It’s been two weeks since the 2021 Elle Décor magazine’s A-List of top interior designers was announced. Though I have been on this esteemed list for more than two decades, it was an utter surprise to have been selected as one of two dozen industry TITANS. Apparently, the Titan honor roll celebrates exceptionally influential talents, which I must say, is quite humbling.
Personally, there is a juxtaposed of feeling bafflement while simultaneously feeling profoundly rewarded for reaching this point. Without a formal education beyond high school, I pressed through early adversity as a Cuban refugee with severe dyslexia, that made traditional schooling near impossible, coupled with bountiful early failures. After moving to New York as a young man, I’d been fired from many jobs; trust me, it was not an easy path. I could only rely on my own tenacious appetite to learn by exposing myself to things that inspired me; training myself to trust my gut and fight for my principals. My fortune began changing with the exposure of my work in design publications that in no small way propelled my career.
But each day there were always new opportunities to conquer challenges. In my early years it was difficult, even scary dealing with project hiccups (there were many) and clients (enough said). Through experience – and a confidence that can only be achieved by experience will a budding design firm learn to properly deal with the ‘business of design.’ Adding to that is today’s unfortunate pace of the world that’s increased exponentially – thank you internet, which adds another layer to instability and vulnerability.
For these reasons I find myself embracing my role as a mentor. Recently, I also had the honor of judging a magazine’s Home Design Awards. All this have afforded me the opportunity to become acquainted with young designers and their work as they are launching their careers. I cannot help putting myself in their shoes. With the shifting availability of media and the plethora of design information at everyone’s fingertips, their paths will necessarily be different than mine. Young interior designers are certainly challenged to gain footing in their chosen industry.
From where I stand, it’s critical that novices define their business goals. Do they want more clients? Higher profit margins? Would they want to work in partnership? Seek media acclaim? Or simply preserve a sustainable, livable practice. However, their business is sculpted, they must develop their own style vision and to maintain professionalism in all presentations and practices.
What a surprise; I never thought I’d appear on a list like this. Here’s what the editors at Love Happens magazine wrote:
While we love women at Love Happens, we also love men! And regardless of gender, we love innovative, inspiring designs! So, in celebration of male design talent around the world, we have curated this list of 25 of the most charming male interior designers and architects. Not only are their designs beautiful, so are they :)!
What They Said About Me
For decades, Vicente Wolf has been at the top of the interior design world, known for his inspired residential, hospitality, and commercial interior design. He has perfected the vocabulary of modern design with a strong reference to the past. When he is not guiding his design team, he takes photographs, gardens, attends the theater, visits museums, and travels to remote corners of the world.
“Vicente is a delightful combination of funny and dead-pan, hard-working yet an escapist, political and unconscious, political and concerned – all mixed into a Latino interior and covered in a shell of New York sophistication.”
Vicente Wolf, a 1998 Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee, has stood at the pinnacle of the industry for many decades. In 2019, his eponymous firm celebrated its 45th anniversary, an occasion many would use to celebrate the past, but Wolf’s creative engine moves in one direction: forward. The designer, photographer, and five-time book author is very much inspired and informed by his frequent travels, during which he sources artifacts and furnishings for his modern-minded interiors and his showroom, VW Home by Vicente Wolf. Always moving, he takes time out of his busier-than-ever schedule to reflect on the current cultural moment and his recent work.
Spot-on article on the union of my two passions by Dickson T. Wong for 1st Dibs
The A-list designer shares his expertise on choosing authentic objects and displaying them with style
For several months each year, New York designer Vicente Wolf makes it a point to leave city life behind and go completely off the grid. “There is an extraordinary richness I feel when I travel to off-the-beaten-path places, such as Madagascar, Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam,” says Wolf, who has spent decades exploring these Eastern locales and other far-flung regions around the world. “You have to step out of your daily experience.”
He has also spent many years collecting treasures from these areas — including decorative objects, sculptures and artifacts — and a handful of them have made their way into his showroom, VW Home. Over time, he has developed an expert eye for those rare items that convey a unique sense of place and represent the culture they belong to.
“Traveling to these non-tourist destinations allows me to mix with the people of these cultures and discover the essence of the objects they’ve created,” says Wolf. “There is something pure about their forms, techniques and materials that brings the spirit back to a place of calm.”
Here, Wolf shares a few pearls of wisdom about spotting one-of-a-kind pieces in the Far East and beyond and blending them into your home.
In my 45 years at the top of the design industry, I have had the pleasure of working with many high-profile clients including international hotels and restaurants. Still feeling like the lad who immigrated from Cuba, I am so very humbled by the attention given to my work. They’ve described me as a visionary, trailblazer, pioneer and yes, a genius. What compliments – and a little embarrassing. Starting in the industry in the early 1970’s as a stock boy at a wallpaper showroom in the D+D, I quickly moved on to salesman, then, connecting with interior designer Bob Patino we formed Patino/Wolf Associates. In 1988, I formally opened Vicente Wolf Associates – and in 1999, VW HOME. where I make treasured items such as authentic tribal artifacts sourced on my annual treks to remote areas, as well and other collections available to designers and design enthusiasts.
Early on, my name became synonymous with white rooms, earning the moniker “The White Knight.” I have also played a big part in introducing high gloss walls, leaning mirrors, curved sofas, leather sectionals on wheels, the photo picture ledge, use of black and white photographs and over-sized, upholstered ottomans as coffee tables into contemporary residential design. Having been blessed with a unique eye, I have been honored with appearing on every top designer list, in every important shelter publication and created product collections for numerous manufacturers and authored 4 design books (and working on my 5th). Given all of these accolades, I am most proud of receiving an Honorary Doctorate degree from Boston Architectural College in 2012.
And a huge thank you to all of the publications that have recognized my work. For example, I have been one of the ten most influential designers in the US by House Beautiful, inducted into the Designer Hall of Fame by Interior Design Magazine, repeatedly on Elle Décor’s A-List, recognized by Traditional Home as a Top 20 Designer, named by Architectural Digest as a Top 100 Designer, awarded the Innovator in Design by Cottages & Gardens and recently appeared in the celebrated book INTERIOR DESIGN: The 100 Most Influential Designers of the last 100 Years (Vendome, 2018). I’ve enjoyed creating the numerous show house spaces I’ve been privileged to do, including the prestigious Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which I will again be participating in for 2019.
The paradox of doors is that their function as space
dividers actually unites two disparate areas.
In one respect, they serve as everyday portals from the known to the
unknown. Doors in fact, may be an
overlooked element of interior design. Selecting
a door that makes a design statement or complements the décor of the space is one
that ‘opens’ new possibilities.
Here’s my favorite of the four doors I selected that I
repurposed for interior use:
Sure, this Rising Star
door is made for yachts. Yet, as
designers we are constantly seeking to achieve the unexpected; challenge the use
of materials within our work. Consider
that this door brings a sense of humor and a nautical element to an
interior. I’ve used it as an entry to
the children’s lower level playroom – and it worked fantastically.
Click here to see the all my door picks for the ARCHETYPE article
posted in Aspire Design + Home
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