CASA PLAJ - Portugal
Stay: Casa Plaj
Location: Lourinhã, Portugal
CASA PLAJ - Where minimalist design meets maximalist views.
Located on a quiet hill in Lourinhã, stands Casa Plaj. Proud and plaster pink, this architect-designed stay is minimalist in style yet maximalist in its sweeping views of the Silver Coast landscape.
Created by a young family from Germany with the help of Extra Studio—a Lisbon-based architecture practice that believes ‘the design of a house is a fundamental and life-changing experience’ - Casa Plaj truly embodies their ethos. The house is proof that architecture has the power to make people happy, and during our stay, it absolutely did.
Our trip to the Silver Coast was more than just a getaway; it was a reunion. Not with the friends you see every weekend, but with long-distance best friends.
We originally met two years ago at a surf camp in Santa Cruz (Cliff Surf House), just 20 minutes from Lourinhã. Since then, we’ve promised to meet every year. This September, we came from Hamburg, Munich, Bath, and London, choosing Casa Plaj as our home to reconnect under the Portuguese sun.
As a designer myself, Casa Plaj was a detail dream. Its soft, dusty-pink structure, a textural terracotta tone, stands proudly against the lush green valley and rolling hills beyond. The house feels alive, designed in tune with the wind, the shifting light, and the rhythm of time. The pink exterior brings warmth to the surroundings, almost as if it reflects the Mediterranean spirit of welcome and slow living.
Inside, the atmosphere is one of subtle luxury and honest craft. Polished concrete floors and hand-plastered walls create a calm canvas, their natural finish celebrating imperfection and texture. Oak veneer cabinetry, washed in the palest grey, highlights the precision of the joinery without overshadowing its natural form.
The kitchen is a centrepiece, an island hewn from Mármore Verde Serra, a rare Portuguese marble streaked with tones of blue, green, and soft grey. It strikes both contrast and harmony against the soft concrete surfaces, a sculptural anchor to the space. With shelves lined with handcrafted ceramics, it’s a kitchen designed for gatherings—for setting out spreads of food, laughter, and conversation.
Light is one of Casa Plaj’s most beautiful features. From the moment you arrive, the large gates cast geometric shadows across the porch, a delicate grid of ever-shifting patterns. Inside, a series of circular oculi windows filter sunlight into the living area, guest bedroom, and bathroom. The effect is both poetic and grounding—reminders that time is passing, yet slowing down within these walls.
The surroundings are truly something special at Casa Plaj. Vast landscapes of greenery stretch in every direction, visible from almost every window of the house. Balconies cantilever outward, inviting you to step into the open air and take in the horizon—moments of stillness broken only by the sound of the breeze moving across the valley.
Inside and out, carefully curated design enhances the experience of being present. Designer furniture from HAY invites you to sit, socialise, and simply be. As the sun shifts, their clean lines cast beautiful shadows across the smooth concrete floors, a subtle reminder that time is part of the architecture here.
At the centre of the view lies the pool. Bright blue by day, its water shimmers against the backdrop of green trees, a natural focal point that draws your gaze time and again. By evening, the pool transforms, illuminated softly from below, adding a quiet drama to the landscape and anchoring the house in the night.
Everywhere you look, small details add to the serenity. Window frames are softened with light linen curtains, which dance gently in the Silver Coast breeze. The bedrooms continue the same thoughtful material palette: hand-plastered finishes on the walls and expertly crafted joinery in washed oak. The result is an atmosphere both grounding and refined—a space that feels deeply connected to nature while offering comfort in its purest form.
In the quiet of the hills, between shared meals, laughter echoing around the pool, and long conversations under the September sun, Casa Plaj became more than architecture. It became a vessel for memory-making, a backdrop to friendships that stretch across countries and years.
Sophie x
