After nine years dividing her time between Rio and Lisbon, architect
Andrea Chicharo – from the cast of
CASACOR Rio – has a new home in Portugal: a penthouse in Cascais with a sea view. She knows the city well, having completed numerous projects there. But she lacked one to call her own. Andrea's choice was quite different from most of her clients: an
old apartment in a building from the 1960s.
"Almost all the projects I did in Cascais were in new buildings built in recent years. But I prefer older constructions. And this is one of the tallest buildings in the block. So, besides not being at all overlooked, it has an
incredible view of the sea from all the projects of the apartment," she says.
The
renovation there was complete. Although spacious – it is
300 m² – the apartment only had one
bedroom since the previous owner lived alone. To meet the needs of Andrea's family, it was necessary to create two new suites. This significantly changed the layout of the property.
On the first floor, there are three suites, a powder room, a comfortable
dining room – with a 3m table to host guests – and a small living space with a fireplace. The floor also accommodates the
kitchen and a small service area, which the architect had to create, since the space is not common in Portuguese apartments.
The second floor was transformed into a large social area with a living room, TV room, a dining space, a powder room, and a kitchenette to also serve the outdoor area, where it is possible to host friends even for a very Brazilian barbecue.
"It turned out to be a well-integrated and comfortable space that allows for enjoying both the terrace and the internal area," she notes.
The decoration is quite contemporary, predominantly featuring
Italian design. But there are also
English and Chinese pieces, a Portuguese tile panel, and the mix of materials that Andrea loves:
metal, wood, leather, straw. Most of the furniture was brought from her previous apartment in Lisbon. But since the space is larger, it was necessary to add new pieces as well.
"I like this mix and also find it important to always have local pieces. It's what brings identity and personality to the projects," comments the architect.
The color palette is quite varied. Although the base is neutral, with
oak flooring (on the first floor) and
cement (on the second), and finishes of
white lacquer, marble, and wood, colors are punctuated in all the projects. Sometimes with stronger tones like the red in the living room and the graphite in the TV room; sometimes in softer tones like the light gray in the
bedrooms.
Personal items, Portuguese ceramics from the 1960s and 1970s, and works of art from Brazilian
Frida Baranek and
José Bechara and Portuguese
José Pedro Croft complete the setting of Andrea's new home in Portugal. "In Lisbon, we were in a very touristy area. Cascais is calmer. And it brings a different lifestyle: it's possible to practice more sports, walk to the beach. And everything is just 20 minutes from Lisbon. Faster than going from the South Zone to Barra," she jokes.
