27/03/2026
Many smaller cities — like my hometown of Columbus, Ohio — have zero hotels that would be considered true “design hotels” (or good/sophisticated ones, anyway). Meanwhile Porto, Portugal, which isn’t even a third of the size of Columbus, somehow has two. This is thanks in part to Daniela Franceschini of Lisbon’s , who designed The Rebello back in 2023, and in part to Massimiliano Salé and Jeremiah Healy, who hired her to work her magic on their own charming property, .cedo, which opened this past November. The hotel has only 8 guest rooms — plus a bar, lounge, dining room, and reception that doubles as a flower shop — but its interiors are just as ambitious as any boutique property you’d find in Paris or New York.
The building itself is a 150-year-old single-family home that was restored by local firms Atelier in.vitro and VOF, with a new upper floor and back building added and as many salvaged tiles, beams, and other materials as possible reused in the new spaces. Inside, Franceschini employed richly painted walls, large-scale artworks, and a thoughtful choreography of vintage and contemporary furnishings, among them a 1960s Torbecchia sideboard by Giovanni Michelucci, lights by Project 213A, and a recurring series of wooden tables with ziggurat cutouts and tiled tops that were designed by Franceschini in collaboration with Porto’s . Porto may not have the same pull that Lisbon does, but in addition to the stunning Pepto-pink Serralves museum, Casa Cedo adds a compelling reason to make the detour.
From our March 26 newsletter. Subscribe in bio!!
