Architecture Wednesday: RR House

This is my kind of beach house; solitary. It sits on a relatively flat piece of land, at the edge of a rocky cliff with a beach below, in a protected area of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina in south central Portugal, and is built on the site of a former beach house.

It’s kind of a standard Portuguese beach house; a plain, unimposing 2700 square-foot white building from the front, with traditional terra cotta roof, but on the opposite facade, the house opens to the wild the landscape and to the sea, through a wall of windows, and spacious terrace, perfect for that indoors and outdoors beach life … weather permitting.

The decking and pergola along this façade mimic the traditional porch space of rural houses in southern Portugal, which evolves throughout the day into a space for living, dining, relaxing and even sleeping. Inside, the house has a very contemporary feel arranged around the large room, with a massive two-sided fireplace at its center, separating the living area from the dining and kitchen.  In addition to this central great room, there are five bedrooms—three of which are en suite—a common bathroom, powder room, a spacious loft, open to the great room, as well as garage and storage space. 

It’s light and airy and spacious and private and perfect for a weekend getaway. Plus, it’s Portugal and if you’ve never had the Portuguese wine Albariño, akin to Semillon Blanc, or, even better, Vinho Verde, which is slightly spritzy crisp green wine perfect for sipping on a terrace by the ocean,then this is the place to try them.

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