Matthew Patrick Smyth Shares His Design Secrets
By Joseph Montebello
Matthew Patrick Smyth exudes many of the same virtues that make his interiors so very special. He is elegant, tastefully dressed, worldly wise, and has impeccable taste, with just a shot of whimsy when called for. His work is represented in spectacular houses and apartments around the world. His latest book Through a Designer’s Eye: A Focus on Interiors features some of his recent work, ranging from a traditional Park Avenue apartment, a unique Tribeca loft to waterfront houses in Florida, New England, and Long Island. He also shares his philosophy and approach to interior design. Making this book even more special is the fact that Smyth took many of the photographs himself.
“I hadn’t picked up a camera in 20 years,” he explains. “But with the popularity and importance of Instagram I started shooting again and became inspired to include some of my own pictures in this new book.”
Smyth did not start out to be a designer. It wasn’t until he heard about David Easton and the field of interior design that he decided to apply to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and try to enter the field.
“I went home, took some photographs, made a few drawings and pulled together a rather slim portfolio to take to FIT,” recalls Smyth. “There were dozens laid out. When the judges came to mine they said it was weak but there was something in my photographs they liked, so they gave me a chance. I finally knew this was the career I wanted.”
Smyth was fortunate to get a job with Easton and that’s where he learned how to see the intrinsic value of any given piece and to successfully mix furnishings with similar lines, materials, and forms even when they are products of different centuries. It is that innate instinct that is key to Smyth’s work.
In addition to supplying some of his own photography, another special aspect of Through a Designer’s Eye is that it includes Smyth’s new house.
“I had lived in an 1890s house in Sharon for many years,” he says. “Then I saw this ‘70s ranch house in Sharon and thought I could turn it into something special. I wasn’t sure I was going to live there once it was renovated.”
But last August when the house was done, he did indeed move into it.
“I went from a 19th century house in the middle of Sharon to a 1976 ranch house in the woods of Salisbury,” Smyth laughs, “and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve always lived in old houses, but life is easier in this new one. Since the pandemic I have been working from home and have been able to fully enjoy country life.”
In his own home Smyth employed his genius of combining pieces from other periods and places, collected over the years and placing them in fresh surroundings. He and his partner Jean have settled in nicely.
“This house is about us right now. It is different from our last house, which was about us then. We all evolve.”
