The Obamas are already style icons, and their choice of interior designer confirms their good taste, writes ZITA SPRING
DURING THE US presidential election, there was no mistaking which candidate was operating the most stylish campaign. Not only did Barack Obama’s campaign utilise smart, modern posters designed by hip graphic designers, artists and illustrators such as Shepard Fairey, Lance Wyman, Robert Indiana and Scott Hansen, his candidacy inspired many in America’s design community to show their support by creating their own Obama merchandise, with proceeds being donated to Obama’s campaign.
Both commissioned and independently produced posters quickly sold out. New York furniture megastore ABC Carpets Home was even selling chairs upholstered in kitschy fabric patterned with Obama’s face – not something that would work in every interior, granted. Not since the days when every Irish kitchen featured a framed photo of JFK has a US president or presidential candidate had such an effect on home decoration.
The forecast is that it will be Michelle Obama influencing interiors this year – or rather, her savvy choice of White House decorator. Michael S Smith, a 44-year-old Californian designer, was selected by Michelle Obama a few weeks ago to redecorate the private quarters of the White House. Smith’s eclectic taste and laid-back sensibility are popular among his elite celebrity clientele who favour unpretentious interiors with an emphasis on style and comfort. Clients have included Steven Spielberg, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dustin Hoffman and Rupert Murdoch. Smith describes his style as a “delicate blend of European tradition and American modernism”. He has studied interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and also spent a year studying at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Smith’s style embraces a range of foreign influences, from old-fashioned English lodges and French country homes to exotic Mediterranean villas and sumptuous Arabian souks, combined with a breezy Californian elegance and just a hint of Hollywood polish. Antique and vintage furniture and textiles play a big part in his interiors, and are used in a practical way that is neither stuffy nor showy.
No doubt Smith will relish examining the contents of the White House basement – since the Kennedy era, no White House furniture has been thrown away, and the Obamas will have their pick of the storerooms, which house many modern classics. Using what furniture is already available should prove to be a handy money saver, as the incoming president is allocated only $100,000 for redecorating expenses, which is a pretty modest budget for a mansion makeover undertaken by a designer to
the stars. Fortunately, Smith knows that the key to living large is simplicity, and he maintains that every grand room needs something humble.
The details of the White House’s new interior design are still being worked out, and not a lot is known about the Obamas’ taste in furnishings and decor. Photographs of their home in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighbourhood show Asian and African art, glass-fronted bookcases and framed family photos. “Michael shares my vision for creating a family-friendly feel to our new home and incorporating some new perspectives from some of America’s greatest artists and designers,” Michelle Obama said in a statement.
“The family’s casual style, their interest in bringing 20th-century American artists to the forefront and utilising affordable brands and products will serve as our guiding principles as we make the residence feel like their home,” Smith has said, adding that he was keen to help the Obamas “bring their own energy and style” to the private quarters.
Denis Staunton reported in The Irish Timesin January that Barack Obama's first interior design undertaking would be to remove the flat-screen television from the historic Lincoln room. "You have all these mementos of Abraham Lincoln, but you have this flat-screen TV in there," Obama said. "That didn't seem to me to be appropriate. You should read when you're in the Lincoln Bedroom. Re-read the Gettysburg Address. Don't watch TV."
The newly appointed “decorator in chief” might persuade Obama otherwise, though. In the master bedroom of his own home, Smith has a large TV on a gilt table, and it’s something for which he makes no apologies. “It’s about the juxtaposition of grand and simple, and because life should be about workability and function. Televisions make our lives more interesting and better, so why sequester them?”
One might wonder what Smith considers a decorating faux pas? “There’s nothing more tragic than rooms that look as if the furniture all arrived on the same day, in the same truck,” he answers. Michael Smith eschews the flashy and predictable in favour of comfortable family interiors that delight in history and diversity – two important elements in any house, not least the White House.
Michael S Smith's new book Housesis published by Rizzoli New York and available to buy on Amazon from €21