Barão Sabrosa Apartment: Filled Lisbon Retreat Under Historic Arches
Barão Sabrosa Apartment sits within the semi-basement of a traditional gaioleiro building in Lisbon, Portugal, reworked by Aurora Arquitectos as a calm, luminous retreat. The compact 64 m² apartment unfolds as a single open room where existing arches, new freestanding elements, and a pale, minimal palette organize daily life. Light from the rear courtyard washes across vaulted ceilings and pale flooring, softening the sense of being below street level.
Daylight drops from the rear courtyard, skimming the vaulted ceilings before touching the pale floor. Soft shadows collect in the arches, tracing a slow rhythm across the open room.
Within this 64 m² semi-basement apartment in a traditional Lisbon gaioleiro building, Aurora Arquitectos works with a single open plan, using light-toned cabinetry and freestanding volumes to set daily routines. The project orients everything around the interior palette and furnishing strategy, allowing thin partitions, rounded shelving, and built-in elements to temper the robust masonry arches. Old structure stays legible; new insertions stay quiet but precise.
Arches As Organizers
Existing arches span across the apartment, turning what could be a narrow corridor into a sequence of vaulted bays. Each bay gathers a function—living, dining, sleeping—without rigid walls closing them off. Pale flooring and whitewashed surfaces run continuously, so the eye reads the length of the apartment in one sweep. That continuity lets the heavy structure feel measured rather than oppressive.
Freestanding elements sit just below the arches, never touching the ceiling, and that small gap keeps the room feeling open. Between the living area and the sleeping zone, a low storage block with a mesh upper section acts as both shelving and partial screen. Objects, books, and a few colored accents animate the grid, turning the partition into a porous backdrop instead of a solid obstruction. Light finds its way through the mesh, so no bay falls dark.
Light Partitions And Storage
A family of pale, rounded cabinets lines the central stretch, their curved corners softening the edges between circulation and rooms. Each piece doubles as storage and divider, using open shelves, solid panels, and mesh sides to tune privacy. The height, always below the arches, keeps the ceiling uninterrupted and maintains long diagonal views across the apartment. Small objects and tableware punctuate these shelves with precise notes of color.
At floor level, plinth-like bases anchor the cabinetry so it reads as built-in furniture rather than loose pieces. The repetition of the same off-white tone across fronts, shelves, and bases ties the intervention together. In a compact apartment, this restrained palette works hard; it reduces visual noise and lets daylight do most of the articulation. Nothing feels overdrawn, yet every bay gains a clear role.
Kitchen Under The Vault
Along one side, the kitchen tucks beneath a broad arch, its cabinetry tracing the curve with a gentle sweep. Tall units and overhead storage are kept flat and handleless, reinforcing the calm, continuous surface of the wall. A warmer backsplash plane introduces a subtle contrast, catching light differently from the surrounding white. The compact work zone stays open to the rest of the apartment, supported by the nearby storage volumes rather than boxed off.
From the kitchen, a view runs past mesh partitions toward the living and sleeping areas, so cooking never feels isolated. At the opposite end, a corridor pulls toward a soft, translucent curtain in a warm hue, marking the route to more private rooms. That single saturated element punctuates the otherwise pale interior, giving depth to the perspective and a sense of destination.
Soft Tones In Private Rooms
The sleeping bay sits under another arch, framed by the same pale floor and walls. A simple bed and a few colorful textiles are all it needs; the architecture already provides character. Nearby, the bathroom continues the vaulted geometry, with neutral tiles wrapping both shower and toilet zones. A central partition keeps them distinct while the shared curve above ties them together.
Across the apartment, lighting stays understated, with small wall fixtures and simple pendants that respect the arches rather than compete with them. As daylight fades, this quiet infrastructure holds the atmosphere, keeping the focus on volumes, textures, and the gentle contrast between old masonry and new furniture. Even below street level, the interior feels composed around light and the pale surfaces that receive it.
Photography by Do Mal o Menos
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