Leo Aerts – Alinea
Leo Aerts is a Belgian interior architect and designer, and the founder of Alinea Design Objects, a studio dedicated to timeless furniture and collectible objects. Guided by architecture, craftsmanship, and material honesty, he creates refined designs that balance sculptural simplicity with everyday function. Working with natural materials and local artisans, Aerts develops enduring pieces that celebrate thoughtful making, sustainability, and understated elegance.
Interview
I am from Belgium and was born in Herentals, a small town near Antwerp.
Back in 1975, I visited the Art Nouveau Museum Horta in Brussels, which aroused my curiosity and passion for architecture, art, and design. To this day, I still find this a refined and inspiring architectural building, where details, characterful materials, and functionality are intertwined.
Yes, I was lucky enough to discover my passion at a very young age. I’ve been designing since 1983, right after I finished my studies in interior architecture.
Designing has always been part of my passion and profession. While working as an interior architect, I often received requests to design custom furniture/solutions for our clients’ projects. The design of furniture and objects did not stop with the delivery of the projects and became a hobby that got out of hand. This translated into my own label ‘Alinea Design Objects’ in 1995.
I find my creativity and inspiration in different beauties such as nature.
To bring these ideas to life, some fundamental aspects are considered: durability and functionality.
I’m a morning person, so my day starts pretty early. From then on, my days are very different. As we are a small company, I am in close contact myself with clients and suppliers whom I regularly visit. When I’m in the office, I am most happy when I can design with pencil and paper undisturbed.
I like working with natural and characterful materials such as wood, glass, and natural stone, as with the Angelo M table collection. I attach great importance to sustainability, which means that the choice of materials is extremely important in my designs. I want customers to enjoy my timeless designs for a long time to come; hence, the choice of materials that retain their charm and value.
In all my designs, I strive for a balance between functionality, timeless aesthetics, and a technical twist. To find this balance, a thorough knowledge of the materials used is necessary.
There is a wide range of art and design in the world. To stand out and succeed, a certain knowledge of the market is necessary in order to surpass the existing offer.
I consider my designs to be essentially minimal and timeless.
Mies van der Rohe, both his architectural buildings and furniture designs. A beautiful example of timelessness.
Designers who dare to deviate from trends to create something unique.
I greatly appreciate the works of Donald Judd, a leading artist of minimalism in the mid-20th century.
I am also an admirer of Issey Miyake’s fashion designs. I recognize the timelessness of my furniture and object designs in his fashion.
Timeless with a high-quality finish for long-lasting use.
“I strive for a balance between functionality, timeless aesthetics, and a technical twist.”
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
When your body and mind are in balance
To run out of time
impatience
Dishonesty
My children
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Curiosity
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Sometimes in life, one has to take a chance
To fly
To be more patient
My design objects that last for minimum the next 100 years
A bird
Belgium, where I live now
My children
When not seeing your possibilities/perspectives
Making prototypes
To never give up
Honesty
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Again my children
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Dishonesty
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While working / designing
Find your talents and use them wisely
“I want customers to enjoy my timeless designs for a long time to come.”
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