Chicago-based furniture maker Neil Zuleta believes that design is a universal language, and therefore a shared experience. “I am especially drawn to pieces and spaces with an emotional connection to memory and place—ones that reveal themselves over time, offering moments of discovery rather than immediate consumption,” he tells Business of Home.
Growing up in Caracas, his passion for design emerged early. After earning a degree in architecture at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in the late 1990s, he emigrated to the United States and began working his way into the interiors industry, working with brands like Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Crate & Barrel. “My Venezuelan roots continually fuel my curiosity and shape my aesthetic,” he says.
He took a job at Holly Hunt in Chicago in 2007, where he launched the brand’s interior architecture and design studio, House of Hunt, and served as its director, developing custom furniture for high-end residential and hospitality projects for nearly a decade. “One of the biggest lessons I learned from Holly was to create instead of sourcing,” he says. “She pushed us to design our own pieces rather than rely on off-the-shelf solutions.”
In 2016, he joined Gensler as a design director, overseeing product development in the Midwest and working with big-name clients, including Google and Hyatt. In his free time, he began sketching out his own furniture designs and percolating on the idea of launching a multidisciplinary studio. “Two decades of experience with industry leaders helped me realize how critical it is to be a well-rounded designer,” he says. “It gives you confidence and allows you to speak with clarity and truth on multiple fronts.”
Zuleta debuted his namesake practice in 2022, offering both interior design services and handmade furnishings. His inaugural furniture line, La Gran Sabana, was crafted in collaboration with Quintus and features 14 Venezuelan landscape–fueled pieces, such as the waterfall-shaped Jasper console and the Solana lounge chair, an angular beauty with grass-colored upholstery. “Ideas often begin with a strong emotional or visual memory, which I translate into architectural forms,” he says.
Craftsmanship is central to Zuleta’s work. Before any design gets fabricated, he builds intricate prototypes to test comfort and scale. Working closely with seasoned artisans, he then employs a medley of time-honored techniques to forge truly one-of-a-kind pieces. “Methods vary by material, and range from metalsmithing to stone carving,” he says. “I gravitate toward natural materials, like travertine, walnut and oak, because they carry inherent texture, history and expression.”
Zuleta’s interior design services are just as exacting, and cater to a mix of residential, commercial and hospitality clients. “Interiors allow me to design one-off custom pieces tailored to the client, while still expressing my design language,” he explains. “I love curating environments that feel cohesive yet unexpected, where every element—from furniture to finishes—contributes to a larger narrative.”
In addition to running his studio, Zuleta currently serves as creative director at Marmi Natural Stone, where he has crafted three collections for the high-end surface brand and is hard at work on the fourth, Bars, which will launch at Paris Déco Off in January. “I’m also developing new pieces for Quintus, including La Gran Sabana: Part 2,” he says. “Now that the design language is established, I’m refining the product offering and expanding into new categories.”
