Michael S Smith – also known as Obama’s White House decorator – is one of the most respected and original talents in the industry. Born in California, Michael studied interior design at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Come with us and travel through his best projects.

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Launched in 1990, Michael S Smith Inc. has flourished under the visionary leadership of Michael S. Smith, a seasoned and admired voice in the design industry, not only on the West Coast, but worldwide. Distinguished by a deep respect for tradition filtered through a modern lens, the Michael S Smith ethos is more of a perspective than a definable style.

Michael brings together many talents and elements, often choosing top collaborators, calling on his discerning eye, curatorial knowledge, and multicultural sensibility to weave a harmonious whole for each environment or collection. Everything under the Michael S Smith Inc umbrella reflects Michael’s personal aesthetic.

For his Design Portfolio of private projects—residences, hotels and commercial spaces—Michael takes an individual approach to each, listening intently to the requirements of each individual client, understanding how rooms will be lived in and used, incorporating colors, texture, objects, and works of art, then crafting a holistic design that meets these goals. Michael thinks of each project as a story, a story he and his clients will tell together.  It’s an organic process that’s always unique.

He takes a similar path in designing the Jasper Collection of fine furniture, fabrics, leathers, wallcoverings, and accessories, letting the designs develop naturally. Michael’s inspiration is the past, informed by the present.  This ability to seamlessly blend the historic and the modern is his particular gift and results in lines designed to enhance and enlighten many types of environments.  The Jasper Collection is available at the Jasper Showroom in Los Angeles and through regional showrooms throughout the US and Europe.

While Michael S Smith’s design work is ever-evolving, there are overarching concepts that unify the collections and colleagues within the Michael S Smith Inc family.  An artful amalgam of the historic and the modern.  A reverence for objects, motifs, and craftsmanship of the past.  A recognition that the most sophisticated design solution is often the simplest. A belief that beautiful, elegant, and luxurious objects can exist in environments of warmth and comfort.  These qualities are reflected in every object that bears the Michael S Smith name.

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