And then came Windsor Smith

I’m always falling in love. No, not in real life (sadly) but in my magazine world! Every few months, I discover a new interior designer to love. My designer crushes make me swoon, but can be rather cruel too. It’s hard to find good gossip and you can’t always find examples of their work. Hey, a girl needs information (and photos!) to sustain a decent crush.

Like everyone, I’ve fallen for the big names. They’re easier to love, with more available photos of their work and more published information (like, say, an interview!), and if you’re lucky, your darling has published a book or two.


Over the past year or so, I’ve been smitten by Mariette Himes-Gomez and Victoria Hagan. And then I went a little wild and had a huge Vicente Wolf crush. Then, the dreamy (design-wise) Michael S. Smith smote me and I’ve been in love ever since. I often daydream of photos from his “Elements of Style” and wish I could plaster my body with them. Okay, now I digress…


I have mini-crushes too, like when I fell for Schuyler Samperton and stalked her worldly style on the internet for days.

Most recently I’ve fallen for (Her Royal Coolness) Windsor Smith. I was flipping through a neglected issue of Domino from last summer and WHAMMO, there she was in all her Windsor-ness, showing off her classy, cool California home. I didn't fall for any particular photo - just her groovy personal style, her classic and classy but approachable interiors, and her lovely colour sense. I am smitten!

I find it hard to describe styles to other people, but to me, her work is sophisticated and refined, but also quiet and soothing and liveable. She loves chinoiserie and classic details. And she chooses the prettiest, most perfect colours imaginable. She effectively deploys an arsenal of pale, watery blue-greens and pinks, soft creams and whites, and dusty old muted blues and purples and greys. Plus, I love her unexpected punches of warm colours, like this golden-yellow to keep you on your toes! Pure heaven to my eyes!

The following photos (some rooms are the same as above!) are from Windsor Smith's own L.A. home, as photographed by Miguel Flores-Vianna for Domino, August 2007 (endless thank you's to Style Court)

And to keep you drooling, this glorious sofa (Chloe) is from Smith's own collection:

Isn't she lovely?