Ricardo Flora, great-grandson of the Italian toy dealer Biagio Flora, is the architect in charge of the all the rehabilitation project of the n. 13 of Rua Anchieta, in Chiado, a building that was bought by Biagio Flora at the beginning of the last century. From the old structure Ricardo Flora kept the architectural plans for the common areas, left the ancient master-walls with its anti-seismic Saint Andrew crosses shape, preserved the old stairs with the tiles topped by a beautiful skylight decorated with the original mural painting, reused old woods in the creation of pieces of furniture and maintained the window covers throughout the second floor.
Past and present intertwine in an inspirational space where you can appreciate the patina of the wood and antique iron pieces but also enjoy the comfort of contemporary design. The beauty of the old tiles is not left by the staircase but spreads to the apartments in the form of headboards, fireplaces and baseboards that coexist with the furniture of the renowned Brazilian designer Jader Almeida.
In all apartments there are black and white pictures by Rui Palha, a Portuguese photographer, with details of Lisbon as a way to invite you to discover the city and find out more about it. The also common copper-colored ceiling lamps by Tom Dixon are set to perfection in a love story where the modern elevator will always be a gentleman for the original stairs.
More than 100 years after Biagio Flora launched the famous “Bazar Novo Mundo” toy store - which later became “Biagio Flora”, located on Rua do Ouro in Rossio – it’s up to his descendents now to present Lisbon with The Flora Chiado Apartments.
