Tudo Bem!

Captivated by the allure of Lisbon, a globe-trotting design entrepreneur puts down roots in a former aristocrat's residence.

- JULIE LASKY 

When, in 2019, pandemic was still mostly a word in science fiction novels, Elad Yifrach picked up and moved to Portugal.

He had lost patience with New York's intensity, he says, speaking from his home in a former mansion on a hilltop in downtown Lisbon. Having grown up in the Mediterranean sunshine of Israel and later the mellow embrace of Los Angeles, he was attracted to the country, whose easy climate and lifestyle have led it to be called the California of Europe.

Yifrach is the founder and creative director of the luxury design company L'Objet. It is his habit to roam the world, collaborating with the artisans who make L'Objet's refined tableware and expressive furnishings. After growing fond of Portugal over many visits, he decided to move there, especially since he'd found the home of his dreams.

"You know that kind of place," he says. "It's the one you pass every day, always wondering who lives there." Located on the Avenida da Liberdade, the Champs-Élysées of Lisbon, the building that sparked his imagination dates from the early 19th century and has a massive arched entry of volcanic stone inset with an iron-studded wood door that could admit a team of oxen. An aristocratic family had occupied the mansion for 140 years before it was divided in the 1990s into two apartments, plus ground-level commercial space.