So you’ve decided to move to Portugal? Looking for a new home was a bit of a struggle, but you finally found it. Now it’s time to furnish it and there are a few things you need to know about Portugal as there are some must-haves you can’t miss in your new home. Without further ado, here are 8 home essentials, and if you read to the end, I’m throwing a bonus one.
1. Dehumidifier
Being so close to the Atlantic, especially in winter, Portugal can be humid. Add in the pot the historical construction of some of the houses and buildings here and you have the recipe for never drying clothes if you don’t have a dryer. This is also why it feels so cold even though the thermometer shows 15ºC outside. Hence why the first must-have on this list is a dehumidifier. This thing will save your life and wallet in winter and make your home cozier.
You can buy a dehumidifier everywhere in Portugal in places like Fnac, Leroy Merlin, and Worten, or online on Amazon. I bought the cheapest option at Worten (I believe Becken is also their brand) and works like a charm. You just need to make sure that the power of the dehumidifier matches the size of the room.
2. Dryer
I always found it beautiful and lively how the hung outside clothes made Portugal look. But comes winter and the humid season, good luck making them dry outside without it taking 2 days and stinking of humidity. Now there are two solutions to this problem: you can either use a combination of dehumidifier and heater or if you have the space, a dryer/washer-dryer is your best friend (you can also go to the nearest laundromat to use their dryer but that would not be in your home anymore, would it).
I was on the first option for a long time but I’ve recently set my eyes on the LG washer-dryer option as I only have the space for one machine.
3. Heater
As you probably noticed during your housing hunt, and despite the lack of isolation and bone-chilling humid cold especially in more historical buildings, lots of spaces don’t have pre-installed heaters. That’s why you will have to buy a few before winter comes if your house is not well isolated.
There are multiple types of heaters out there, which is why I’ll only give you the option that I chose. Even though the price was a bit steep at first I went for an HJM inertia radiator (you can find it on Amazon or Leroy Merlin) as it consumes little electricity and will warm the room equally like a central heater would.
For the coziest of you and to save even more on electricity consumption, pair the heater with the dehumidifier (dry air heat faster) and you will never get out of the house again.
4. Linen curtains
I think I have talked enough about winter now. After all, one of the reasons we live in Portugal is to enjoy warmer weather. In summer though, the temperature often flirts with 40ºC and it is important to keep inside our home cool. Enter into the ring linen curtains.
I chose linen, and I would also recommend a cream or white color for the curtain because it will give your home that perfect diffused light when the sun hits it. It’s also natural and will give your room the Mediterranean feel of Portugal. But, back to what I was saying if you don’t want to live with your shutters closed and in the dark like locals often do here you will need curtains, so you can let the air in but not the sun.
I went for a natural-colored linen one from AM.PM bought on La Redoute.
5. Fan or AC
Now that we have blocked the sun from entering your cozy home, it’s time to lower those degrees on the thermometer. You have three options here:
- Fan
- Air cooler
- Air conditioner
The fan is by far your cheapest option but it might not be enough in August when even the hot air from outside is trying to suffocate you.
Aircool is probably the best middle option if you want something better than a fan without breaking the bank on buying and installing AC in your house. It will allow you to humidify the air coming towards you and subsequently decrease its temperature. I went for this option, and if I have one tip is to keep your windows slightly open while using it if you don’t want to recreate the bayou in your room.
Finally, the AC will be the most efficient at cooling your room but it is also the most expensive option regarding purchase, installation, and electricity bill. For a smaller price, you can go for the portable versions of ACs but they need a special type of widows to make it work.
6. Thermometer with humidity detection
As you probably understand by now, to make your home as cozy as possible regardless of the season you will have to track and play with both humidity and temperature. That’s why I would recommend buying a few thermometers that also track humidity for every room in your house.
I went for this cheap and wall sticking option from Amazon and keeping humidity at around 50% is the name of the game.
7. Carpets (with soundproof underlay)
If you like the charm of historical buildings like me, you know that both thermic and sound isolation is a challenge. While my neighbors are nice people, I don’t need to hear them or about them when I’m on my couch.
This is where a thick carpet comes into play. Not only will it decorate your home but it will also add that extra layer of isolation to make sure you are not a bystander in your neighbor table conversation.
If just a carpet doesn’t do the trick you buy soundproof underlays that will glue under your carpet or buy soundproof carpets / acoustic rugs (like the one drummers use but more decorative). The thickness of the underlay will depend on the isolation of your house.
8. Noise-canceling headphones
If our carpets + underlay trick is still not cutting it then the last entry in our must-haves are noise-cancelling headphones. While everybody wants to be able to live in their cocoon without hearing too much noise coming from the city or the neighbors, sometimes you also just need a break.
I use the Sony earphones when my neighbors, the cars, the gardeners, and construction workers have decided to start an unscheduled jam session/concert and these things just save my life.
Bonus. A ceramic swallow
As promised here is a bonus one. You need to have a ceramic swallow in your home and fix it above your entry door. Tradition in Portugal says that swallows represent, home, love, family, and happiness. Might as well take all your chances at having the best time living in Portugal.
So what did you think about our home essentials? You can find more essentials shared by our community here. Join and help us build the perfect place for expats in Portugal.
