I’m a volcano

Graça Paz is an artist who likes to break rules. Her husband Fransisco da Costa designed their concrete house in northern Portugal with huge windows that frame the landscape and let in a stream of clear light all year round. Now Graça has filled the house with character and colour, the result is an inspiring home that celebrates self-expression…

The only rule I believe in is the Law of Attraction: if you think positive thoughts, good things will happen. Rules get in the way of creativity, they’re made to be broken. I met Fransisco at art college. It was love at first sight and we shared the same ideas – he is a true revolutionary. We married when I was 18. My mum went mad! That was the first rule we broke.

‘This house shows what happens when you throw out the rule book. Houses in northern Portugal are small and dark but we wanted somewhere big and light.

‘The walls are not rendered, as I believe even walls need to breathe. We mix old and new, urban and natural – I never throw furniture away. Fransisco and I work from home, but we’re flexible with our time. Well, the day is long!’