Kitchen of the Week: A Serene Space in Pale Blue at Casa C’Alma in Portugal

This week we’re revisiting some of our favorite all-time summer stories, like this one from back in 2018:

When Rafael Reis and his girlfriend, Sara, set out to open an affordable, stylish guesthouse in Lisbon, they knew what they would call it: Casa C’Alma, a phrase that would (almost universally) convey a sense of “tranquility and calmness—which are the key concepts of our guesthouse,” Rafael says.

While shopping for spaces, they found a townhouse apartment that had been recently renovated by architect Pureza Faria Blanc, and knew Casa C’Alma had found its home. “The kitchen was one of the things that made us fall in love with the house,” Rafael says. “Its pale blue, light jade color perfectly channels the feeling we were trying to create.”

And that it does. Last summer, I made the five-room bed-and-breakfast my home base for a trip to Lisbon. I was especially taken with the kitchen—where guests collect their breakfast—a refreshing and light-filled space. Let’s take a look.

Photography by Rodrigo Cardoso with styling by Arkstudio; courtesy of Casa C’Alma.

The kitchen is used for breakfast while guests are boarding, but it gets full use when Casa C’Alma hosts occasional private events (workshops, pop-up shops, and celebratory dinners). “On New Year’s Eve we host a dinner party for all our guests,” Rafael says.

For more in Portugal, see:

• 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Portugal
• A Family House in Porto Restored, Traditional Tile Included
• Small-Space Living: 13 Radical Tiny Cottages

N.B.: This story originally ran on June 28, 2018 and has been updated.