CASA ATLANTIS - SILVES
CASE STUDY
Pedigree Renovation was contacted by a client in mid-2016 who had purchased a four-bedroom "Quinta" property in Malhão near Algoz.
The client wanted to renovate the property keeping all of the original features, but modernising the property with new plumbing, electrics, home automation, WiFi, a swimming pool and full landscaping in the garden.
Other than keeping the property traditional in look, the other stipulation from the client was to integrate the latest technology, but hidden as much as possible from sight.
When the client handed the property over to Pedigree Renovation, the original owners had "shoe-horned" four bedrooms into what was originally a good-size, one-bedroom property.
The first part of the project was to design the inside of the property, removing walls added by the previous owner for the three additional bedrooms and to revert the property back to its original layout.
This involved demolishing the kitchen, one toilet, two bathrooms, a wooden construction in the hallway, a wooden mezzanine level in one of the rear rooms and moving the front door to it's original location.
It was decided by the client to utilise the flat roof area as a terrace with the possibility to close this in for an office / sun terrace in the future.
To create access to the terrace, a reclaimed and refurbished steel spiral staircase was secured from a derelict property in the north of Portugal, repaired and fitted into the property. A mezzanine bridge was created in the same style as the staircase using local trades to allow access from the spiral to the terrace door.
The removal of certain walls inside the property required the fabrication and installation of steel girders (RSJ's) for ceiling and structural support and to bring the construction up to building code.
New plumbing including the addition of plumbing manifolds into the kitchen and bathroom were added to bring the services to code. Separate A++ electric water boilers were added - one for the bathroom and one for the kitchen.
The electrics were renewed throughout the property, moving the incoming supply and meter from inside the Quinta to the gate area and upgrading the electricity supply from mono-phase to 3-phase to ensure there was sufficient power for the property, a swimming pool, irrigation, electric water heaters and a Jacuzzi. This required the incoming electrical cables to be laid underground in accordance with zonal requirements.
All electric sockets were replaced with traditional looking but modern equivalents and all light switches replaced in the same style as the sockets with home-automation triggers for all lights to be controlled by the home-automation console, iPad or the light switches. The programming, according to the clients requirements, was completed by our in-house technical division from Pedigree Automation.
The ceilings in the lounge and dining room were constructed in cathedral style, plastered by hand to give depth and sound balance to the rooms. The entrance hallway ceiling, which originally ran from the front door to the rear door, was barrel-vaulted and lit with Moroccan style lights.
The remaining ceilings in the property were removed to reveal original Eucalyptus wood beams with Bamboo insets. All of the wood was treated
with insecticide and polished for longevity and to bring out the grain and originality.
All floors throughout the property were levelled and tiled using locally sourced Stª Catarina furnace cured clay tiles, with Moleanos tiles inlaid for design with the exception of the bathroom which was tiled using ceramic and Travertine floor tiles. All rooms were finished using different styles to delineate one from the other. Locally sourced antique tiles were sourced for effect in some locations, whilst the entrance hallway floor was hand crafted using the same Stª Catarina tiles used throughout the rest of the property. Three colour Calçada was used for the driveway as homage to the style used by Silves Câmara.
All walls throughout the property were hand-finished in a rough-render "effect" to emulate the original style of plastering walls when the property was originally built. This style adds character to the walls and creates shadows and depth with different lights.
Inside lighting is a mix of modern and classic with touches of Moroccan influences. A Chandelier is the centre point of the dining room while LED bar lights, illuminate the kitchen, the bedroom and the underside of the spiral staircase. An illuminated wooden ceiling fan is the centre point in the bedroom with pin-lights hidden in the step activated by a sensor for night-time low-level lighting. The bathroom is an array of clever lighting with colour mood-changing LED's in the corner, under-counter low level lighting and modern inset spot lights in the ceiling.
Outside lighting was a challenging brief with the client wanting all outside lighting to be intuitive. A mixture of sensor activated LED flood lights, LED in-floor driveway lights and colour mood lights were used to highlight different areas of the property. Timers were used to automatically bring the lights on at night while movement sensors triggered certain lights to turn on when someone walked past, acting as illumination for the client and security lighting to warn off strangers.
WiFi and internet was paramount in the brief from the client with the necessity for all rooms to have strong network and internet. This was performed by our in-house networking division Pedigree Networking by mixing the latest Devolo Magic 2 powerline adaptors with Luxul networking switches and access points both inside and outside the house.
UK internet television was installed by our in-house audio / visual division ProjectionDreams in addition to a state-of-the-art Mirror television surrounded by a custom frame, mounted on a custom chimney breast with hidden speakers delivering incredible sound. A media centre stores the clients films, photos and music collection which can be viewed and played on any device connected to the secure internal network on any speaker inside or outside the property. Music is delivered through hidden speakers and 50's style American diner speakers in the kitchen via the latest HEOS systems by Denon.
The swimming pool area was pre-wired for outside sound to be installed at a later date.
The kitchen had to be bespoke due to the shape of the walls. A shaker design was chosen by the client and was custom built integrating a special order RangeMaster oven for that traditional "farmhouse" feel.