The Design Story Behind Quinta Camarena
When we decided we'd start looking for a place in Portugal, Costa Vicentina in the Alentejo was, for me, the obvious choice. The coastline is a protected natural park, the inland is protected rural land too, and the whole area still feels wild and authentic — wild, surfable beaches, rolling hills and oak trees, the quiet little town of Cercal, and real food production still happening all around us: organic farming, natural cheese, local eggs, natural wine, bread made with local grain.
This property was the first one we saw, and we knew it was the right one for us. It had been a family's summer home for twenty years, under construction on and off for three decades, before ill health forced its owners to leave. It was overgrown and falling apart when we found it — but we saw the potential when no one else did. What we really fell for was the land: a valley framed by two hills, dense with trees and birds, laced with trails that make every walk feel like a discovery. In the countryside, but only fifteen minutes from the coast and a twelve-minute walk from town.
Building Around the Land, Not Over It
The renovation tested our resilience. We were building through the pandemic and hyperinflation at once — deliveries stalling, cost quotes valid for barely a week as material prices climbed. We were also building on a hill, and we wanted to preserve the ecosystem as much as we could, so much of the work was done by hand rather than with heavy machinery, working around the trees instead of clearing them.
We renovated the existing units on instinct, but for the new buildings — the hillside rooms and Camtina, our lounge and dining space — we brought in local architect Miguel Peixinho. The hillside rooms use the natural incline of the hill so guests feel truly surrounded by forest. There's a five-minute hike to reach them and no cars allowed, so guests start absorbing the nature the moment they set off. All seven rooms are duplexes, two floors in an open space, with a balcony over the hill.
At Camtina, we wanted a lounge and dining room that felt like a friend's living room — an open kitchen so guests can watch our chefs at work, and a long handmade table built for strangers to end up sharing a meal, and often a friendship. Glass sliding doors run throughout, blurring indoors and out.
A Design Language Built by Hand
We did all the interior design ourselves — Cam as an artist, me from a background in fashion and retail. We wanted somewhere cosy and warm with personality, comfortable and contemporary at once, built from local materials: wood ceilings and flooring against polished cement walls, Portuguese tile in every open shower, hand-painted water-bowl sinks on raw wood made by a local carpenter. Every room is unique — different tiling, an antique piece, a print of Cam's photography. All keep the traditional Alentejo door with its postigo, the small linen-curtained window that once let neighbours see who was passing. Full-size windows onto the forest bring in light that shifts through the day, and each room has its own front garden of wild mint, lavender, cactus and jasmine.
Beyond what we make ourselves, we lean on local artisans wherever we can — handmade blankets from a local weaver, leather accessories, hand-painted ceramics — and we dig through local antique markets, often buying a piece just because we love it.
What the Pandemic Taught Us
Two weeks after we moved in, the pandemic hit and every vendor we'd planned to work with closed. So we started working with what we had. My father, a retired electrician, began building lamps from old wine jugs and wood scraps. Cam's mum sewed pillows from fabric leftovers. Cam built furniture from spare pallets. I restored furniture the previous owners had left behind. By the time the pandemic eased, we had a real collection of handmade pieces — and reuse, recycle, repurpose became part of how we design, permanently. It's why you'll now find cork art from our own oak trees, recycled-fibre blankets, and antique treasure chests now doubling as bookshelves throughout the property.
A Place Designed to Be Left Alone In
Guests tend to name the same things: the intimacy, the attention to detail, the nature all around. A lot of that comes down to the small hidden platforms we've built through the woods — a sofa or hammock tucked away, a quiet counterpoint to the pool.
That same instinct is guiding what's next: expanding Camtina with a retail space, adding new hillside studios, and renovating our original units — Villa do Laranjal, the Loft and the Casita — to carry the same feeling as the hillside rooms.
