Rich Colors and Period Features in a Renovated Garden Apartment in Lisbon

Tucked into the characterful streets of Santos, this ground-floor apartment unfolds less like a conventional home and more like a private retreat, one defined as much by its interiors as by the remarkable 205 m² garden that stretches beyond them.

Throughout the home, the balance between preservation and intervention is carefully judged. Original elements remain visible and meaningful, while new additions introduce a distinct, contemporary character. It is this dialogue, between past and present, interior and exterior, that defines the apartment’s identity.

Inside, the 145 m² apartment has been completely reimagined in a 2025 renovation by L’Elephant Interior Designers. The approach is careful but confident: original architectural features are preserved and celebrated, while new materials and systems bring the home into the present.

The main living room and principal bedroom retain their ornate ceilings, grounding the apartment in its period origins.

Timber floors run throughout, adding warmth and continuity. Against this backdrop, a more expressive design language emerges through pattern, color, and material choices that give each space its own identity without overwhelming the whole.

The library room is painted in an indulgent ochre-yellow tone.

In the kitchen, original Portuguese tiles are preserved and paired with new cabinetry and Portuguese marble surfaces.

The adjacent dining room opens up toward the large garden. The room is decorated with the Colefax & Fowler Arden wallpaper, bringing the lush outdoors into the home.

The principal bedroom includes a beautiful custom headboard featuring the Schwarzwald fabric featuring a forest motif of a 17th-century tapestry by Dedar.

The en-suite bathroom is a luxury escape with marble and blue tilework, a bath under the window, and a stunning marble vanity.

The second bathroom features a walk-in shower with green and white tilework and a shower curtain with a William Morris pattern.

A fountain anchors the garden, while mature planting creates depth, shade, and a sense of quiet permanence.

With its scale (205 sqm), layered greenery, and absence of overlooking buildings, the garden feels enclosed yet expansive.

The apartment is listed for sale at Fantastic Frank Lisbon – photography by Luis Nobre Guedes.