Travel Palette: Quinta da Regaleria

Lush, Green, and Earthy

Feeling those explorer vibes and forest energy. This week’s travel palette is inspired by this image from Quinta da Regaleria in Sintra, Portugal. We’re recapping another one of my top adventures in Sintra: this fairytale-like experience at Quinta da Regaleria. 

Want to find out how I created this Quinta da Regaleria inspired color palette? Keep on reading. First, learn a bit about this interesting site and then learn about the palette and colors. After that, I’ll share how to bring some green, luscious forest vibes into your space or project. 

The travel palettes series was created to expand creative horizons and explore the correlation between travel, inspiration, colors, textures, and design.

About Quinta da Regaleria

Quinta da Regaleria feels like a place straight out of an enchanted fairytale. For instance, there are caves to explore, dramatic towers and initiation wells, palaces, beautiful ponds, and more. I grabbed my favorite hat and went into explorer-mode to check out all the gems this site had to offer.

Quinta da Regaleria is an estate that includes a palace, chapel, and has amazing grounds with a variety of features. For example, the estate is surrounded by 10 acres of land which contains forested areas, paths, caves, ponds, grottoes, tunnels, and more. The photos below showcases just a few of the unique areas I stumbled upon while exploring. Quinta da Regaleria is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The palace and site are a blend of Gothic, Roman, Renaissance, and Manueline styles. Also, one unique site in the estate is the Initiation Well. The tower has two staircases, one leading down and one leading up that was used for initiation rituals.

Curious about the other sites to explore at Quinta da Regaleria and other things to do in Sintra? See my blog post:  Must-See Sites in Sintra, Portugal.

Want to see how magical this location is and see the stunningly dramatic initiation well, caves and grottoes?  After reading, check out my travel video: This is Portugal.

COLOR INSPIRATION 

Quinta da Regaleria Inspired Color Palette

This week’s travel palette was inspired by this lush and green scene taken on the estate of Quinta da Regaleria in Sintra, Portugal. This masonry turret is covered in moss and green plants and surrounded by an enchanting forest. The masonry grays and the plants’ various shades of green make up this palette. For example, yellow-green and mid-green colors are picked up from the lighter foliage growing along with the stone. The deeper olive green is from the moss on the stone. The light gray and mid grays are picked up from the stone tower. As a result, the analogous palette created a harmonious, relaxing ensemble, and connects to nature and earthiness. 

The sources of each color are indicated below and then matched with a Pantone color. 

SOURCED COLORS

PANTONE COLOR MATCHES  

PALETTE

This palette helps bring the outdoors in. Biophilic design is not only trendy, but it has been proven that it has beneficial effects on your health and wellbeing. Welcome to biophilic bliss. Inspired by all the lush greenery and rustic stone masonry, this palette embodies the essence of the inspiration image. 

Imitating the lush foliage is this preserved moss by Garden on the Wall. The plants inspired the chartreuse green and mid-green. The texture is brought out by the gray stone pavers and light gray wallcovering, which showcases the patina and aged look. The palette is tied together by this plaid-like textured upholstery from HBF and olive green upholstery representing the various greenery in the photo.

All materials are described and linked below.    

Palette Materials

Plants and Moss: Preserved Moss

 Garden on the Wall – Gardens with Foliage

First off, bringing this palette to life is this preserved moss from Garden on the Wall. It is a great way to incorporate biophilic design in a space. This product is maintenance-free, has sound-absorbing qualities, and can be customizable for logos and branding. I love how this perfectly represents the greenery growing along with the stone in the photo.

Plants: Light Green Vinyl Upholstery

Maharam – Apt – Chartreuse

 Up next, we’re bringing back some vibes of the past Chartreuse obsession with this upholstery from Maharam. The Apt upholstery in the color Chartreuse is so lovely. The green is soft, fresh, and a modern-looking granny smith apple color? Is that a thing? I made it a thing.

Moss & Plants: Green Textured Upholstery

HBF Textiles – Happy Camper – Tent

Next up is Happy Camper. I am a huge fan of this pattern. Happy Camper is textured and dynamic, but still subtle. For instance, it has a subtle plaid patterning but the texture is highlighted from afar.  The upholstery is masculine and sophisticated, yet inviting and soft. This upholstery nicely blends in the shades of green with warm streaks of orange. Therefore, this plays tricks on the eyes to help bring out the olive color. This retro vibe is winning in my book. 

 

 

Plants: Green Cork Board

Claridge Cork Board – Lettuce

I couldn’t create a palette inspired by Portugal without bringing some cork into the palette. Portugal is the number one producer of cork in the world. Portugal makes up 50% of the world’s cork supply. This cork from Claridge is a lovely green and nicely pairs with the other materials. Above all, a cork bulletin board is a great way to bring some color into a space without sacrificing function. 

Stone: Cobblestone Pavers

Sabine Hill – Nicco Pavers – Nero

Loving that masonry look? Sabine Hill’s Nicco pavers will give you just that aesthetic! These pavers are handmade from concrete. They bring an artisanal and rustic element into the palette. Above all, the pavers were the perfect element in the palette to represent the 19th-century masonry in the inspiration image. 

Stone Texture & Patina: Light Gray Wallcovering

Innovations – Cava – Mirny

The backdrop for this palette is this wallcovering from Innovations. The Cava collection has a distressed and aged look. The variation in color and the patina look of Mirny represented the patinaed stone.

Moss: Olive Colored Upholstery

Knoll – Crossroad – Fern

Finally, representing the moss on the stone is this upholstery by Knoll Textiles. Crossroads, in the color Fern, has a rich olive color. In other words, this color is nice because it does not feel too muddy and is a true olive match to the moss. Also, this nice solid woven upholstery contains recycled content. 

 

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I hope you enjoyed this Quinta da Regaleria inspired color palette!  More travel palettes coming soon!

In addition to this post, check out other sites to visit in Sintra here: Must-See Sites in Sintra, Portugal

Also, check out my last travel palette that was also inspired by Sintra: Travel Palette: Pena Palace Color Palette