Good Company: A bookshop where design cultivates connection
Conceived by Studio Pim in Lisbon, Good Company is far more than just a bookshop: it is a space where design becomes a shared language, architecture becomes hospitality, and books serve as an excuse to inhabit time differently.
A new classic in the heart of Lisbon
For years now, Lisbon has been a magnet for creativity. Among historic cafés and new cultural venues, Good Company has flourished — the city’s largest English-language bookshop, offering a unique blend of literature, architecture, and community. Located in the Estrela district, this bookshop–café–bar is the realisation of a shared dream by Samuel Miller and Giovanna Centeno, a couple deeply passionate about language and publishing, with a vision to build bridges between the Lusophone and Anglophone worlds.
Their ambition was to create a welcoming, accessible space rooted in the identity of Lisbon but with a distinctly contemporary perspective. That vision was brought to life by Studio Pim, the architecture practice led by Perrine Velge, who translated their ideas into an environment that breathes memory, beauty, and belonging.
Emotional architecture: when design listens
The interior design of Good Company is marked by a quiet, almost literary sensibility. It doesn’t seek to impress, but to embrace. Spread over two levels (132 m² upstairs, 74 m² below), the layout and materials engage in a subtle dialogue between Lisbon’s design traditions and contemporary life.
At the centre of the space stands a striking marble bar, stretching across one side of the shop and symbolically linking the bookshop and café areas. Inspired by iconic Lisbon cafés like Café Nicola and Galeto, this structural gesture evokes a sense of urban continuity — a place that feels as though it’s “always been there”.
By the large windows, curved banquettes upholstered in a vibrant Pierre Frey fabric welcome visitors without interrupting the view of the street. Custom-designed light wood shelves by Studio Pim coexist with hand-painted ceramic frescoes by local artist Henriette Arcelin, in a homage to traditional Lisbon bookshops like the now-closed Aillaud e Lellos.
A beacon for the creative community
Everything at Good Company has been designed to last — and to connect. The large spherical lamp in the entrance hall acts as an urban beacon, visible from all four corners surrounding the building, and symbolises a desire to invite, attract, and gather. As night falls, coffee gives way to wine, conversation, and events: readings, book clubs, open mic nights. The bookshop becomes a meeting place, an extension of the city’s cultural life.
The selection of materials — marble, wood, Burel wool fabrics, and cotton lamps handwoven by Atelier Ubá — adds a tactile, almost domestic quality to the space. The lighting, entirely decorative and designed in-house, avoids technical spotlights in favour of a warm, enveloping atmosphere that mirrors the pleasure of slowly turning pages.
Reading with the body, thinking with the hands
Beyond its exquisitely curated catalogue — with a strong focus on art, design, non-fiction, and poetry — Good Company invites a different way of being. It’s not just about buying books, but about inhabiting them. As Perrine Velge explains, “We wanted the space to feel as if it had grown out of the city itself — rooted in its history, yet fresh and alive”.
The result is a bookshop that not only meets a cultural need, but elevates everyday experience into a form of quiet contemplation. A space where reading becomes an act of self-care.
“We read to know we’re not alone.” William Nicholson
Lisbon and the beauty of the essential
At a time when many bookshops struggle to survive in the digital age, Good Company stands as a powerful example of how design can create emotional and cultural value. Like other iconic bookshops around the world — Do You Read Me?! in Berlin, McNally Jackson in New York, or Ofr. in Paris — its strength lies in its attention to detail, aesthetic coherence, and authenticity of purpose.
With this project, Studio Pim proves that interior design can be much more than a beautiful wrapper: it can be the visible soul of an idea. And in Good Company, that idea is crystal clear — to read, to converse, to be… in good company.
(*) Photos courtesy of Studio Pim.
