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Design & Lifestyle Editorials Travel

At Magazine July Issue

July 10, 2012

A photographed interview with Fredric Coustols, a French landscape collector, who lives in Lisbon and is the owner of Palacio Belmonte, one of the most luxurious hotels in the World. I was lucky enough to meet Fredric and his wife, Merry, and have a free access to all rooms in this beautiful palace. The interview is now published in At Magazine, July 2012 issue.

Lisbon, Portugal, Lifestyle and Design, Palacio Belmonte

Lisbon, Portugal, Lifestyle and Design, Palacio Belmonte

 

 

 

Design & Lifestyle

Palacio Belmonte in Design Sponge

July 9, 2012

Design Sponge, Palacio Belmonte, Lisbon, portugal, Design, Lifestyle

I’m really honored and excited my images of Palacio Belmonte in Lisbon were warmly welcomed by Amy and Grace from Design Sponge. I had a good feeling they would love the interiors, the colors and more over, the great story behind the Palace and its furnitures, and would love to share this magical place with their readers.

I love how Amy described the circumstances and coincidence that led me to discovered Palacio Belmonte and become friends with Fredric, the owner.

‘This June, she was in Lisbon, on the hunt for the two most important things for a modern traveler: a bathroom and a WiFi connection. She stumbled into the Belmont Coffee Club, and while checking her email, she chatted with the friendly staff and the cafe owner, Frederic Coustols. One thing led to another, and Sivan found herself touring the Palacio Belmonte. Lucky for us, she brought her camera’ .

To see more of my features in Design Sponge, please click here.

Thank You Amy and Grace!

My Life in Polaroids

On the Table: an Artist’s coffee

June 9, 2012

Lisbon, Portugal, Travel, Coffee, My life in Polaroids, on the table

I love it when good coincidence happens.

I love it when I take a random turn and it turns out to be the perfect one, or the one with full surprises. That what happened to me few days ago in Lisbon. I’ve visited the city for 48 hours and in one of my strolls I got into a small but well designed artistic cafe, the Belmonte Cultural Club Cafe. I think I was looking for the restrooms and I also wanted to check my emails, therefore I got in.   I ended up having an interesting conversation with the owner of the cafe and with the cute mysterious bartender who turned out to be an artist himself. I was very inspired by the interior, the endless books spread around and with the characters. While exploring the place, the bartender made me coffee and put it on one of the tables.

So this is how it looks when an Artist makes me coffee.

Bom Dia!

Picture is worth a 1000 Words

A picture is worth a 1000 words

June 8, 2012

lisbon, Portugal, Travel, Palacio Belmonte

“…Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don’t see the self as self, what do we have to fear? See the world as yourself. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as yourself; then you can care for all things…”

Lisbon, Portugal June 2012

I stepped into Belmonte Coffee Club in Lisbon by chance.

I think I was looking for a restrooms or a Wifi connection to check some of my emails when I stepped in. A warm welcoming by the cute and mysterious young manager of the cafe made me stay a bit longer and ask him some questions about the place and the way it designed. Then Fredric, the owner of the place stepped in and I forwarded my questions to him. Apparently, Fredric turned out to be an artist (he made this statue) an avid book reader (he reads a book a day) an ambitious Landscape Collector (who owns the 15th century Palacio Belmonte) and an interesting funny guy. Looking back at this specific day, I can now say my visit to this cafe wasn’t just by chance, and I should have faith in the way things are…Stay tuned for more.

 

Design & Lifestyle Travel

Palacio Belmonte; Behind red doors

June 7, 2012

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

I love how things work out and how coincidences can sometimes run my life and get me into interesting situations. A random turn can lead into a completely new experience, as it happened to me in Lisbon. As a travel photographer who is visiting places outside my New York radius, these coincidences are what sometimes make it all so rewarding and part of the nature of the business. I am in Lisbon for 48 hours, as I am on my way from New York to Paris. My only agenda is to discover the city as much as possible. A random turn because of a graffiti I saw on one of the walls in Alfama yesterday led me into a coffee place I stepped into, in a hunt for a wifi connection and a bathroom. Besides a cute and charming bartender, who turned out to be also a designer for movies’ interiors, there was another man sitting in front of a computer on a wooden table with piles of books in front of him. A few minutes later I was sitting next to him, showing him my website and my published work and having a conversation.

