ONE OF THE BEST AMERICAN DESIGNERS

books:


	• Michael S. Smith: Elements of Style Michael Smith, Diane Dorrans Saeks Rizzoli, 2005 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
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Sophisticated style

This book is perfect for the advanced home owner or individuals who have developed a mature and sophisticated style. I find myself returning again and again to the advice of Michael Smith. The more I know about design the more I appreciate his unstructured yet very elegant and extremely discerning method of putting a home together. A terrific resource from a very talented designer!!!

Michael S. Smith, artist

This book is instructional and very well done. The "instructions" are in the photographs. Read them like paintings, which is how I think Michael S. Smith's rooms each look. There are 2 illustrations in the Amazon listing. Look first at the pictures of the room with the green sofa, then at the cover illustration. Then, please, read below & see whether you agree with me.

1. Pairs help to create a formal look: See the 2 leaf green lamps w/blue grey shades, 2 crystal sconces on end wall, 2 ornate crystal candelabra, 2 brass candlesticks on mantle, and 2 photos framed alike.
2. Echoes: Black fireplace box w/white surround & mantle echoes... the black & white photographs/sketches w/white mats & black frames and...the black piano next to all-white floor lamp; Painting of black curving figures on light tan background in brass/gilt frame echo the very solid black coffee table on the cream rug w/tan curving figures.
3. Use of Color in this Room: A subtle example -- There are 3 pieces of furniture with painted wood (excluding the piano): A chair with a cream/white frame, a table/stool in oxblood, and a settee with a blue grey frame. These are shades of the three primary colors. The colors of these 3 painted pieces together comprise the complete spectrum. The "color scheme" of the room as a whole also comprises the complete spectrum. The painted wood is a microcosm of this characteristic of the room. (And the complete spectrum gives us? ...Light.)
4. Gradations of Tints: The use of light-to-dark shades of each color gives a painterly quality to the room, softening the contrasts of colors and emphasizing the volume of the architecture, of the space. RED: cherry rug border, oxblood table, deep coral chair, pink & red flowers (5 shades of red, 3 not counting flowers). GREEN: deep & light green in settee fabric, brighter green in sofa & curtains, slightly brighter green in lamp bases, spring green in leafy bouquet (5 shades of green, 4 not counting bouquet). GOLD: Cream walls & rug background, gilt of picture frame & candlesticks on mantle & gold of print on settee, light tan of painting background and sisal rug, light camel of rug pattern and side chair, deep bronze of oblong sofa pillow and mantle figure, muted yellow of Chinese vase, sunny yellow of blossoming plant on coffee table. (7 shades of yellow, 6 not counting flowering plant). BLUE: Light & darker blue in settee print, soft deeper blue of Chinese vase (3 shades of blue).
5. Use of Black: Always important, but especially obvious here. It's needed to balance the massive black piano.
6. Rooms Need an Element of Surprise. Here it's the settee. The architecture of this room, its paneled walls, high ceilings, wide windows and volume, as well as that 7-foot Steinway (I think.) suggest the use of traditional furnishings. The settee is a subtle and beautiful contrast to the overall English look here. The "surprise" of a steel & glass table, for example, would have been a boring cliché and no surprise at all, don't you think?
7. Now for the Cover Photo. Its design follows that of the previous room, even though the style is completely different. The branches and leaves of the paper, bouquet and table echo one another. Here too the colors yellow, blue/green and red all range from light to dark, pale to bright, and there is a restrained presence of black. The bright blue Chinese vase, the gilt table and the cherry red (of the cherries) in the paper dramatically form a full spectrum, emphasize the full-spectrum of the color scheme and create light right across the center of the photograph. The surprise here is the hand. I think the main role of the pagodas is as verticals against the movement in different directions of all the curvy diagonals in the paper, the table and the vase of branches.
8. True, in the end, it's in the eye of the beholder. And yes, some, even many, of the rooms in this book may not be what you want for yourself. Nevertheless, study this book -- carefully. Then follow Michael S. Smith's lead. Simple as that! (Sorry this is a bit long.)

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ONE OF THE BEST AMERICAN DESIGNERS

MICHAEL SMITH IS ONE OF THE BEST AMERICAN DESIGNERS PRACTICING TODAY AND IT SHOWS IN THIS BEAUTIFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED BOOK...EVERYTHING ABOUT THE TEXT, THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN AND HOW IT LEADS YOU THROUGH THE BOOK, IS FIRST RATE.....I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR WHAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE HISTORICAL INTERIORS; AND ITS DESIGNER, WHO WILL BE IN THE YEARS AHEAD THOUGHT OF AS A GREAT, GREAT DECORATOR... MR SMITH KNOWS HOW TO PUT ATMOSPHERE INTO A ROOM......

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Acclaimed designer Michael Smith has earned a reputation as the thinking celebrity's decorator, with a client list that includes Cindy Crawford, Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Pairing lush interiors with dynamic insider advice, Michael Smith's Elements of Style beautifully captures the essential building blocks of good interior design. Smith covers in depth the most common decorating decisions everyone faces: working with color, selecting the right paint, choosing window treatments and floor coverings, creating a luxurious bed, and building a furniture collection over time. Illustrated with stunning color photography, including a dozen homes presented in depth to demonstrate how rooms work alone and together, the book also includes practical sidebars on learning how to buy antiques and attend auctions, how to ready your home for sale, and how to create a house that can evolve over time. This invaluable, idea-filled resource is about polished, fresh design that is both aspirational and attainable.

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