Interior Design Philosophy – Exclusive Interview With Jorge Cañete

Interior Design Philosophy is celebrating its 10th anniversary and Boca do Lobo had the privilege to talk with the founder designer, Jorge Cañete, about his passion by interior design and luxury furniture. Canete’s work is more than a job, is way of living. Materializing emotions that come from a poetical vision of the world, this interior designer is able to create unique spaces and a sense of belonging.

Being in love with our work is always the key to achieve better results. Are you in love with your job? What do you love the most about being an interior designer?

I strongly believe in encounters: encounters with clients, with artists, with brands and with places. Nothing is there by chance. I love my job because each time we can write a new story. I love the sentence of the poet Paul Eluard: There is no such thing as chance, only encounters.

Do you have a favorite project or a favorite story behind one of your projects?

Not really. Each project has its own melody, its own dimension and character. But it is true that I rather prefer to work directly with the person who will live in the house, and a little bit less for institutional project. I love to work with clients that are looking for the same: a poetic vision of the world with a contemporary twist!

How important is a good chemistry between you and your clients to achieve better results?

We believe that interior design should be emotional. We design projects that reflect and materialize client’s emotions. For that, listening and raising wise questions about what values are important for them is crucial in our philosophy.

To conquer such a demanding audience, is truly important to be informed about the latest trends on the field. How do you do this?

By being very closed to contemporary artists, it is a great way to perceive a glance of the future. Artists are always ahead miles away and this is always a great challenge and source of inspiration. It is all a matter of encounters. Recently I meet a Spanish artist, Laura Sebastianes and I was fascinated how she combines tradition and modernity in the paper making process.

How would you describe your style? Do you have any personal “signature”?

Our signature is always a tribute to words, books, calligraphy and writing, which are constantly a feature of our interior design projects. Our design always features a poetic style that skilfully blends memory and modernity. Indeed, it is not surprising in his works to see a seemingly magical dialogue among baroque elements, designer furniture and works of contemporary art.

All artist have some kind of inspirations, and interior designers are no exception. So, what or who really inspires you?

While performing each project, our philosophy applies a personal formula that combines three sources of inspiration: the client’s personality, the place of the residence and, lastly, its surroundings. By combining these three variables, each “project equation” yields a unique, ultra-personalised and coherent result.

Is there any project in the world you’d like it had been made by you?

No, because I admire the work done by other designers such as Axel Vervoorst or Philippe Starck and I will never pretend to able to reach their signature. It is important to have is own style even if we can admire the work done by other.

Choosing the right piece for a design set might seem an easy task. However, it takes a lot of time and attention to find the perfect match. Which advices you have for those who do not know how to start a challenge like this?

It is a little bit the job of a movie director: in order to play the perfect scene we have to select the best “actors” which will incarnate in the perfect manner the character. Fairs are crucial to identify the perfect candidates!

Which are your favorite brands, those that can never be missing in your projects?

I am not at all linked to any brand, each project, each story in our case, is unique and therefore we need to find each time the best brands that play together a magic plot!