This man is Fredric Coustols. In addition to being an avid book reader (he reads a book a day) he is also a creative artist, a landscape collector and the owner of Palacio Belmonte, an enchanted palace transformed into a luxurious hotel of ten designed suites in it.

Fredric was kind enough and gave me a free access to some of the rooms and opportunity to take as many pictures as I liked. So I did!

The History of Palacio Belmonte

Some might see Palacio Belmonte as one of the most veiled secrets in Lisbon and the history of the place is the story of Portugal itself. It is the oldest building of its kind in the city, the Palace was the residence of the Marques d’Atalia, Alvares Cabral and the Earls of Belmonte for over 500 years. It was built in 1449, atop ancient Roman and Moorish walls. In 1503, one of Portugal’s most famous adventurers, Pedro Alvares Cabral, who owned the palace, added more space to the existing house so he could host some well known historic figures, including Vasco de Gama, who was welcomed in the palace right after he got back from his triumphant in India.

In 1640, the building was expanded to include stunning terraces overlooking the ocean and between 1720-1730, two great masters of Portuguese tiles were commissioned by the Belmonte family to create a unique collection of 59 panels with more than 3000! tiles that portray the daily life of the Portuguese royal court. The tremendous earthquake of 1775 that destroyed most of the Lisbon’s major constructions, didn’t hit the palace.

In 1994 Fredric Coustols bought Palacio Belmonte and started a six-years restoration project to convert this beautiful space into ten luxurious suites, each different to the other. Suites that preserve the history and the beauty of the place and at the same time, equipped with modern comforts and conveniences to better accommodate the lifestyle of the sophisticated traveler.

You have to meet Fredric and his wife Maria in person, in order to understand the uniqueness of the place, its style and more important, the inviting atmosphere. They are both down to earth, creative, friendly and warm people. Their personality and creativity blends well with everything in the space. While Fredric’s books are in every corner in the palace, Maria’s paintings decorate some of the walls.

 

Interiors and Design

Each of the ten exquisite suites is an original masterpiece with its own individual character, blending historic architectural features with contemporary design. Each suite is named for a Portuguese writer, artist, philosopher, adventurer or inventor. You can choose to lay your head in the Ricardo Reis, Alberto Caeiro for example, or have breakfast at the Gil Vicente one for a change.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: This is one of my favorite corners in Palacio Belmonte. The simplicity of everything, the bold complimentary colors, the way the three pictures on the wall ‘talk’ to the book on the table in terms of colors and symmetry. I love the clean white table cloth, the right book and the yellow pillow.

God is definitely in the small details.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: Amadeo Souza Cardoso Suite, is also known as the Presidential suite. An extraordinary suite lined with an impressive collection of the 18th century Azulejo tile panels and sporting a cathedral ceiling, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room and a queen size half-canopied bed hung with deep red silks. Running along the length of the suite there is a large veranda with a stunning view of the garden and the river beyond, giving the entire suite incredible lighting. I love the blue Azulejos panels on the walls and the writing desk which is from a 19th century Portuguese ship and has so many secret drawers…and of course.. books are everywhere.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: Ahhhh, this dining room! I love it. Filled with light and great space. It reminded me of all the movies I used to watch where the royal family used to throw all these banquets. This room has a 25-foot-high ceiling, huge double white doors and the magnificent views of the old city and the sea. I could stare at this view for hours. Seriously! The azulejos panels date to 1725 and are signed by one of the best Portuguese masters of the time, Manuel dos Santos.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: Another hidden reading corner in the palace, overlooking the sea. The color of the chair matches the cover of the magazine on the coffee table. If you want to hide for a while, this might be the place.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: When I entered this suite, all I could say was ‘WOW’. This is the Ricardo Reis Suite, which is a real gem. The bedroom is stunning and filled with light and the frescos are so fresh that nobody could believe they were covered by 20 layers of paint and had been discovered by the electricians while digging to hide their tubes.

The yellow room is the suite’s sitting room, and the cameo portraits are figures of one of the Marquis and Marchionness of Belmonte. The floor was designed using jacaranda wood in the traditional pattern.

