Apart from my friends, Casa Elizabeth kinda feels like the great love of my life. It’s been almost 2 years since I entered this blank canvas and made it mine-all-mine. It’s been the best design project, inspiration, creative playground, and the ultimate exploration of color. I have to tell you — the power of color is REAL. It’s hard not to feel uplifted in a sun-colored space. Buying an apartment as a Canadian living in Portugal came with its challenges but every effort was worth it because after 4 years of living in furnished apartments, I was finally able to create a home of my own. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home in a space before. It’s my sanctuary.
And part of the fun of creating this space was going on the hunt to fill it with well-chosen things. Portugal is known for it’s excellent craftsmanship and I really wanted to find as much local design as I could and by some cosmic force, I was put into communion with the amazing team at Santo Infante. They are architects and interior designers, and specialists in Portuguese design, and they helped me find so many of my favourite pieces. And because they know all the makers, I was even able to choose my own custom colors for things, like my perfect emerald green sofa (that we asked them to make inside out, because the inside of the fabric was more vibrant!). It was such an adventure and I was so lucky to work with this dream team.
It really has felt like a special moment in time, so I had my friend Egle Duleckytė come over to photograph the my colorverse (aren’t the photos amazing? We had so much fun!), and it was such an amazing exercise to take a step back and look at this life, and so many of the products I’ve designed looking like they’ve found their ultimate place of belonging. And it’s a beautiful thing because ulimately, isn’t that what we all want?
