Book Club, 2nd Edition

Michael S. Smith Houses
What we like:
Most of us would agree that Michael Smith is one of the best of the best. Named one of Architectural Digest's Top 100 Designers, and winner of Elle Decor's Designer of the Year (2003), he has mastered the lived-in-yet-luxurious California style. If interior designers received Academy Awards, I'm sure M.S. would have a few statuettes on his mantel.

Reading through this book is like sitting down with the designer over tea. He talks you through the design process of each house shown, and reveals sources of inspiration and his philosophy about what a home should be. You'll feel like a good friend is letting you in on his favorite trade secrets and ideas.

M.S. is an artist with fabric – his texture and pattern combinations are always intriguing and usually quite beautiful. His sofas and chairs look to be some of the most welcoming and comfortable that I think I've ever seen.

But he seems to lavish special attention on bedrooms.

"If you're going to spend a third of your life in bed, it might as well have a sense of ceremony. There's something special about a four-poster bed," and "Beds are for lounging, and I always make them super-comfortable, with plenty of pillows and a canopy."

I'd say, we could all use a little more ceremony in our lives.

Click on any image to see details.

The above photo is the master bedroom in M.S.'s own house. The bed curtains are made of his own fabric design, Indian Flower hemp, in blue. Monogrammed bed linens are by Porthault. He says he has stacks of books everywhere, and is often reading and doing research in bed, while the dogs run in and out, getting mud everywhere. Ok, that I can relate to. And, his TV is in plain sight. He says he rather likes the contrast of the high tech to gilt and marble.

Examples of M.S.'s determination and ingenuity: He couldn't find the perfect four-poster bed so had this one made from Georgian posts that he found; and the hemlock wall paneling, which adds instant history to the room, was bought at auction from a photograph and took an English craftsman three months to put together.

M.S. had this bed, in a guest room of his house, copied from a bed that was owned by the painter Balthus. Constructed of steel, it has a gilded top with curtains made of unbleached hemp. The throw pillow is made of antique chintz, walls are covered with a fabric of his design (for Cowtan & Tout) based on a Portuguese textile, the chair is upholstered in a Bennison chintz, and on the wall above: an Italian sunburst ecclesiastical piece.


In a departure for M.S., this guest room doesn't feature a canopy bed, but derives its drama from a massive painting (done by a student of Peter Paul Rubens!). A tray ceiling makes the room seem taller. The designer's own Naples chandelier, lower walls covered with his silk and linen check fabric (Cowtan & Tout), and the usual fantastic melange of fabrics, all lend to a cozy and comfortable space. I wonder, how does he ever get his guests to leave?

A guest room of a Malibu home features another canopy bed made of antique English bedposts. The bed hangings here, as usual, are lavishly tailored with pleats and lined with coordinating fabric. Mixing provenances (Italian lanterns, reproduction William Kent mirrors, and a Japanese table at the foot of the bed) lends to the feeling that the room has been decorated over time with furnishings that have been collected or handed down from previous generations. M.S. is fond of architectural details, like this deeply coffered ceiling.

The smaller image, above right, is the master bedroom of the same home, with a bed custom made for the designer by John Robshaw in India out of nickel silver. The coverlet is a Moroccan cotton rug.

Another totally different, yet fabulous guest room in a London apartment – this one is wrapped with a grisalle wallpaper by Zuber, and was inspired by a Christian Lacroix fashion show. I've always found gray interiors to be a bit depressing, but the claret red curtains here add a warming shot of style and crispness. The rich woods further elevate the mood of the room to a sanctuary of masculine elegance.

There are many more spaces to see in this book, but all are equally rich and detailed, and equally compelling.

The designer, with those rambunctious doggies! Interestingly, the dogs are facing M.S. in the photo, but the composition is perfect and makes for a wonderful portrait. This could be a handy trick to keep in mind next time you want to take photos with camera-shy pets – keep your hands on them and have them face you.


Portrait by Joao Canziani.
All other photos by Simon Upton.
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Michael S. Smith Houses by Michael S. Smith with Christine Pittel, Rizzoli New York, 2008

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