Book review: Creating Style, Beauty, and Balance with Michael S. Smith

Michael S. Smith’s first collection of new interiors work in seven years. Appearing at a seminal point in Michael Smith’s life and career, The Curated House is also his most personal book, tracing the origins and influences of his design philosophy in depth and presenting a substantial offering of new projects.

In the first section of the book, illustrated with images of Smith’s own dramatic Los Angeles house, his spare desert retreat, and his ornate Manhattan apartment, Smith explores his California roots and explains how they still infuse so much of his work; the importance of California’s own deep traditions; and how his recent work in Spain has influenced him through its architecture, fabrics, and history.

Smith reviews the constants of his interiors, what is integral to his style and why, and how they can work for the reader: from the forms that repeat themselves to the layering of fabrics and patterns, the use of subtle colors, and the idea of comfort in every room.

The second part of the book offers case studies of Smith’s most recent interiors work, including a high-style Manhattan pied-à-terre, an airy London townhouse, a Montana mountain retreat, and a sophisticated Malibu beach house.

Substantive and arresting, The Curated House will be Smith’s most comprehensive book to date, and essential to those aspiring to his refined, popular style.