Coastal Alentejo, Portugal

A house
to return to.

A private estate in coastal Alentejo. Three suites. Six guests. By invitation.

The house and grounds

Three shaded courtyard openings face a timber breakfast table, with terracotta paving and an orchard visible beyond.
The courtyard, before breakfast.

01 / The household

A home, before a guest house.

Iria and Tomé stand beside a walnut chair in the conservation workshop, with hand tools hanging on the limewashed wall.
Iria, architect. Tomé, furniture conservator.

Iria and Tomé Velorne came here in 2018 to make a home and a conservation workshop. They restored the courtyard buildings around three guest suites. In 2022, they began welcoming introduced guests.

Eighteen residences each year leave time for the work of the house.

02 / The house and grounds

Room to be together. Room to be quiet.

A linen-covered bed and walnut chair face open courtyard doors, with olive trees in the orchard beyond. The rectangular sixteen-metre pool sits beside the orchard, edged by stone paving and low planting.
Schematic plan of the estate; a complete text description follows.
Schematic estate plan. Not to scale. The inland arrival road leads to the courtyard and three guest suites. The library sits beside the courtyard; the orchard, gardens and 16-metre pool are within the estate boundary. Public coastal access lies beyond the grounds.

Three suites open onto the courtyard. The library, gardens and 16-metre pool are yours for the week.

A private inland road leads to the 28-hectare estate near Porto Covo. Return road transfers from Lisbon airport are included.

Coastal access is public and lies outside the estate.

Tell Iria about mobility or access needs before a proposal is prepared.

03 / A week here

A week with room around it.

Breakfast is laid for six on a courtyard table with woven linen, ceramic plates, bread and fruit.
Meals, when you would like them.
A reading chair and bookshelves sit beside the west room's open window, looking toward the orchard.
Books in the west room.
A guest walks between mature olive trees on an unpaved path in afternoon light.
The orchard, in your own time.

Breakfast waits in the courtyard. Beyond the orchard, Tomé is repairing a walnut writing chair. You are welcome to visit the atelier after coffee. Nothing else needs arranging.

An atelier morning is optional. The work on the bench sets the subject.

04 / The work of care

The old marks stay.

One walnut writing chair, recorded through three stages of care. The original joints remain; the repair supports another season of use.

Visit the atelier

  1. The walnut writing chair's rear joint has opened slightly, exposing the original timber and worn surface.
    Condition · 04 March 2026 — Movement at the rear joint.
  2. Tomé steadies the same walnut chair joint at the bench while securing its original timber.
    Intervention · 06 March 2026 — The joint secured; original timber retained.
  3. The secured rear joint of the same walnut chair retains its old scratches and darkened surface marks.
    Finished detail · 11 March 2026 — Old surface marks remain visible.

Illustrative treatment record for this fictional house.

05 / Returning

Your place at the table, next year.

A small wooden belongings box rests beside well-used books on a library shelf, ready for a returning guest.

Before your seasonal week is offered elsewhere, you receive a sixty-day first option on its equivalent the following year, with the next year’s price stated.

Leave a small box of books or belongings with a written inventory, if you wish. You decide which preferences the house keeps, changes or deletes.

06 / Before an introduction

A few things, clearly said.

The residence
Seven nights. One party. Three suites. Six guests, including children.
The season
Eighteen residences, March–November. Two empty nights between visits.
Included
Accommodation, meals, house wines, laundry, housekeeping and return road transfers from Lisbon airport.
Quoted separately
Flights, outside excursions and commissioned conservation work.
The proposal
One agreed household price, shared in your personal proposal before commitment.
An introduction
A referral is welcome. Iria may also invite guests after direct correspondence. A request is neither a booking nor an invitation.

07 / The invitation

Tell Iria who will be coming.

Write with your name, preferred season and the number in your party. If someone introduced you to the house, you are welcome to mention them. I will write back so we can begin a conversation.

Iria Velorne

Request an introduction

Opens your email app. An introduction request creates neither a booking nor an invitation.