When it was announced last week that Michael S. Smith had been chosen to redecorate the family quarters in the White House for the new President and First Lady, a decorista pal who lives in Virginia emailed to ask what I thought. Buzz on the blogs had been focused around Washington area designers, with speculation centering on Barry Dixon and Darryl Carter. “The press here is shocked, but I'm not remotely surprised,” my friend wrote. “He fits, perfectly. “Barry's a bit too ornate for the private quarters and Darryl is just too sterile for family quarters, I think…” Smith didn’t surprise me, either. People from Chicago (where I lived for nine years) don't reference Washington. They tend to be much more oriented to California or New York. "My other pick would have been (Jeffrey) Bilhuber though he's tighter and quirkier," I told my friend. I think Smith will do a wonderful job in making the private living quarters just right for a young family. Based on the way Michelle Obama dresses, she either gets great advice, which Smith would provide, or has a good eye. It is said she has a Hi- Low approach to purchases and that Smith does too, but it's the White House -- they don't want to go over the top but it's not necessary to cut corners either. I suspect the new President has other things on his mind but it's clear he would want the family quarters to be comfortable and he trusts his wife to make it so. One of Michael Smith’s gifts is the ability to individualize interiors to reflect the personalities and needs of his clients. Smith, 44, a California-born and based designer of textiles, plumbing fixtures, tile and furniture is a prolific designer and book author whose clientele includes the Hollywood establishment, notoriously demanding but creative types who buy historically important West Coast homes built by the likes of Schindler, Neutra, Wright and Eames as a reflection of their taste and success. “I don’t know whether it’s cause or effect – because I work with so many clients in films, or the reason I have so many clients in films, but I have a cinematic feel for interiors,” Smith told an interviewer in the Feb. 2005 House & Garden magazine. (Thanks to Allison who found the source as H&G failed to put their name on the bottom of each page and I failed to note it). The occasion for the quote was the publication of rooms in a wonderfully warm house Michael Smith designed for the spiky-haired film and TV producer Brian (“A Beautiful Mind”) Grazer and his former wife, “Starter Wife” creator Gigi Levangie Grazer. Over the past five years only three homes have moved me enough to save all the published photos -- this is one. This house has a Mediterranean villa vibe I fondly call Hollywood Colonial -- wood beam ceilings, dark wood floors and off-white walls. The distinctive richness comes from superb antique furniture, carpets and architectural elements that movie money buys. Smith embellished it with a super-sophisticated mix of Chinese, Indian, Moroccan, Spanish and French pieces, ranging in styles from Baroque to mid-century modern. The guest bedroom (top) Is dominated by an Anglo-Indian bed Smith purchased in London and it’s difficult to take my eyes off the antique Berber rugs. A pair of 1940s French chairs stand at the foot of the bed, dressed with Eleanor’s Ribbon linens from the Nancy Koltes collection. Bedside crystal lamps are of Michael Smith’s design. A good deal of leather upholstery adds a very solid, and surprisingly homey, mix to make the house luxurious but inviting. “In every room you can drink a cup of coffee and read the paper,” Smith said. One thing I find especially appealing are all the beautiful tables and it would be fascinating to see what he did (if anything) in the kitchen and master bath, which were not shown. What appeals to me is the lack of pretension despite the awesome expense of such artful furniture. Accessories lean East rather than West and rooms have unexpected elements and details which aren't immediately obvious. It's a house to be studied because, as Smith explained: “The houses people remember are the ones that have a soul.” [caption id="attachment_4286" align="aligncenter" width="326" caption="Billiard Room Seating Area - A vintage Chesterfield sofa, George Smith armchair and barley-twist-leg low table provide a plate to flop in the game room. Wall hangings are reproductions of an antique Mogul tent panel Smith found. Paint color is Pratt and Lambert’s Burnt Umber. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4287" align="aligncenter" width="356" caption="Breakfast Room Sitting Area - High-status mid-20th century French furniture in a breakfast room certainly suits Hollywood power couple. The black leather-upholstered French wing chair with oak frame is 1950s; the sofa, slipcovered in linen, from George Smith."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4288" align="aligncenter" width="365" caption="Breakfast Room Table - Forgive me for drooling over the 1940s French chandelier with parchment shades and whipstitch detailing that hangs abover the French 19th century elm refectory table. 1940s French oak and rope chairs are by Audoux-Minet. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4289" align="aligncenter" width="378" caption=" Work Table - The home office work space boasts a 19th century chestnut table and Italian Art Deco palisander armchair ca. 1925. A mammoth late 19th century Italian ebonized mirror frame is hung on the waxed white plaster wall. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4290" align="aligncenter" width="377" caption="Work Space Seating Area - A 17th Century French limestone fireplace was purchased locally and installed in the work room seating area along with vintage English club chairs and a beefy Jacobean cabinet. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4278" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Dining Room - A Spanish-style trestle table is paired with leather-upholstered Baroque-style side chairs plus an Italian walnut host armchair and an antique Sultanabad carpet."][/caption]

Tags: anglo-Indian bed, antique Berber carpets, antique furniture, antique sultanabad rug, Ashbury Hides, Brian Grazer, Décor, designer home, Ed Hardy, George Smith chairs, George Smith sofa, Gigi Levangie Grazer, Guinevere Antiques, JF Chen, leather chairs, leather sofas, Leif Antiques, Michael S. Smith, Michael S. Smith Furniture, mid-century furniture, Nancy Koltes Collection linens, Pratt and Lambert paint, Ralf's Antiques, Scandia Down, vintage Chesterfield sofa, White House decorator