Lula Galeano: The Founder of Studio Galeano Who Designs Each Project Differently
If you don’t see a distinct pattern in each of Lula Galeano’s architectural or interior designs, it’s because her design insights and instincts vary per project. This self-proclaimed craft enthusiast and founder of the women-led New York City-based Studio Galeano, whose work has been featured in Architectural Digest, has indeed worked on a range of projects, from stores to homes and hotels.
After coming to New York from her hometown of Patagonia in 2015, Galeano started designing her own future in her adopted city and opened her own firm in 2017. She first gained experience designing for the Audemars Piguet boutique in East Hampton, and her stylish aesthetic and skills soon led to her redesigning the company’s offices. Lula would go on to work on multiple other stores and homes, mostly gained by word of mouth, which she attributes to her rapid growth.
Trained in architecture and interior design, Lula is able to combine both passions for her clients. From Susan Alexandra to Prada, she creates interior experiences for a mix of varied retail brands.
“My work is very diverse,” explains Lula. “I don’t compare any one project with the rest. You might not know that any of my projects are done by the same person
because my style changes for each concept and space. I interpret who my clients are and what they want. I love working with no self-restraints, aside from budget constraints.”
While retail might have originally been at the core of her career, Lula has recently used her talents to expand to the residential market. Up until last year, most of her residential clients were her commercial clients. “They would ask, ‘Can you also do our house in the Hamptons?’ and then last year, I started having more private commissions.”
According to Lula, when it comes to creating a space, it’s all about the feeling it can invoke. “For me, it’s more than what you see on Instagram. When you walk into a church you feel a sense of holiness. I like to create a feeling for each project. For Susan Alexandra it was whimsical and fancy, and there are things to see everywhere. For Audemars Piguet, we wanted to convey the feeling of calm luxury. There was nothing to see, it was all wood and monochromatic. Very subtle and calm like a horizon line.”
Lula’s way of approaching fantasy and joy is also quite compatible with what the experiential market is offering right now. “It’s a much more textual feeling when you are in a space surrounded by different objects and colors and light. I like to think about how that makes me feel.”
Lula is not just building up her business but also branching out in many ways. “I don’t just want to specialize in one thing and be known for either stores or offices or restaurants. I like testing the waters and not being fixated on one aspect.”
She also enjoys being able to work on projects such as Denver, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, as this allows her to expand more on her ideas—literally—as there is more space in these cities, which are not as densely built as New York.
Lula’s favorite new trend? Having fun! “After Covid, everybody wants to have more fun, so I’m kind of glad that all of these kinds of somber palettes and beige all over is sort of coming to an end in a way. I see that people are enjoying incorporating more fun into their spaces and in their home. It’s a resurrection of joy in a way, and the trend is being more imaginative, like having a fireplace that has a face or mixing materials and fabrics. It’s just overall a very joyful approach, whereas before, things were a bit more monochromatic. You can see this not just in interior design but also fashion, and it just transmits joy and makes people feel happy.”
Let’s just say that word of mouth about Lula is leading to projects around the world, including a hotel in Ibiza, and there’s plenty more to come.
