“A HOME EVOLVE SHOULD OWNER” WITHITS
founder of PORTORO Interior, believes that a house should reflect how its residents live, move, enjoy, and experience. In turn, it becomes a window into a family’s preferences and passions
I Ihave a great respect for tradition,” says Nathalie Küpfer Henares, “not just the wonderful traditions that I was lucky to learn from my French grandmother and mother, but also those I had the privilege of discovering through travel and those of the craftsmen and artisans I work with.”
The founder of PORTORO Interior says it is an honor to share these traditions with her clients, particularly those for entertaining guests at home. “My great respect for craftsmanship stems from working with a number of master craftsmen on our collections and regular offerings,” Küpfer Henares says. “I have seen first-hand the way they uphold the meticulous methods and the emphasis on quality materials that have been passed on from one generation to another, yet they are open to innovative thinking and fresh ideas.”
Küpfer Henares has always been passionate about interior design, home décor, and styling, a love that goes hand-in-hand with her penchant for travel. It was a passion that led to her plans for starting her own design company.
Born and raised in Switzerland, she moved to the Philippines from her home country four years ago upon her engagement to Progressive Broadcasting Corporation chair and president Atom Henares. The two married a year later.
Launching PORTORO Interior, Küpfer Henares found, was quite a challenge, but one that she was happy to take on. Fortunately, her 15 years of branding and marketing experience as well as her travels through the years helped. Through her trips, she has met numerous artisans from all over the globe, whose work is now offered to appreciative patrons through the online store.
“Likewise, my first interior decoration and styling projects in Paris and here in Manila were a learning experience that took me through the nuances of the profession from initial planning to fully furnishing my clients’ spaces,” she shares.
“My husband and I had a very clear vision of what we wanted our house to look like with regard to the different areas and spaces”
OPEN DESIGN
It also took the couple around four years to put together their beautiful Dasmariñas Village home, which they moved into just before the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was imposed on Metro Manila.
“My husband and I had a very clear vision of what we wanted our house to look like with regard to the different areas and spaces,” Küpfer Henares shares. It was clear to both of them from the beginning that they wanted their nest to work around how they actually live—a vision that architect Ramon Antonio helped them realize.
This is illustrated in their kitchen, an area the two love spending time in after work, wine glasses in hand and a meal prepared by the woman of the house. The spacious kitchen opens into their garden and lanai, which reflects their preference for dining outside. “Likewise, even if I mix drinks in the living room as we welcome guests, we all end up drinking around the big kitchen island,” she says. “We get to talk as I cook and they enjoy a selection of Swiss and French cheeses while they wait for the meal.”
Architecturally speaking, the Henares house is a “very European home with a distinctive Swiss accent,” she says. “I am Swiss and much of our lives back home are spent outdoors, so it was important that the house had a lot of glass sliding doors that let in a lot of light and open right onto the garden so that we could feel the breeze and enjoy the fresh air.”
TIMELESS PIECES
Last year, PORTORO Interior came out with a home line which, as Küpfer Henares shares, was borne out of inquiries from their patrons. “One of the things we do during our interior projects is to find beautiful, unique and timeless objets d’arts requested by our clients,” she says. “As the number of these requests grew, we wanted to offer several of these items to a broader client base.”
With the pandemic keeping everyone from venturing out, many people have trained their focus inward into what would make their homes comfortable and beautiful. This gave Küpfer Henares and her team the opportunity to see what people actually wanted, and what pieces would address those desires.
To come up with their line, they put careful consideration into each product’s aesthetics, practicality, and value. They also wanted pieces that are timeless; ones that their owners would grow to love more over time, in keeping with their brand ethos. “I am happy to say that we can see that our efforts are successful, as seen in the immediate response and interest in high-quality, unique, and timeless pieces that reflect our ideals,” Küpfer Henares says.
As with many brands and industries since COVID-19 changed the world, one challenge in growing PORTORO Interior and their home line is the lack of tactile experience. Clients would not be able to interact with what they are purchasing, and pop-up stores and other small events are still limited this year.
“These [pieces] are always a subject of conversation when we have guests”