What I Brought Home from Portugal and Spain

I recently returned from Portugal and Spain- beginning in Cascais and Lisbon, and continuing into southern Spain following an invitation from Cosentino (Silestone quartz, Dekton, natural stone) for a personal tour of their headquarters, factories and quarries.

What stayed with me most wasn’t just what I saw. It’s what I brought home.

Cascais, Portugal

An unexpected find

Hand-painted 6 x 6 tile by Luis Soares | Cascais, Portugal

I found this hand-painted tile while riding my bike through the cobblestone streets of Cascais. I wandered into a small ceramic shop and came across the artist’s work almost unexpectedly.

Expressive, a little abstract, and rooted in a place where tile is part of the culture.

I didn’t overthink it. I just knew it was coming home with me.

Pitcher by Anna Westerlund | Lisbon, Portugal

A familiar language

As we were leaving our hotel in Cascais for Lisbon, I noticed a simple ceramic pitcher with a wrapped, textural handle sitting quietly on a console. I took a photo, thinking I’d remember it.

Later in Lisbon, we stepped into another small ceramic shop- and there it was.

Not the exact piece, but clearly the same artist- the same language.

That one came home with me too.

In the studio, Anna Westerlund

Where it all begins

That same mindset carried through the entire experience in Spain.

Seeing materials at their source—how they’re formed, finished, and ultimately used—adds a different level of understanding. It’s one thing to specify materials. It’s another to see where they begin.

Sendero del Mármol – Mirador de Cosentino

(Marble Path – Cosentino Viewpoint)

A well-designed home does come together with intention.

We select the foundational pieces.
We layer in the finishes.
We refine and complete the space.

But it’s the personal pieces- the ones collected over time- that bring it to life.

They add the soul.
They tell the story.
They make the space unmistakably yours.

When I work with clients, I design the foundation intentionally- but I always leave room for pieces like these.

The ones you discover along the way. The ones that can’t be replicated.

I haven’t found the final place for these pieces yet.

And that’s part of the process.

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— Amy