Black and white geometric patterns

When I walked into this room at the Argentine Ambassador’s Residence my breath was almost taken away. It was the modern geometric patterns against the traditional greys of the room - there couldn’t have been a better setting. But would you believe it, the tablecloths and ceramics aren’t by the same artist - but how well do they go together?

The main event here for me really is the ceramic sculptures. They’re by Björk Haraldsdóttir and it’s not only the strong patterns but the shapes of the pieces which fascinate me. I’m not sure I could choose a favourite piece, though the pair on the left of the photo below would be high up on my list.

Yes, these two.

It’s a pipe dream though as they’re out of my price range, but a girl can dream right?

And those tablecloths? They’re by Colour Squatters, which if I’m honest look great with these but are also pricey for tablecloths. But such a great match, and an expensive dream!

Azulejos, hand painted tiles

Well, when in Portugal and you get the chance to visit a tile factory where they hand paint azulejos, of course the answer is yes. Especially when it’s just over the road from your hotel, which was how it happened on our walking holiday in Portugal last June.

And by factory, I don’t mean large and automated. Think more of a place for specialist crafts to take place, though they did have a shop and I was very tempted by the tile above, for no more reason than I liked it.

The ‘factory’ was among residential streets, where we returned later for dinner in a local restaurant, and was set away from the main part of the town. Both made us feel incredibly welcome, with our own tour of the workshop and an explanation of the process, which hasn’t changed vastly, as you’d expect with a traditional craft.

The designs created here, are all hand painted, and are stunning. They create the traditional designs, as well as modern designs and take in custom commissions from across the world for private and commercial customers.

On our visit we were encouraged to watch the tiles being painted, and it was great to see. The detail, and process was fascinating and we were shown every stage of the process by our hosts.

Who’d have thought that we’d have the chance to see such beautiful tiles being created? Certainly not me, but I’m so glad we did. We almost didn’t as we’d been out all day and on our feet again, but it was definitely worth it.

Overlooking the rooftops in Lisbon

I’ve finally made a start at editing my photos from our trip to Portugal at the start of June. I know, it’s taken me a while, but with so many photos I haven’t really known where to start. Eventually I worked out that the best thing to do was actually start, and so I have. And I’ve been quite traditional about it and I’m sharing some shots of the first place we stayed in Lisbon. Actually we only stayed in one place in Lisbon, but it was the first place on our trip.

I’m much more partial to an apartment than to a hotel. It gives us the flexibility to eat what and when we want, and even if we want - sometimes our days feel like they’re punctuated by food, and quite often it’s hard work fitting in three meals. Then on other days, it’s no problem at all! Anyway, once again i’d found a great looking apartment in Portugal, and I was later to recall the great lights in our Porto apartment - hold onto that thought, we’ll come onto the lights.

But first the view. I’d specifically chosen this apartment over another for its garden. As it turned out, while it was nice to look down on we never actually stepped inside it, despite its inviting shade in the mid-thirties heat.

The pastel buildings in the street behind us proved to be a good foil for the garden’s lushness, the blue of the sky and the terracotta tiles. And it was a view I was quite enthralled by, so seeing it from ground level and without air conditioning didn’t seem quite so important.

The bedroom had a juliet balcony, and if we didn’t have the air conditioning on (it’s nice, but it gets on your nerves doesn’t it?) the door was often ajar, but even so it framed the view nicely.

I could take many pictures of roof tops and their tiles, and I probably have taken countless similar shots over the years, but I’ll never tire of them. But I wanted to share more than the view outside, as the furnishings inside are also worth seeing. In the small dining area, the copper light and tubular chairs added a certain panache to our first impressions of the space.

The red lacquered wall hanging in the bedroom was a great way to add some interest, colour and design to a quite plain space (excluding the view, obviously!) It was the sort of piece that your eye could just wander over and explore, without ever finding the reason why, or losing interest.

Throughout the apartment red was used to add colour, and it’s here that we start to get onto the lights. Clearly the Portuguese have a thing for great lights, or I just have a knack of choosing apartments with great lights. I’ve a feeling it’s probably the former, I mean, just look at these bedside lamps.

Simple, modern and effective. And easy to replicate.

In the living space we were spoilt with a couple of free-standing lamps. This silver coloured ‘branch’ light and the giant anglepoise lamp, which I totally fell in love with. I’d seen them before in magazines and online, but didn’t really get them, or the need for the size. Now though, I’m sold.

It’s a design classic - whichever size you go for - and it’s an easy and effective way of adding light, and style, to the right space. Overall, as I said before, the Portuguese have great lights…