster than hippie. Either way, the now stylish former fishing village’s cobbled streets and candy-colored houses on a bluff overlooking the ocean make it a destination everyone can get behind.
Trancoso’s center, known as O Quadrado, is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. The town was originally created by Jesuit priests in the late 1500s and left practically cut off from the rest of the country until its hippie revival in the 1970s. Still pristine, the area is famed for its unspoiled beaches of golden sand and swaying palms.
Located in Brazil’s South Bahia region with miles of Atlantic coastline, the nearby villages of Arraial d’Ajuda and Caralva are also worth a visit, and one of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches, Espelho, with unique warm swimming lagoons that form at low tide by the coral reefs, is also easily accessible.
LOCATION
Trancoso, South Bahia, Brazil, Nearest airport: Porto Seguro, approximately 45 kilometers.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: July to March, avoiding rainy season in April and May.
