Lisbon has been THE place to visit this year, forget Barcelona; many people are taking a trip to the oldest City in Europe.  It is perhaps because the city is a quieter, more undisturbed European city yet, is still as full of culture, history and visual beauty, perhaps even more so.

I came to Lisbon for a hen do and it was a classy one I have to say, well, a few moments of dancing on tables and of course some penis straws and staying up into the night in Pink Street (although a very trendy place with great design still). But we took moments to breathe in the Lisbon culture, food and architecture; with the architecture standing out to me the most.  The buildings are colourful and joyous with decorative ornate tiles covering them like a wall of ivy. I can only imagine the length of time it would have taken to have tiled the walls. Some were crumbled and chipped but this only gave the buildings more character. Each building has a unique design creating an eclectic street with each telling a different story to who once lived there.

Now for the history lovers. The tiles of Portugal and Lisbon are named Azulejos, which branches from Arabic roots, meaning ‘small polished stone. Dating back to the 13th century, when the Moors invaded the land that now belongs to Spain and Portugal and secured their establishment in Portuguese culture between 16th and 17th centuries. They started out to be small, elementary designs which were cut into geometric shapes and were dominantly decorated in blue and white colours which we all would associate as the Portuguese and Mediterranean colour palette today. The blue and white colours are reported to be motivated by the Age of Discoveries, 15th - 18th centuries and were seen as fashionable at the time, all of which are coming back around with us celebrating foreign design cultures in our own homes and lots of designers being influenced by the Portuguese and Spanish tiles and architecture. The other colours that showed an appearance were different tones of yellow and green, the natural colours of the sky, sea, sun, sand, plants & trees.

After starting out with these geometric designs they were soon replaced by narrative, ornate decoration. Their history, religion and culture are detailed in the images of the tiles and wall murals becoming pieces of public art for us all to observe and take inspiration from.

There was a powerful Earthquake in 1755 which devastated most of Lisbon's architecture. The city had to be rebuilt and there was a slight shift from the Manueline Portuguese-Gothic style to Pombaline characteristics which still saw azulejos being used heavily.

Through to the modern days of Lisbon and Portuguese culture these tiles have been vastly used as a celebration of their history and have been adapted in the modern days of design with them being used in interiors too.  The designs have also been modernised and painted on ceilings of Pink Street bars and city walls rather than just the use of ceramics to tell stories.  

Naming a street after a favourite colour of mine has me loving the city even more.  Pink Street is the more edgy side of the city and I would say is similar to the east of London with its artistic and exclusive array of people and bars and the city never sleeps especially down this street with nightlife coming to life at 12 am way past my usual bedtime, but time in Lisbon seemed to pass you by, still feeling wide awake by the energy of the people.

After this trip I felt a sense of liberation and I was influenced to inspire you all to take a little bit of the Mediterranean culture into our own homes.  We have some beautiful, baroque wallpapers & murals with tile designs which will transport you to Lisbon or a Portuguese town.  We also have a curated collection ‘Blue Skies Ahead’ which celebrates the good design of the Mediterranean style.  Relax and soak up that seaside spirit in your interiors. Summer soundtracks, a favourite vinho do Porto and now more than a few loved ones join around a table fit for a crowd.