House of Birds | Wallpaper*

Interior view of a room at House of Birds featuring white walls, wooden flooring, two beds with pillows and white linen, two floor lamps and a dark wood chest of drawers. There is framed art on the walls and the window is open offering a view of the sky and nearby buildings

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

last updated 25 July 2022

With very little fanfare, the artist Marisa Osorio-Farinha has parlayed her refined creativity – seen to best effect during her 15-year embroidery collaboration with Hermès – into the hotel business.

The four-bedroom House of Birds, the first salvo of her Alentejo Villas by Siècle brand, hides behind a relatively inconspicuous white ochre and granite house in the old Portuguese town of Crato, the 13th- and 15th-century HQ of the Order of Hospitaliers and the Order of Malta.

Following a two-year overhaul, the rambling interiors now feature a charming mix of artfully restored, four panel ceilinged rooms swathed in hues of blue and white, ecru and creamy pastels, and walls that are decorated with Osorio-Farinha's hand-painted murals and whimsical aviary decoupage, and headboards sheathed in hand-printed linen.

A spacious kitchen lined in ochre and marble makes for a conducive stay-in dinner party, whilst a bijou outdoor pool flanked by high white walled terraces sets the scene for summer lie-ins.

Sensibly, Osorio-Farinha takes full advantage of the area’s cultural and extracurricular offerings, her curated menu of day-trips including a spot of falconry, picking on petiscos (the local version of tapas), and a tour of Crato’s impeccably aged Roman ruins, monasteries, convents and megaliths.

Interior view of a space at House of Birds featuring wooden floors and grey walls with a hand painted section at the top of a tree, greenery, birds and a squirrel against a blue background. There is also a dark orange chair with a hat on it, a dark stand with a bird statue and lemons and framed art on the walls

Interior view of the living area at House of Birds featuring wooden floors, light coloured walls, decorative plaster ceiling, framed art on the wall, a brown sofa, two floor lamps, a fireplace, a square glass coffee table and two dark orange chairs. There are two doors that lead to the outside area with wooden decking

Alternative view of the living area at House of Birds featuring wooden floors, light coloured walls, decorative plaster ceiling, framed wall art, a lamp, a black and gold unit with multiple glass decanters and a white asymmetrical seat

Interior view of a room at House of Birds in Portugal featuring white walls, a bed with pillows and white linen, a red and white wooden bench at the end of the bed, framed wall art, a silver floor lamp and partial view of the bathroom

Interior view of a bathroom at House of Birds in Portugal featuring small dark grey tiled walls and floor, a white ceiling and a pale yellow sink and bath. There are steps leading up to the bath, an alcove with decorative pieces and six orange decorative squares with animals on the wall

ADDRESS

Rua 5 de Outubro no 53
Crato

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Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.