The Eclectic Fusion
of LO2 

(South of Spain) “Two souls do not cross paths by chance,” is a quote by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges that fits perfectly to LO2. Luisa Olazábal and Luis Ojeda come from, seemingly, totally different backgrounds. Olazábal grew up in a Spanish family of architects and interior designers, and her sense of space and creativity led her naturally to her profession from an early age. She founded the studio 2004 in Madrid, after living and working for several years in London. Her intuitive and passionate approach combined with her strong personality made it an instant success.

In contrast, Luis Ojeda had worked in finance for 25 years before transitioning into design in 2014. With LO2, what initially seemed like an odd combination has become the perfect professional and personal match. His lifelong love of art, architecture, and gardens—instilled by his father—meets the structured thinking and leadership skills honed over decades in finance. The result is a practice where creativity, rationality, and passion seamlessly align.

Together, Olazábal and Ojeda lead a multidisciplinary team of more than 30 specialists, creating holistic environments. Besides their busy studio in Madrid, they now have offices in Lisbon and Marbella. Especially in the latter, the demand for their craft is growing every year.

MAISON Ë The famed interior designer and the finance guy—is it true that you two met at a dinner and shortly afterwards decided to join forces?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL It was a dinner at Luis’ place. He had a new house and everybody was talking about how beautiful it was. I knew his wife, so I said: Why don’t you invite me over to your place? And she did.

M.Ë Was the house as sophisticated as people said?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Yes, but even more striking was that Luis—who I only knew to say hello and good-bye to—seemed to be very interested in my work. He kept asking me: How do you do your projects? How many people do you have? What is the process?

LUIS OJEDA It was very funny, because at that time I was speaking to four different interior and architecture studios that I was thinking to join to finally pursue my passion for design—but Luisa’s was not on the list. Not because I didn’t like her or her style or whatever, but just because I didn’t want to work with friends since Luisa knew my wife. But then we started talking…

LUISA OLAZÁBAL …and at some point, I thought: Why on earth is he so interested? Then he told me. And here we are: LO2. Even our initials fit perfectly together.

LUIS OJEDA We are very different personalities, but we complement each other very well.

M.Ë What is your shared vision for the studio?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL To make the most beautiful and brilliant interiors—through a style that represents eclecticism, a passion for art, architecture, design, and everything that makes you “vibrate.” At least that’s the term we use in Spanish.

LUIS OJEDA It’s a more integral, more comprehensive view. We like to play with everything at once: architecture, interior design, decoration, landscape, art.

M.Ë You talk a lot about your team and that you have assembled the best people possible for all the different disciplines. Spaniards are known for being very social, very good at soft skills. Do you think this also plays an integral part in why Spanish studios are more and more in demand?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Spanish people are naturally sociable. That’s something that you have, or you don’t have. And you can’t force it.

LUIS OJEDA You need to keep the relationship with the clients and with your possible clients very alive. That’s an art form, too. You can be the best creator in the world, but if you are lacking emotional intelligence, it’s going to be very difficult to have a good studio. People want to be listened to. They want to be sure that whoever is taking care of their projects is really, really focused.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL I would say one of my first concerns is always to build a relationship with the clients. We really take care of them.

M.Ë Well, in the end it’s their house, their home, they want to be involved.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Yes, they want to be part of it, but they can’t do it on their own. Life has become so much more complicated. I believe 100 years ago, you could find the people to arrange a couple of things in your house yourself. But nowadays it’s very, very complicated because of regulations, because of the excess of information we have, it’s a mess. You used to have three painters and two guys in your city that were selling nice stones. Now you find so many different providers and possibilities and craftsmen. You see all these things on Instagram, on the web, everywhere. To make the curated decisions about what you want your house to look like was never this difficult.

LUIS OJEDA On the other hand, you can do much better interiors now than 100 years ago. Back then nobody had well-designed houses, just the nobles and the very, very wealthy families. The rest of the houses were pretty boring. Now there are so many possibilities, you get anxious.

M.Ë When did you decide to open a dedicated studio in Marbella?

LUIS OJEDA Five or six years ago. We saw an opportunity in Marbella. There are a lot of new projects in the area. It also comes back to the comprehensive approach we were talking about. Most of the houses in Marbella are very linked with gardens, which is a great strength of our studio.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL We also love to work with international clients. They have other views, they are very open to new ideas. There wasn’t a firm like ours on the market, there were hardly any Spanish studios.

M.Ë You mentioned before that you think it is a pity that the area is starting to lose a sense of Andalusian style.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL A lot of architects are reproducing what you can find anywhere. LO2 takes the risk to do something really well-designed but with the history of the place in mind. There are centuries of history in our cities in the south of Spain. All the inheritance from the Arab world that we have with these beautiful tiles, beautiful colors. It’s the way the Andalusian houses have been designed for centuries—and now everybody is doing white blocks that could be anywhere, in California, Singapore, Frankfurt. I don’t get it.

