“At the time, I received an alert featuring this apartment, but my husband kept saying he didn’t want to invest, and in fact the apartment got an offer before I could visit it,” continues Paula, who’s husband Antoine Blanchys is a business and leadership mentor for high-level executives. 

“Then, three months later, I received an alert that this ‘favorite was back on the market, and I saw it as a sign that I should go and visit it. It was love at first sight. The architecture of the building is Art Deco, so as soon as you enter, you’re greeted by marble everywhere and a majestic staircase in exotic wood.”

The couple purchased this 1,560-square-foot apartment six years ago, and Paula says the space reminded her of Parisian apartments — it has long corridors, high ceilings, an original, untouched fireplace, a garden, and beautiful architectural moldings.

Paula says the previous owner of the apartment is a “heritage curator for the city of Lisbon,” and while they had made some improvements, they had also kept much of the historical charm in place.

“For me, there’s nothing worse than thinking I’m visiting an old apartment and finding myself faced with something old whose every trace has been erased: the moldings, the hydraulic cements on the floors, or the parquet transformed into waxed concrete,” Paula admits. “I think we’re passersby of history and heritage, so if you don’t like anything old, why not just buy new?”

While there was plenty of historical charm, the couple did need to make some updates themselves. “We worked on creating larger spaces by knocking down walls that no longer made sense in this day and age. This created a large living space that brings together kitchen, dining room, and general living space,” explains Paula, who also cited wanting to let more light in as a reason for their light renovations.

But perhaps some of the most impactful updates were with paint instead of power tools. “First of all, all the walls have color. We came from an apartment where everything was white and we were saturated,” Paula admits. “As we envisaged the apartment as having an English cottage feel to it (not least because of the fireplace), we wanted to give it a certain style, which meant using paint.”

• Living Room/Dining Room/Corridor — CIN “Café com Leite #1620”
• Vera’s Bedroom — CIN “Rose breeze #E718”
• Office — CIN “Sage green #E725”
• Primary Bedroom — CIN “Nude #E687”
• Bathrooms — CIN “Bauhaus #E922”

• Barber Cabinet — ​Vintage

• Turquoise Sofa — BoConcept
• Beige Sofa — Vintage ’60s
• Cushions — AM-PM
• TV Bench — IKEA Vintage
• Coffee Table — Vintage 

• Table and Chairs  — Vintage
• Bookcase — Pura Cal
• Pendant Light — AM-PM
• Moroccan Rug

• Custom Kitchen — Portuguese Brand
• Scandinavian Armchair — Vintage
• Table — Vintage
• Moroccan Rug

• Bed — IKEA
• Mirror — Vintage Art Deco

• Industrial Lamps — Vintage

Thanks, Paula and Antoine!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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