Architectural Digest
Rare & Refined: Designer Michael S. Smith pulls out all the stops for a pair of longtime clients
"What I do is the most fun thing in the world," says interior decorator Michael S. Smith. "I have the opportunity to embrace my love of history and look at beauty all the time." Even more than aesthetics, what interests the California-based talent - whose recent projects include a makeover of the Oval Office - is the psychological aspect of design. "I am obsessed with figuring out what is personal and organic to the clients," he says. "I want to know their eccentricities and their individual culture." At the same time, he understands that a home must reflect its location; it's decorating meets its social anthropology.