Classic style and impeccable attention to detail are
hallmarks of the work of interior designer Matthew
Patrick Smyth. His comfortable, timeless rooms are
tailored to fit his clients' personalities and
lifestyles, whether they are dynamic young couples with
children or cultured art collectors. Smyth masterfully
blends contemporary pieces with antiques to endow each
space with a sense of solidity and history while
maintaining a completely fresh, modern sensibility.
Smyth credits his mentor David Easton for teaching him
how to see the intrinsic value of any given piece and to
successfully mix furnishings with similar lines,
materials, and forms even when they are products of
different centuries. Easton also embedded in Smyth a
love for travel--leading to the designer's devotion to
all things French that permeates his work. Smyth opened
his own firm in New York in 1987 and now works with
clients around the globe. His designs--characterized by
refined, flawless interior architecture--are seen in
grand Shelter Island mansions, classically proportioned
San Francisco townhouses, and demure Parisian
pied-a-terres alike. In this lavishly illustrated
volume, Smyth reveals his own design tips, rules, and
approaches to meeting challenges offered by uniquely
shaped spaces. He focuses on editing collections to
better showcase individual works, the personal nature of
color selection, adding--or restoring--historical
references, and finishing a space off with glorious,
often unexpected fabrics and trims. Over two hundred
color photographs showcase a wide variety of styles,
from a nature-infused Aspen vacation home to the
quintessential Upper East Side apartment to a London
flat that smoothly blends its owner's inherited
collection of Renaissance art with fine Indian
pieces. |
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