Test publication. Texts and photographs still under review.
Empatia Alvor · Algarve
Living, dining and kitchen of the two-bedroom apartment at Castelo de Alvor after the design, with slatted wooden panel and lit bookcase

Case study

Castelo de Alvor

A new apartment, handed over empty by the developer. Furniture, bespoke joinery and decoration, decided one stage at a time.

Projects · Castelo de Alvor

Type
Two-bedroom apartment
Location
Alvor
Scope
Furniture, bespoke joinery and decoration
Handover
2026
How it was

Ready to live in, and completely empty.

The developer handed the apartment over with the flooring laid, the ceilings painted, the windows fitted and the kitchen installed. Nothing else, inside or out on the patio, which was a concrete slab.

The owners live outside Portugal and come to the Algarve a few times a year. The project was followed at a distance, with meetings by video call and the site visits ours.

Empty living room, wooden floor and opening on the left, before the design
The living room on handover day.
Outdoor patio in bare concrete, before the design
The patio, still in concrete.
Stages 1 and 2 · Concept and 3D

What we showed before anything was bought.

Site visit, measured survey, base plans, layout and moodboard. With the concept approved, the home was built in 3D: materials, lighting and every piece where it would sit, seen at eye level. The essentials were decided here: the slatted wooden panel joining living room and kitchen, the lit bookcase, the bespoke television wall and the upholstered headboard. All approved in images before anything was ordered.

3D image of the living room with slatted panel, lit bookcase and blue armchair
Living room, in 3D.
3D image of the bedroom with upholstered headboard
Bedroom, in 3D.
Stages 3 and 4 · Technical drawings, selection and costing

The joiner receives something else.

The bespoke joinery was drawn in technical sheets, with the exact position of every element, so it could be built and installed as approved. Then came the final choice of furniture and textiles, supplier quotes and the dossier with figures, quantities and lead times. Only with that dossier in front of them did the clients commission the joinery and the furniture, on real figures rather than estimates.

What we showed, and what we delivered

The question everyone asks and almost no studio answers.

The images side by side, untouched. On the left the approved 3D, on the right the photograph of the home. Drag to compare.

Living room and kitchen
3D image of the living room Photograph of the living room after the works 3DPHOTO
Television wall
3D image of the television wall Photograph of the television wall after the works 3DPHOTO
How it turned out

Light comes in through the main opening and crosses the living area from side to side.

The living, dining and the passage to the kitchen were arranged around that light. Photographed in June 2026.

Living room towards the openings, with the garden and sun loungers outside
The living room towards the openings.
Bedroom with upholstered headboard and pink throw
Main bedroom, bespoke upholstered headboard.
Bedroom with arched mirror and cloud painting
Guest bedroom.
Before and after

From concrete to a place to sit.

The patio was a concrete slab on the day the apartment was handed over. Drag to compare.

Patio in concrete before the design Patio with lawn, planting and sun loungers BEFOREAFTER
Handover

They arrived to a home ready to use.

The last stage was ours from end to end: receiving and checking the material, managing orders and suppliers, installing the furniture and lighting, and the final styling. Before the owners returned, a snagging visit to settle the details that only show once everything is in place.

On the day they arrived, the key was waiting and the home was done.

This home started with a conversation

Yours can start the same way.

By video call or here, at our studio in Alvor. Tell us what you have in hand and we will be in touch within two working days, with no commitment on your part.

Talk to us