Tell us a bit about Maison de Base, how did it come about?

We began the Maison de Base instagram account when we were living in Paris. We lived on one of the busiest streets in the 9th arrondissement & as time went by we started craving a more tranquil environment in our home, one more in touch with nature & creating which is what led to the account which basically started as a mood board for how we wanted to live. Inspired by natural building & natural materials in living spaces, we aren't minimalists but we like things very very simple, we are constantly trying to simplify our lives. I think our love for little simple homes that are handbuilt stems from this. This, along with historical & vernacular buildings really inspire Maison de Base, as does nature. As our account started to gain momentum we realised that there was a lifestyle beyond the city that we were longing for & that was resonating with others. We decided to put our money where our heart was & build a home with just the two of us in the Portuguese countryside side, using natural materials were possible & with little to no physical help from outside sources.

Tell us about your move from Paris to Portugal…

When we first got to Portugal after deciding enough was enough in Paris, were instantly drawn to the Serra da Gardunha for its natural beauty & abundance of water, fruit orchids & olive trees. Our farm, Quinta da Cistus was an old olive oil farm with a small vineyard, with mountain views & stone terraces. It really was magic & the total opposite of the tiny apartment we had been living in together before, when we first saw it we had no idea it would become our reality as we had only visited the area once before. The Serra da Gardunha is the second largest mountain in Portugal, & the area was quite uninhabited when we moved there, however, our village was gaining popularity with expats coming over looking for inexpensive farm land with stone barns to restore, when we sold the farm it took just 3 days to sell which was crazy. The area is full of cherry orchids, olive farms & small vineyards. The towns are small but well preserved & there are many historical buildings, its an area for lovers of nature & tranquility.

The moment you found the perfect spot, what was it like?

The realtor images for the property were terrible so we almost didn't see it but halfway through the viewing the real estate agent went to have lunch, I think he thought we weren't really going to buy anything, & we decided, this was it. It was an abandoned property so it took us a long time before we moved onto the farm, we spent nearly 6 months clearing the land & we camped out many times in the old shed on the farm. Looking back it was quite crazy but we had so much fun.

What was your vision for the project?

Initially, we were looking for a renovation project but we just couldn't find the right thing. We had been researching a lot about natural building at the time and when we found the plot we thought maybe we could build our own house, which is what we ended up doing using mostly recycled materials and clay soils from the land. We found these great windows and doors that someone gave us from their renovation project and we really ended up designing the house around those as using passive solar was very important to us so it worked out perfectly.

What inspired you to work with natural materials?

I could write a book about all the benefits of natural materials and any chance we have to use them or work with them we always do. I think something about natural materials that people have kind of missed the point about, is they should be local to your environment and suit the project you are using them for. For us, there is no point in bringing in natural materials that are not local to your surroundings. We were able to build that style of house because of the soil composition of clay and sand on the land and the abundance of stones. If we had been further south in a more agricultural area we probably would have chosen a straw bale house instead, as there is more straw than clay available for example. I think if you keep these things in mind it eliminates a lot of challenges as you have everything you need on-site.

What were the most interesting results?

Something wonderful about building a house out of a natural materials with such thick walls is that you can often let the material speak for itself in the creation of its shape & form. Many of the walls in the house were not perfectly straight & often we never tried to correct the angels to make them so, we found it a lovely process of letting go of convention & how we perceive the way things “should” be. We let the material do it’s thing, not ever seeking total perfection & just allowing it to lay as it may. The result was subtle angles that we think are just beautiful & not something that can be easily achieved with conventional materials

Tell us about the details, & some of your favourite spots.

The best part about building the eco house was selecting the details of the project. We loved seeing how different textures & materials can work in harmony. The walls were finished in a sponged lime render which gave a wonderful texture & we complimented this texture with the use of a natural lime paint to help smooth over some areas & also to create a wonderful mottled appearance that lime paints do so well. One of our favourite spots in eco house was the tiny dining nook. The light was magic at all hours. It was really a small space but we love cooking & sharing food with friends & family so it was important to us to find a little corner in the house for enjoying home cooked meals, wine & conversations.

Let’s talk about ‘responsibility’ & 'community' in building & creating, what are your thoughts on that.

I think we all have a huge responsibility to practice more sustainable building & creating, it's not always easy to find this balance these days with modern building & renovations causing so much damage to the environment & then all the packaging for products we ship around the world. We are all guilty of using too much & doing too little, including ourselves. We often have long discussions about how we hope things to be, or how we can do something differently, about creating communities where we can grow, share & teach each other different skills & practices. It's a long conversation & one we should all be having. I love using pieces that are made in collaboration with communities, our handwoven jute rug at the quinta was chosen from @thedharmadooreu who work with women in remote rural areas to help empower them out of a cycle of poverty using their skills.

What was the community like in the mountains?

We had some really lovely neighbours, both local & ex-pats, most are farmers who have lived there all their lives & others have escaped like we did to live more simply on a homestead or something similar. Many people were doing beekeeping, permaculture, & natural building. I would say on the whole everyone is super welcoming to newcomers & willing to lend a hand if you need it, which is rare these days.

Are there any artisans or makers in Portugal that you worked with or wanted to?

Our local wood mill in the mountains was my favourite place ever & the guys who own it are incredibly talented. There are so many amazing makers in Portugal, some others that I have on my list are Fabrica Alentejana Lanificios, Ric Ceramics, Malga Ceramic Design, Flores Textile Studio, & of course the clay tile makers in Santa Catarina in the Algarve if we ever settle for a beach house…

You've spoken before about finding perfection in imperfection when creating, tell us more about this…

I think this is a concept that resonates with so many even if they recognise it or not. The things we find most appealing always tend to have some underlying quirk to them. It can be found anywhere really, whether it be a cute gap in someone's front teeth or their freckles, to a homemade dish only your grandmother makes that won't win any Michelin stars but gives you a feeling of comfort, to handmade items & interiors. There is always a joy to be found between the lines of so-called perfection

What happened that meant you decided to leave Portugal?

When we were building the house, we were both working remotely to cover costs, & when Covid hit, we both lost our remote income in an instant & at that time we just weren't quite set up enough to sustain finishing the house & getting our business up & running financially so we had to make the hard choice to sell. Fortunately the effort we put into creating & restoring that beautiful spot paid off & the farm sold very quickly to owners we hope will continue our dream.

Tell us about some of your fondest memories from the project…

We often refect on this, really the learning process was the most rewarding when it came to the building itself, & the moments that really stand out to us are quite mundane. Little moments spent with our bees or cows, or making wine from our vines, or watching the sunset on the mountain after a long day of work. It's really the little things that we remember the most & that made us smile.

Where are you now?

At the moment we are living in Puglia in Italy in a gorgeous village called Oria. The old architecture in Southern Italy is so beautiful. The house has huge star vaulted ceilings which are common here but never fail to amaze. We only have a small courtyard & no farm which we miss dearly, but we have a fantastic home studio which we love. Gosh we have so many ideas & goals, some I mentioned already with food & wine, we hope to travel a bit more with our dogs & just enjoy our life together. We would love to get a bit closer to wild nature again this year so let's see where the road takes us....

Do you feel drawn to come back, one day, to Portugal?

There is so much we didn't see, especially in the North of the country. We would love to go to Braga & the Minho area, also the black pottery from Braganca is of great interest to us & we would love to own some of those pieces directly from the artisans there.