Rafael Novoa Interior Design

Rafael Novoa founded his interior design firm nearly 20 years ago after beginning his career as an architect. He worked for the iconic Frank Gehry in Germany, as well as the revered Swiss firms Diener & Diener Architects and SOM.

Rafael's passion for interior design grew out of an early exposure to some of the world's most storied art and antique collections. Born in Madrid, his childhood was divided between Europe and the United States, with summers often spent touring Europe with his family. Those days were filled with wandering through museums, medieval villages and the monumental castles that still preside over them.

He continues to pull from those influences today, juxtaposing the ornate beauty of old-world craftsmanship against the clean lines and spare spaces of modern design. Function and comfort go hand in hand with expression. Rafael's unique ability to, at turns, marry and isolate the extreme styles in both residential and commercial environments has come to define a signature aesthetic that reads as wholly original in an otherwise likeminded field.

He divides his time between Philadelphia and its suburbs and projects that range from single-room redesigns to restaurant and corporate office overhauls. Sophisticated as the results are, Rafael always designs according to a budget that's approved by the client in the earliest phases of a project. And he always designs with the client's aims and personality foremost in mind. 

Our Process

Rafael Novoa Interior Design provides total project oversight, from conceptualization to installation, as well as consultation on an hourly basis. You’ll work one on one with founder and principal designer Rafael Novoa from the initial meeting through the project’s fruition to ensure that all decisions are made together, concerns are addressed immediately and the budget will remain true to its projections. A clear understanding of each phase of the undertaking is the surest path to a well-received design.

Our process begins with a phone conversation so that we can outline your expectations. From there, we’ll arrange an onsite meeting for a firsthand inspection of your space’s dimension and nuances. Shortly thereafter, we’ll submit a contractual agreement for your consideration that will describe our intentions and the fees for each step of their implementation.

With consentual agreement, we’ll present renderings of our design plan, along with a proposed palette and samples of furnishings, fabrics, flooring and wall coverings. Upon approval of the budget, we’ll initiate the ordering and installation.