Vicente Wolf is born in Havana, Cuba, where he grows up assisting his parents at their construction company. “I’ve had an understanding of the building process, from initial drawings to completion, since childhood,” he says. “It sunk in without my even knowing it.”
Wolf and his parents immigrate to Miami. “It wasn’t until later in life that I realized how much the color, light, and architecture in Cuba influenced my core being.”
Moves to New York, where he dabbles in everything from advertising to banking to fashion merchandising.
Takes a job at House of Verde, a wallpaper showroom in the D&D Building. “I started out sweeping floors and folding samples, then began to get freelance design projects after I became a salesman.”
Goes freelance full time. “I’m completely self-taught,” Wolf says. “Much of my education came from seeing what other designers were doing incorrectly.”
Begins working with interior decorator Bob Patino, with whom he forms the firm Patino Wolf one year later. The duo’s noteworthy projects include Elsa Peretti’s New York City apartment (1977). “It’s inspiring to design for creative people because you absorb part of their aesthetic.”
Purchases a home in Montauk, which he still owns today.
Launches Vicente Wolf Associates. “I started from scratch, without any clients, relying only on the momentum I had from being published previously.”
Participates in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House for the first time.
Opens a showroom, VW Home, which sells furnishings found on his travels to Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as fabrics, lighting, and case goods of his own design.
While highly in demand for private commissions, also takes on commercial projects, such as Wynn Resorts and New York’s L’Impero restaurant, for which he won a James Beard Foundation award, and designs product lines for Baccarat, Kravet, and Tufenkian. More recently, he has collaborated with RH and Ann Sacks.
Takes a dream trip to the Amazon. (The inveterate traveler has also visited such far-flung destinations as Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.) “Experiencing diverse styles, cultures, and ways of living has had a strong influence on my work,” he says.
A longtime philanthropist, Wolf becomes a trustee for God’s Love We Deliver, a charitable foundation that provides meals to people with serious illnesses. For the first time, he also decorates a room for Holiday House, which benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Decorates actress Julianna Margulies’s Manhattan apartment.
Collaborates with fellow designer Katie Scott on a line of men’s and women’s jewelry. “Not having a formal education has been an advantage,” he says, “because it hasn’t put parameters on what I can do.”