The Studio
Zajal is an authorial interior studio based in Lisbon working through narrative, material and identity. We approach design as an interpretation of our client, not decoration.
Named after a traditional form of Arabic-Andalusian oral poetry once present across the Iberian Peninsula, the name evokes expression, spontaneity, beauty and cultural exchange — principles that continue to shape the practice today.
At its core, Zajal is formed through two complementary trajectories, mother and daughter, who share a sensitivity to atmosphere, lifestyle and the way spaces are experienced.
Two Trajectories
Zajal emerged from the meeting of two trajectories.
One shaped by storytelling, sensitivity and the belief that spaces carry meaning. The other built through decades of entrepreneurship, management and the ability to transform ideas into reality.
Cátia Vieira studied Literature before spending close to a decade in Brand and Communications, working across positioning, narrative and identity.
Over time, that relationship with storytelling expanded into space. When shaping her first apartment, she began exploring how atmosphere, materiality, and authorship could transform the way a home is felt.
Faced with a market that rarely reflected the materiality she was drawn to, she started designing her own pieces.
As her interiors gained visibility online, one thing became clear: people were not responding to decoration, but to identity.
That realisation led her to formalise the practice through interior design studies at Istituto Marangoni in Milan and the University of the Arts London, refining her understanding of composition, material and spatial methodology.
In parallel, Virgínia Vieira built a career of over 35 years as an entrepreneur in the textile industry. Over the years, she founded and managed companies operating across national and international markets, developing expertise in business strategy, operations, and execution.
Her experience brought structure to vision: an understanding that strong ideas require the ability to move from concept to reality.
Zajal emerged from the meeting of these two trajectories: narrative and execution, sensitivity and structure, instinct and experience.
Today, the practice works across real estate, interior design and property narrative, shaping homes with a strong sense of identity.