Michael Sean Smith (born 1963) is an American

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

er based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Smith was appointed by President Barack Obama to the

Committee for the Preservation of the White House The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory committee charged with the preservation of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the president of the United States. The committee is largely made up of c ...

from 2008-2016 and is responsible for the 2010 makeover of the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

Early life

Michael Smith was born in 1964. He studied at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for graduate studies.

Career

He started his career by working with the

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

s dealer Gep Durenberger and with the New York designer John Saladino. He has been running his own interior design business since 1990. In an interview with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', he describes his style as "updated traditional"; in fact, his work blends vintage and contemporary looks with elements such as "Georgian antiques, Uzbek suzani textiles, 18th-century Chinese wallpaper, sun-bleached Moroccan carpets and a dash of Anthropologie and

Pottery Barn Pottery Barn is an American upscale home furnishing store chain and e-commerce company, with retail stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. The company is headq ...

". ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' included Smith among its "AD 100", its "selection of the top architects and interior designers" published in the magazine in recent years. Its editorial "profile" of Smith characterizes his style as "a blend of classic European style and American modernism". Smith was also named 2003 Designer of the Year by '' Elle Decor''. Smith's clients reportedly include News Corporation president

Peter Chernin Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of TCG (company), The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, ...

Oaktree Capital Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

chairman Howard Marks, writer

Gigi Levangie Grazer Gigi Levangie (born Georgianne Levangie; January 2, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. She has written numerous screenplays but is most widely known for the film '' Stepmom'', starring Julia Roberts and Susan S ...

, model Cindy Crawford (for whom Smith has designed two California houses and two New York apartments), film director

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, and actors

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

and

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and ...

White House makeover

In 2008,

Barack Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

appointed Smith to redecorate the residential quarters of the White House. During this project, Smith worked with Michelle Obama and White House curator William Allman to select art on-loan from museums to be displayed in private quarters and elsewhere. In February 2010, President Obama appointed him a member of the

. Smith's makeover of the

was revealed to the public in late August 2010. Dominated by shades of taupe and beige, the designer redecorated the bookcases with Native American baskets and ceramics from the National Museum of the American Indian and installed "a rug woven with quotations from Martin Luther King Jr.,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and others; two fawn-colored cotton-rayon sofas; two elegant midnight-blue lamps by Christopher Spitzmiller; and an extremely contemporary

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

coffee table from Roman Thomas, a New York furnituremaker". Smith has authored several books on interior design including: ''The Curated House: Creating Style, Beauty, and Balance, Building Beauty: The Alchemy of Design, Kitchens and Baths, Houses, and Elements of Style.''

Personal life

He lived in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with his partner,

United States Ambassador to Spain The incumbent ambassador is Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, she was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on January 7, 2022 and presented her credentials on February 2, 2022. This is a list of United States ambassadors to Spain from 1779 to the ...

James Costos James Costos (born 1963) is an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2013 to 2017. He was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate on August 1, 2013. Outside of hi ...

. Currently Smith and Costos reside in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles and in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

Publications

*
Michael S. Smith: Elements of Style
' (with Diane Dorrans Saeks). New York: Rizzoli, c2004. *
Michael S. Smith: Houses
' (with Christine Pittel). New York: Rizzoli, 2008.

References

External links

Michael S. Smith official website"A Designer’s World: The dazzling interiors of Michael Smith" (Elle Decor)"An Elegant Retreat in Malibu: Inspired by Palladian villas, designer Michael S. Smith creates a sublime seaside getaway" (Elle Decor)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael S. 1964 births Living people American interior designers Otis College of Art and Design alumni