Lisbon, Portugal, Palacio Belmonte, Travel, Leisure, Lifestyle, Design, Red Doors

Images above: Alberto Caeiro Suite, is a family suit of two bedrooms with beautiful low ceilings, a living room, a bathroom and one shower room. The blue painting is by Maria Mendonca, the owner of the place, while she was in China. The table under the painting is from an antique dealer in Monsaraz, Portugal. It’s from the 17th century, and Fredric chose it for its simple, elegant lines that pair perfectly with the white lime-washed walls. The carpet is a 50-year-old kilim rug. I just love the green doors that match perfectly with the color of the armchairs, and the ocean-blue painting is such a comfort to look at.

Palacio Belmonte is indeed, one of the most veiled secrets in Lisbon. I’m glad I had the opportunity to walk through its halls and catch a piece of history of Lisbon. When looking at these pictures I sometimes think it was all just a dream, a beautiful one.

Thanks Maria and Fredric for opening the Red Doors for me and my readers!

 

Window or Aisle?

Window or Aisle: Margarida Girao

June 6, 2012

Travel, Bahamas, Nassua

I don’t remember exactly how did my contact with Margarida start or who friended who on facebook, but one day I found myself staring at her website and my jaw almost reached the floor. It took me less than five minutes to email her and tell her how much I love her work, and how much I hope that one day we would collaborate together. Her ability to create such colorful, crazy and creative collages (all start with C) is really admirable, and only after few email exchanges and sharing some thoughts and ideas, I came to realize that her personality is very aligned with her work; colorful, creative and crazy in a good way. So of course I kept nagging Margarida to collaborate and use some of my photography as a background to her illustrations and I’m glad she finally did. I asked her to answer some of my questions while she is touring South America for few months now. (and I’m actually in Lisbon when this post is due)

Where are you from? I’m from Portugal.  I was raise in Sertã, a small country village. I finished High-School in Coimbra, which is known as a University city and I graduated in Aveiro, the Venice of Portugal. For the last few years I’ve been living in Lisbon, and now I’m traveling through South America.

Where did you study graphic design? I didn’t study graphic design, or any type of design. I always wanted to be a journalist and an artist. While I was doing the exams to enter the University, I realized I made the wrong decision in High School and instead of Latin, I should have studied something else. I had to say Good Bye to Journalism, and welcome New Communication Technologies. Computers, Digital Communication and Project Management instead. And I liked it.

What made you want to learn it? When I was a teenager, I though I could be an artist without studying and I wanted to have a second job. (I couldn’t have 10 jobs = 10 universities at the same time.)  So I made the choice of saving the world through writing articles as journalist. And by the way, in Sertã, where I was studying, there wasn’t Art as a subject in school, so I didn’t really have much choice.

If you weren’t a graphic designer/illustrator what would you do? Definitely not a journalist. I know that the previous mistake I did, actually turned out for good; As Communication is a multi-discipline world, and that’s what I do, even in illustrations: I communicate. So basically I do what I want to do,  and if I want to do another thing I will do it.

where do you get your inspiration from? Magazines, nature, books, music and music, and emotions.

How do you usually approach a new project?  Usually while I am listening to music. My body and emotions react to some melodies and sounds, and I get new ideas I can do more research on. I know it might sound weird but the ‘problem’ is that my brain never stops, and I get many ideas, mainly while listening to music.

What are you working on right now? I’m traveling so I am learning a lot of new things. I have a folder in my desk with new ideas to study and work on. All are illustrations’ ideas, but I want to put them on paper and some digital platforms. I have an exhibition in Lisbon these days, in which I try to build a visual identity of Lisbon through the garbage found in the streets of the neighborhoods. I think it might be an on going project that I will continue in other cities I will live in. It is not an easy process; It requires picking up trash from the streets and containers and cataloging the trash by neighborhoods, shooting each element separately and then all together.  Afterwards I create art pieces with the garbage, which gives a new meanings to it, and finally relating each piece with the photos taken.

I also want to continue with advertising and with magazines, and I want to work with animation and TV production, and maybe getting back to school. And of course, seven month of traveling! I want to use my travel experiences as a theme of my Art.

Window or Aisle? When I fly I prefer only aisle, but when I’m taking the bus, than I prefer window.

Travel, The Bahamas

Travel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Travel, Buenos Aires, Argentina