A breath of color is breathed into every room of this petite Portuguese home. It’s a reminder even in cold weather that spring hues are in season year-round, a style tip particularly true for owner and artist Graca Paz. “I’m passionate about how color plays with mood,” she said. And who could have a bad disposition in this living space?

Graca’s home has not always been bright, but after living for years with white walls, she turned to the color yellow and felt oh, so much happier. She said her artwork looked amazing against a bright background. Since color is a strong tradition in Portugal and Lisbon’s colors are yellow and pink, Graca was influenced by the capital’s vivid choices. She is now in her pink phase and said, “I’m lucky to have a husband who loves my stages!”

Deliciously Granny-Smith-apple green, the kitchen is colored as brilliantly as every other room in the home. And it’s not pink.

Graca and her husband also wanted the bedrooms and baths to portray the family’s liveliness, aware of the effect color has on people. Their three sons, whose bunk beds and brilliantly red, white and blue bath are pictured, have enjoyed a colorful upbringing.

The couple’s sleeping space is painted strawberry and opens out onto a terrace with far-reaching views. In front of the hot pink-painted exterior walls is a bench made from boards dumped after a shipwreck and adorned with vibrant cushions. It is representational of Graca’s life… out of white has come brightness, out of tradition has come the spirit of change and energetic color, and out of boat wreckage, wood with a new lease on life. In Portugal, one mother and artist is leading her family toward a bright future.

Please bookmark and share

Related Posts

• The Steep-Slope Home: An Organic Creation
• Eyeing Someone Else’s Dust Bunnies
• Kenneth Cobonpue