M.Ë You have both spent your summers in Andalusia for many years. What is it about the area that so many people rave about?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL We have a family house in Cadíz and it’s my absolute happy place. The joy, the delight, the colors, the people. It’s hard to describe.

M.Ë Marbella had lost its heyday by the 1990s. But especially in the last years, it seems to be having a comeback.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Everybody wants to go to Marbella again. But there are two Marbellas.

LUIS OJEDA Maybe even three or four. There is the very elegant Marbella, the Golden Mile, with traditional, unbelievably beautiful houses. And there are two or three other urban areas that are “encanto,” which means charming in Spanish. It’s a pity because the urban development was not well done. It’s quite ugly, actually. But you can still find a lot of beautiful places.

M.Ë How do you try to preserve traditional Andalusian style in your projects?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL First of all: Andalusia is full of great craftsmanship and artisans. How could we not work with them? If we don’t, this heritage is going to disappear, and we will all live in white blocks. And from an architectural point of view, we think it doesn’t make any sense. Many projects that are being developed—it’s the same in Mallorca or Ibiza, for example—don’t make any sense in terms of the consideration of temperature, the use of light, or the choice of materials. A six-meter glass front? In Southern Spain? You will spend all your money on air-con in summer and heating in winter.

LUIS OJEDA We like the local approach. Wherever we work, we first want to understand the place—to understand its roots—and then we start to work. And I think a lot of people now feel the same way; they want places that feel authentic.

M.Ë Among others, you renovated and redesigned the famous villa “La Gratitud” in Marbella—which at one point was the most expensive property in Andalusia with a price tag of €36 million.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Nobody wanted the house because it was 2,700 sqm. Or correctly put: nobody could afford it. It needed a total renovation. Then an investor came along and bought it. The man was brave; he invested a lot of money to make it the most beautiful house and then put it on the market. It has all the amenities anyone could ever dream of. Cinema, pool house, poker room—I think the only thing missing is a golf simulator. But the project was extremely challenging.

M.Ë In what respect?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Because of the sheer size of the house. It is so big, it was very difficult to make it feel comfortable, like a real house and not like you are in an airport. The living room is twice the size of a tennis court. But in the end, it was a great success—people are still contacting us because they saw pictures of the house and its interiors.

LUIS OJEDA The history of the house is very interesting. It belonged to a Moroccan general who received it as a gift—that’s why he called it “La Gratitud.”

M.Ë You often use the word “comfortable.” Is comfort something that plays an integral part in your designs?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Comfort for us is very important. You can design the most beautiful house in the world but if it’s not comfortable, you failed.

M.Ë Some of your colleagues would probably disagree.

LUIS OJEDA Many interiors resemble art galleries. Our houses should be a place for joy.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL A place to share with your family and friends, with a warm feeling. In Spain we often say “hogar” instead of house. “Hogar” is somewhere you belong to.

M.Ë How do you achieve that quality?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Comfort also means to integrate and reflect the personality of the clients. So, first of all, we take some time to get to know the client, to learn about functional and aesthetic needs. Only then we start to create.

LUIS OJEDA Every piece—especially the already existing furniture and
art— has to find its place. That takes a lot of time. You see the painting on the wall behind you? It took us several weeks to find the right spot!

M.Ë You have a dedicated art department at LO2.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Which Luis leads and I think it changes things completely. Before that, we often had a problem to finish a project “properly.” It was often a nine out of 10 because the last object, a little picture hanging on the wall or an object sitting somewhere—it’s quite difficult to achieve that when you have been in a linear process. If you wait until the last minute, there is no money left, no energy left. But if you start implementing art from the very beginning as an integral part of everything—you easily land on a 10 out of 10.

LUIS OJEDA We have a different approach to art than many other studios. We think the objects should have their own life, their own identity. We work with more than 100 artists and propose different options to the client from the very beginning.

M.Ë There is a quote by Christian Morgenstern that says: “Princes, show me how you build and I’ll show you who you are.” Does that still hold true when you are working with a sought-after architect and/or interior designer?

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Of course. It still says a lot about the owner. When I ordered my wedding dress from the designer Lorenzo Caprile, do you think I told him what to do? No. But of course I told him who I am: An interior designer who dresses simply, maybe even masculinely, that hates ruffles. He created—but with my personality in mind.

LUIS OJEDA Buy choosing someone, you are already making a decision.

LUISA OLAZÁBAL Most clients know what they like but they don’t know how to do it. They are extremely clever people because they give us the freedom to create.