Meet Vicente Wolf | Interior Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vicente Wolf and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vicente, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I never did well working for other people. I have always had a very clear idea of what my style and tastes are and have never been able to compromise them. When I realized that I had better solutions, I knew it was time to go out on my own. First I started with a dear partner, Bob Patino, which lasted a good few years. Then in 1988, I launched Vicente Wolf Associates, which has continued to nourish my creative juices to this day.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For nearly 50 years, I have been been an internationally renowned interior design trailblazer. Early on, starting in the mid 1970’s, I became a force in the home furnishings revolution, changing the vocabulary of interior design into a sleeker, modern vision rivaling the heavy, European-style interiors that were in vogue. Known for high gloss white spaces, I earned the moniker “The White Knight.” A passionate traveler, my annual jaunts to exotic destinations such as Burma, India and Thailand provide him with a global perspective that I weave into my residential and hospitality designs. Incorporating these authentic artifacts and furnishings with modern décor in a warm, neutral palette captures a sense of earthy charisma, timelessness, and soul. In 1999 I opened VW Home by Vicente Wolf showroom adjacent to his design studio, making these finds available to other designers and design enthusiasts alike.

My work has graced the pages of all the top shelter publications and received many of the industry’s top distinctions. Prestigious honors include perpetual listings on Elle Décor’s A-List, AD 100 and has been a NY Spaces Top 50 Designer, Cottages & Gardens Innovator of the Year, Inductee into Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame and House Beautiful magazine’s 10 most influential designers, to name a few. In 2021 he was included in the inaugural, ultra-select group of design influencers on Elle Décor magazine’s TITAN A-List. My impressive portfolio spans multinational conglomerates and private homes to hotels and restaurants across the globe. Select celebrity clients include Julianna Margulies, Bryan Cranston, Twyla Tharp, Prince and Princess von Furstenberg, Marianne Williamson and Clive Davis. Commercial work includes Wynn Resorts, NY Westin Hotel, Joyce Theater and most recently, nationwide Saatva mattress viewing rooms.
In addition to interior design, I am an international speaker, author of five books, collector, lauded retailer and celebrated visionary. As a refugee from Cuba, I found success despite having no formal education beyond high school – and being severely dyslexic. In 2012, I accepted an honorary PHD in Design & Architecture from Boston Architectural College.

I take pride in being an active Trustee of God’s Love We Deliver.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Magazine editors who recognized that I was onto new things and gave my work exposure. All of my clients who have trusted me to do their homes, some of them multiple residences. All of the office staff who has ever worked for me – I would not be where I am without their ongoing support.

Website: https://vicentewolf.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vicentewolfdesigns/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vicente-wolf-associates-inc/mycompany/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VicenteWolfAssociates

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@vicentewolfdesigns

Image Credits
Vicente Wolf Headshot by Julien Capmiel