Ever since Julie stumbled upon Quinta da Corte, a newly revamped guest house at a winery in Portugal’s Douro Valley, we’ve been admiring its warm minimalism, the way the silhouettes of the furniture balance each other, and how plenty of negative space—textural plaster walls—frames the rooms like art.
The 200-year-old winery, renowned for its ports and red wines and owned by French art collector and winemaker Philippe Austruy, had fallen into disrepair before he bought it, and has recently been brought back from the ashes by French architect-of-the-moment Pierre Yovanovitch. Among the buildings is a guest house, complete with sitting areas, a library, a kitchen, and eight bedrooms.
Yovanovitch, a collector and a furniture designer himself, filled the rooms with vintage pieces, his own designs, a palette of neutrals and rust, and objects—ceramics, ashtrays—by local Portuguese makers. We can’t quite put our finger on this style that we’re noting everywhere—sculptural minimalism? Or, as Quinta da Corte calls it, “studied simplicity?” But it’s our new favorite point of view when it comes to interiors. Take a look inside the guest house.
![a living area is a study in balance (sculptural ceiling light, curvaceous firep 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/living-area-3-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x529.jpg)
![plenty of empty space and unadorned walls keep the room from feeling too 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/living-area-2-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x1075.jpg)
![another living space in a cohesive color palette, with a black painted ceiling 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/living-area-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x517.jpg)
![Sculptural Minimalism A Winery Guesthouse by a French Architect in Portugals Douro Valley portrait 6](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/living-area-4-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x987.jpg)
Nearby is the library, where Yovanovitch chose each of the titles himself.
![the table in the dining area is inspired by one the architect remembers f 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/kitchen-dining-2-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch.jpg)
![in the combined kitchen and dining room, walls are tiled in traditional portugu 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/kitchen-dining-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x1013.jpg)
Meals cooked at the casa include “toasted almonds, homemade jams,” honey, and olive oil, all procured locally and from the grounds.
![the eight guest bedrooms are coated in plaster, so that even empty walls 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/guest-bedroom-2-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x572.jpg)
![another guest bedroom, with embroidered bed linens and subtle dashes of color. 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/guest-bedroom-3-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x487.jpg)
![each bedroom is fitted with rattan lamps, mix and match patterned blankets, and 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/guest-bedroom-4-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x489.jpg)
![a glimpse into a tile clad guest bathroom. 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/guest-bedroom-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch.jpg)
![\2\20;with its old style windows and shutters and its whitewashed 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/living-area-5-casa-quinta-da-corte-portugal-pierre-yovanovitch-733x1100.jpg)
Interested in booking a stay? Go to Quinta da Corte for more information.
Portugal is having a moment. For more places to stay, eat, and shop, see our Portugal Design Guide. And for more examples of what we’re calling “sculptural minimalism,” see:
- Numeroventi in Florence: A Modern Guest House in a 16th-Century Palazzo
- Kafeteria and Kunst: A New Copenhagen Cafe by Frederik Bille Brahe and Danh Vo
- A Modest, Mostly Vintage Rental in Berlin by Quiet Studios
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