Bohol has always had a way of calling people home, even those who were not born here. For Luis “Cocoy” Cordoba, one of the country’s most celebrated interior designers, the island is exactly that — a second home.

“I consider Bohol as my second home,” Cocoy shared during his sit-down interview with Ardy Araneta Batoy on the Newsmakers radio program on October 19, 2026. It is a love that runs deep. Cocoy speaks highly of Boholanos, so much so that he once dreamed of retiring here. His profession, relentless and all-consuming, would not allow it. He admits he reads some negative comments about the province but he prefers to forget all these because Bohol’s beauty, he says, is far bigger than any negative memory.

They call him the Designer for the Stars, and for good reason. The homes that bear his signature reads like a who’s who of Philippine entertainment — Sharon Cuneta, Pops Fernandez, Dina Bonnevie, Helen Gamboa Sotto, and many more. But his biggest break came long before the stars. It came with a socialite whose name was elegance itself: Elvira Manahan. 

When Cocoy designed Manahan’s home in Forbes Park, doors opened. One elite introduced him to another, until one introduction led him to Malacañang — to former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

Cocoy speaks of Mrs. Marcos, not as the controversial figure history often paints, but as the woman he knew: brilliant, classy, elegant, and extraordinarily generous.

 “She would rather reward friends in ways other than money,” he recalled. He told of a time in New York when he had his eyes on a piece of jewelry — and before he knew it, Mrs. Marcos had purchased it for him.

That Malacañang connection runs even deeper. Cocoy was a classmate of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at La Salle Greenhills, from prep to Grade 6. He laughed as he recalled a conversation with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, who once asked him what young Bongbong was like in elementary. “He was a bully,” Cocoy told her. Liza chuckled and replied, “He’s now a nice guy, and you have become the bully.”

His path to design was almost an accident. His father wanted him to take Commerce. He went to look at the Commerce building and told himself, “Forget it.” He was late to enroll, and only the University of Santo Tomas would still accept him. So he walked into Fine Arts and took up Interior Design. Architecture called briefly, but he dropped it by third year — he was a gold medalist in Math in high school, except for Geometry.

He is the son of a Cebuana mother and a Spanish father. He understands Cebuano but cannot speak it fluently. From his mother, he learned what it means to be Visayan — thrifty, resilient, passionate. That passion became everything. It may have cost him in relationships, he admits, but it gave him an illustrious career he feels fully blessed to have.

At 35, he thought of retiring. He went on a three-year hiatus, only to realize everyone might forget him. So he came back stronger, building a showroom in Alabang near his Ayala Alabang home. That showroom is now standing still — at rest, to make way for something bigger: a 3,000-square-meter, three-storey showroom in Tagaytay City, a city he fell so in love with, he now lives in the building itself.

Cocoy has designed homes almost everywhere, and Bohol is no exception. He has completed at least eight projects for Tagbilaran’s elites, starting with the lady behind the ICM fame, and his circle of Boholano clients has grown ever since. He admits one weakness: it is hard for him to ask for a fee when friends commission him.

They used to call him Mr. Quicky — for his speed. He could finish the design for a seven-bedroom home in just a week. Once, he was even challenged to finish a project in record time for a premium, only to find out the client was joking about the bonus.

Today, at 70, he is more selective. But his advice to the young is the opposite: take every client you meet when you are starting. You will never know what is in store for you.

He collects art the way others collect memories, now displayed in his Museum de Cordoba. From Forbes Park to Bohol, from Malacañang to Tagaytay, Luis “Cocoy” Cordoba remains what Manila’s upper echelons have always known him to be: one of the most brilliant designers this country has ever produced — a man who found a second home in Bohol, and who, wherever he designs, brings home with him.

Now, he has a comeback stint at the popular Sweethome Boutique & Cafe located at Corner J. Borja & Remolador Sts., beside Mang Inasal,  Poblacion II, Tagbilaran City. The hotel is very cozy place with 3-storeys, 25 rooms, where guests highlight cleanliness, courteous staff, comfortable beds, and the onsite café owned and managed by Edsel & Virgie Du and family. Moreover, Cocoy is  doing the home of the couple – just right here in the city including other properties they have in preparation for Christmas. 

Luis “Cocoy” Cordoba is a celebrated Filipino interior designer — founder of Cordoba Interiors. He’s known in Manila social / design circles as an interior designer par excellence, famous for flamboyance and maximalism. He is loved for his  Style: “more is more” maximalism;  his Furniture where he always reinvents himself; his Persona described as one of the most fun people. 

Yes, LUIS “COCOY” CORDOBA is The Master of Magnificence. In a world that whispers “less is more,” he dares to shout the opposite. The celebrated Filipino interior designer behind the legendary Cordoba Interiors is not just a designer. He is an experience, the interior designer par excellence, and the Art of More!