Primary, Playful, and Vibrant.
Hold on to your hats. We’re traveling back to Portugal ya’ll. Oh yes, this week’s travel palette is inspired the Pena Palace in Sintra Portugal. Get ready for a Pena Palace Color Palette. Portugal is one of my all-time favorite places and visiting Sintra was one of my all-time favorite adventures. It was only a matter of time until I relived this amazing day, again.
Pena palace is quite the inspiration with its vibrant colors, beautiful tiles, and overall magic fairytale vibes. Come with me on this journey and learn how to bring a little Pena Place into your space.
The travel palettes series was created to expand creative horizons and explore the correlation between travel, inspiration, colors, textures, and design.
About Pena Palace
Oh man, this place, this day trip is one of the top travel highlights of my life so far. Just making this blog post makes me so happy. I get to relive this moment through memories and I love how this palace translated into a fun palette.
If you can’t tell from the photos, I am one happy bean. I’d go back to Portugal no doubt.
Okay, let me tell you a little bit about Pena Palace.
Nestled on top of one of the peaks in the Sintra mountains, the Pena Palace boldly lies. This colorful palace was created by King Ferdinand II and was used as a summer residence for the royal family. The Moorish and Manueline (late Portuguese gothic) influences and details are total eye candy for a designer like myself. The palace is surrounded by lush forests and beautiful gardens leaving lots to explore.
Want to learn more about Sintra and other places to check out? See my blog post: Must-See Sites in Sintra, Portugal
Need to see it to believe it? Check out my travel video: This is Portugal.
COLOR INSPIRATION
Pena Palace Inspired Color Palette
This week’s travel palette was inspired by the colorful and vibrant exterior of the Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal. The palace is unique for its vibrant red and yellow facade and colorful blue tiles. The facade’s primary colors drove this week’s palette. The additional colors are from the light white stone ledge and deeper cornflower blue rooftop. This triadic palette creates a colorful, balanced, and rich palette, with shades that evoke playfulness without feeling juvenile.
The sources of each color are indicated below and then matched with a Pantone color.
SOURCED COLORS
PANTONE COLOR MATCHES
PALETTE
This palette is a primary example (okay, I got that pun out of me, thanks for bearing with me) of how to play with primary colors. Pena palace is uniquely made up of red, yellow, and blue hues. The focal point of the palette is the patterned tile from Fireclay. Fireclay’s tile uniquely ties in the white, blue, and yellow of the palette. This palette has waves of yellow, a splash of red, and shades of blue representing the many colors of the palace. Having a variety of textures makes this palette a fun and invigorating without feeling too elementary. All the materials are described and linked below!
Palette Materials
Palace Facade – Yellow: Yellow Textured Upholstery
New Product Alert! Wolf Gordon – Roy – Lemon
Providing some color and texture in this palette is this textured upholstery from Wolf Gordon. This unique texture provides some visual interest and can be used for diverse applications.

Palace Tile Facade: Fireclay Handpainted Tile
I mean, can we say stunning?! I’m obsessed with this handpainted tile from Fireclay. This Moorish tile looks similar to the tile on Pena Palace, which has Moorish influences. The tile contains the sunny yellow, deep periwinkle, and cream colors featured in the palette. It makes it so perfect for coordinating with the other materials and tying everything together.

Palace Facade – Yellow: Yellow Tile
Fireclay Tile – Toulumne Meadows
Complementing the patterned tile is this handmade glazed tile from Fireclay in the color Toulumne Meadows. I love this bright and sunny color and how it ties in with the other colors and materials in the palette. Pair it with the Moorish Knot tile for a stellar combination.

Palace Roof: Cornflower Blue Wallcovering
Koroseal- Mojave II – Cornflower
Representing the roof of the ceiling is the wallcovering from Koroseal. The wallcovering is a classic cornflower blue color with a subtle texture. It pairs nicely with the highly textured and graphic elements in the palette resulting in a more balanced palette.

Palace Facade – Red: Red Felted Upholstery
Bernhardt Textile – Cielo – Flame
This upholstery from Bernhardt represents the red portions of the palace. This upholstery has hints of the golden yellow, further coordinating with the palette. The felted texture has a similar visual aesthetic to the actual facade of the building, which is a win!

Palace Detailing: Cream Textured Wallcovering
Bringing in the creamy white tones in this palette is this wallcovering from Maharam. This textured upholstery has a linen feel. It has a white background with the light blue-gray speckled color that coordinates with the light blue upholstery shown in the palette. This wallcovering is a great option to serve as a backdrop for the palette while adding some visual some interest.

Palace Facade: Light Blue Leather Upholstery
How dreamy is this soft blue color, Whirlpool, that is part of Maharam’s Brush leather collection? I wish there was a “feel” feature on the blog because this leather is so soft! It has a soft and buttery feeling. This would be the perfect upholstery option for a statement piece that introduces color while not being too bold. This blue balances out the darker blue wallcovering in the wallcoverings and the tile.

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I hope you enjoyed this Pena Palace color palette! More travel palettes coming soon!
Here are my other sites to visit in Sintra here: Must-See Sites in Sintra, Portugal
Check out another colorful travel palette here: Travel Palette: Featuring Mural “The Love I Vibrate”

1 Comment
Eve
Thank you for your recommendation of Touch of Sand. It makes the rooms feel relaxed, warm, and larger.