The house
Two hundred years a working quinta. Four years a building site. Nine rooms since.
What we kept
The granite walls, the chestnut floors upstairs, the bread oven in the old kitchen and the shutters, every one of which was taken off, stripped and rehung. The lime render is the original recipe, made a hundred metres from where it went back on.
What we added
Underfloor heating, a great deal of insulation you cannot see, nine bathrooms and a lift to the first floor. The pool is where the water tank used to be.
In every room
Linen and wool
Washed on the property. Wool blankets from Serra da Estrela.
A proper bath
Six of the nine rooms have one; all nine have a rain shower.
Wi-Fi that works
Fibre to the house and a mesh through the granite.
Coffee at any hour
A machine on the landing, and someone in the kitchen from six.
No air conditioning
Metre-thick walls and shutters. It has not been needed yet.
The view
Every room looks at the valley. Some look at more of it than others.