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Designer Spotlight
Lorena Gaxiola never thought she would be an interior designer. Having always been good at math and intrigued by shapes and structure, she believed she would follow in her architect father’s footsteps. Today, with a thriving interior design business, an applauded launch of her new furniture line, plus plans to do even more, the energetic entrepreneur is thankful she pursued interior design.
On her father’s advice, Gaxiola, born and raised in Mexico, enrolled in the Design Institute of San Diego. She was the youngest in her class and the only Mexican, but she persevered through language barriers and a rigorous curriculum and today owns Kuatro Design, the company she founded in 2003 to specialize in model-home interior design. Last year, she added another title: furniture designer. The launch of her line of contemporary classic furniture was well-received at the esteemed Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York.
After nearly 14 years in the industry and many lessons learned, Gaxiola says, “I’m still searching for exactly the kind of designer I want to be. I admire those who push the envelope, and I want to do that. I know I don’t want to be like anybody else.”
Kuatro Living, her furniture line, proves she’s headed in the right direction. She describes the collection as “contemporary without being minimalist.” Made of various woods and acrylic, her designs are spare, cutting-edge and carry a bit of sentiment for the young designer. The Natalie bed, for instance, is named after a friend and is made of acrylic with a baroque-style headboard inspired by a dream she had.
“The response was unbelievable,” Gaxiola says of the praise she has received from critics, the media and peers. “My goal is to maintain familiar shapes and styles in the furniture but give them a modern twist.”
While her initial vision was to own her own store, the appeal to “create a classic for stores to sell” has influenced her most recent foray into retail placement. Design Within Reach in East Village carries Gaxiola’s pieces, and her goal is to eventually produce an array of furniture, from mattresses to tabletops.
Gaxiola has also expanded her design services into the residential arena and is currently at work on the skybox at the Icon condominiums. A downtown resident for the past 12 years, this urbanite knows exactly the kind of environment to create for residents of the East Village tower: “an upscale lounge with large beds for people to just chill.”
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