Through a Designer's Eye: A Focus on Interiors

A sumptuous presentation of impeccably designed classic interiors by Matthew Patrick Smyth

Matthew Patrick Smyth is renowned for elegant, sophisticated rooms that combine sumptuous fabrics, well-selected antiques, and contemporary comfort. In Through a Designer's Eye, he reveals his design process, emphasizing his commitment to exploring the world, through travel and in the imagination of the theater, and to recording scenes and vignettes in photographs.

Through a Designer's Eye presents Smyth's recent work ranging from a traditional Park Avenue apartment and an edgy Tribeca loft in Manhattan to waterfront houses in Florida, New England, and Long Island that demonstrate his skills in responding to context and eliciting preferences of clients to create a unique environment for each. Nowhere is this better seen than in his own house in Salisbury, Connecticut, an unexpected 1970s prefabricated deck house now elegantly appointed with an eclectic mix of furniture, objects, and works of art he and his partner have collected over many years. Smyth's engaging, first-person narrative references formative experiences with theater and photography and focuses on five elements of interior design - appreciating of artisanal and handcrafted elements, understanding of history and context, evaluating light and seasonal change, weaving furnishings and art into a coherent mise-en-scene, creating an inviting atmosphere - that contribute to successful spaces. Illustrating the text are lush photographs of completed rooms, interspersed with Smyth's own vignettes and details, which add a unique visual layer to the presentation.

An Elle Decor A List designer, Matthew Patrick Smyth opened his interior design/architecture firm in New York City in 1987. His work is widely published in Elle Decor, Town & Country, Veranda, and Connecticut Cottages & Gardens. He also designs a collection of fabrics and wallpaper for F. Schumacher and a line of rugs under his own name.

Wendy Goodman is design editor of New York Magazine and author of May I Come In?