House of Birds — Alentejo, Portugal

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)

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

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

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

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

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

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

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

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

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

(Image credit: Bruno Warion, Stephanie Boiteux Gallard)

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.