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Designer Michael S. Smith will make the White House a home for Obamas Michael S. Smith is becoming a household name. That’s what happens when the new first family selects you to make 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. a more livable, beautiful home. Smith — not to be confused with the Christian singer or the Kansas City chef — is a superstar in the design world, decorating the homes of Steven Spielberg, Cindy Crawford and Rupert Murdoch, to drop a few names. But the 44-year-old Californian, even though he has furniture, fabric and candle lines and has written two books, was relatively obscure to the masses until he was named White House designer. “I don’t know much about him,” acknowledges William Seale, the world-renowned restoration expert and White House historian. But in his role working with the Obamas, Smith could change the fabric of the American home. “Before the Kennedys (who worked with designers Sister Parrish and Stephane Boudin), people hardly thought about antiques or old houses,” Seale says. “Theodore Roosevelt’s restoration work influenced the building of revival-style homes across America. As a result, Kansas City has one of the richest collections of those houses in this country.” Kansas City interior designer Caroline McCallister thinks Smith could make his style mainstream in America. “Smith has mastered ‘The Mix,’ ” says McCallister, who worked in the White House during the Reagan administration as television coordinator. “The Mix is hard to do.” The Mix means combining: •Traditional and modern. Smith juxtaposes classic wingback chairs and contemporary abstract art. •Casual and formal. Smith upholsters fancy furnishings with kid- and dog-friendly fabric. •Multiple cultural influences. Smith can seamlessly pull off a room with an Oriental folding screen, antique suzani textiles and an organic tree trunk table. •Expensive and affordable. Smith uses furniture only designers have access to along with cheap Ming Dynasty knockoff china and Pottery Barn jute rugs. His fashion sense (pairing jeans with designer shirts and wearing Keds or custom John Lobb shoes) mirrors his home-décor work. Smith apparently will use furnishings from mainstream brands for the Obama girls’ rooms, two of the 12 bedrooms in the White House private residence. Also at Smith’s disposal for the 34 rooms are the stored furnishings from more than 200 years of presidencies. “It’s not like the warehouse in ‘Citizen Kane’ where treasure loads of things are piled high,” Seale says. “Everything’s carefully cataloged and wrapped — thanks to Jacqueline Kennedy — and Smith will be able to examine any item he wants to within hours.” Most design aficionados say Smith is up to the task. He studied interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London before launching his own design firm in 1990 in Southern California. “I was relieved they chose someone with a deep understanding of 18th- and 19th-century decorative arts, as well as someone with an appreciation for modern pieces of the highest quality,” says Deborah Needleman, editor in chief of Domino magazine, which ran a story about Smith last April quoting him on his ambition to redecorate the White House. “It would’ve been awful for it to have been a young, modern designer who wasn’t sufficiently grounded and well-versed in history and tradition.” To reach Stacy Downs, call 816-234-4780 or send e-mail to sdowns@kcstar.com. http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/997968.html

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