dark mode light mode Search
Search

Lola Cwikowski transforms a spacious top-floor duplex in Lisbon into a cozy home

Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski

Lourenço Teixeira de Abreu

Lola Cwikowski Studio has created an apartment for a young couple who arrived in Lisbon amid the pandemic to start the next chapter of their life together. The couple were welcomed by a quieted city, with a renewed appreciation for its own natural beauty, and happened upon a recently reconstructed apartment with a broad river view. All that remained was to select suitable furnishings to transform the spacious top-floor duplex into their own comfortable home.

 Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski

In the airy living area, a Poul Cadovius teak shelving system is the central display and entertainment center, drawing the eye toward the riverscape. The verticality is countered by sofa-chaise seating atop a Portugese-produced rug, plus a reclining armchair whose color takes cues from the plentiful plants. Playful, vintage lamps illuminate in accents, after the pastels of sunset fade beyond the bridge.

 Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski

Entertaining runs through the couple’s veins, one of which built a career in wine and hospitality, so within reach of the intimate dining table is a built-in bar with bountiful bottle storage. The mezzanine above serves the other partner’s dance and somatic practices with made-to-measure wall mirror and upholstered floor mats. Hidden away is the adjacent master suite, its billowy bed encircled by clean, concealed clothing storage for uncluttered repose.

 Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski

The downstairs guest bedroom is modest so its walls reflect the day’s changing light. A bespoke bed with contiguous floating nightstands, proportions inspired by Cadovius, offers peaceful respite. Bedside pendants were handcrafted by a local ceramicist, imparting an organic touch to otherwise sleek lines of wood and metalwork. Across the hall, work and rest coexist: an extra writing module from the shelving system and a classic Eames task chair make a workstation, while a custom-designed pull-out daybed accommodates naps and extra visitors.

 Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski Santa Catarina Duplex, Lisbon, Portugal / Lola Cwikowski