Interior Styling

Hi, I’m Truus!

I like to call myself an interior stylist & treasure hunter.

I’m here to help you fall in love with your space in Portugal, whether it’s a permanent home, a holiday let, or both.

Together, we’ll create a truly unique interior that tells a special story.

Since 2004 my man and I have moved 14 times across 4 continents with an everchanging zoo in tow – dogs, cats and an African Grey parrot.

With each move we’ve had to say goodbye to a home that became a part of us.

Luckily, we were never that sentimental about any of the houses we owned.

We’ve learned over the years that what makes a house a home is the people, the animals and even the plants that live in it.

When you move country, we’ve also learned it’s important to ground yourself as quickly as possible.

Grounding yourself from an interior styling perspective means surrounding yourself with some of the things that are special to you; things from places where you’ve lived before, as well as from your new home country.

Combining these elements will help to generate a sense of place for you and your guests, which is important when you start all over again.

We’ll achieve this together by talking about what you love and how you want your home to feel.

Then I’ll get to work. I’ll create a mood board bringing together all the elements we talked about so you can visualise what your home or rental will look like.

I adore using key vintage pieces. Not just because it’s important from a sustainability point of view, but because it’s a great technique to create a truly special interior that you’re going to enjoy coming home to.

I take a similar approach to decorating holiday lets. The holiday rental market is flooded with places that all look the same and it’s really important to add a bit of oomph so it stands out on rental sites.

As for a permanent home, it’s just as important to create a space where people can truly relax and unwind. That doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money, especially when you shop on flea markets or find secondhand beauties online.

Vintage items also mix so well with indulgent designer sofas, contemporary wall art, artisanal crockery, hand-knotted woollen rugs and natural textiles like linen, cotton and wool for throws, pillows and bedding.

All these elements together will create something unique that people will remember, and tell their friends about.

As for choosing colours, I was given the perfect tip by a local artist: use the colours you see in your surroundings.

Another rule of thumb is not to use more than three colours. Within that palette you can then play around with different styles, even from different eras as much as you like.

Then cheat a little bit with some accent pieces like a beautiful vase, or a couple of pillows in contrasting colours.

It will work – I promise!

Here’s how it works in three simple steps:

  • I’d love to meet you for a chat in your new home or your holiday let. This is my chance to find out about you, about the things you love, and how you would like your new home or holiday let to look and feel.

    We’ll talk about your specific requirements. This could involve the décor for your entire house, for a single room, or perhaps you just want me to source a few statement pieces.

    Once we have established exactly what you need, I’ll go home and prepare a ballpark quote.

  • Once you approve the estimate, I get to work. I’ll present my ideas for your space(s) with a physical and/or digital mood board so you can visualise the rooms and pieces I’m going to source.

    We’ll go through this together at your house and adjust things wherever necessary.

    After this I will create a shopping list with all the pieces you/I need to to get.

  • This is the best part of the whole job…

    I’ll set off to hunt for all the bits and pieces we have agreed on.

    Once I have purchased everything I’ll have it all delivered to your house and we’ll put everything in place together.

    Please note that since I work with a lot of (often unique) vintage pieces we might have to compromise here and there when something you like has already sold. But not to worry – I can usually find something very similar!