Matthew Bees
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? A farm somewhere with a large garden
What are three words to describe your style? 1. Timeless 2. Educated 3. Thoughtful
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My mother selected a pale blue on blue vertical striped paper with navy curtains and bedding, all trimmed in white. Sometime in my teen years, we changed it to a green and cream scheme and I’ve almost always had a green bedroom ever since.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I purchased my first English chest on chest around 2009. Before then, having grown up in Alabama, I had purchased several American empire pieces. After moving to Charleston and gaining a wealth of knowledge about antiques, I tend to go to English styles for brown furniture. I’ve since owned and sold a half dozen chest on chest and it’s still one of my favorite pieces of furniture.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Mark Hampton or John Fowler
No room is complete without Good art and a sprinkling of blue & White porcelain
People think of me as excessive, but I am really practical
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement strong smelling lilies
An hors d’oeuvre platter stinky cheese
A bar cabinet nothing!
A song for:
Dinner at home anything by Diana Krall
Working at your desk: 80’s music at a high volume
Going for a run: most likely something by Britney
Biggest Vice? Wrinkles
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Wedgwood Napoleon ivy china or vintage William Yeoward stemware
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I find my designs to be focused on how one lives and my style is a reflection of how I live. My “uniform” is a blue oxford shirt, Ralph Lauren jeans, and Stubbs and Wootton slippers. I have maybe 20+ blue shirts, and more Stubbs and Wootton slippers than I will admit to, but it’s what I feel comfortable wearing and I can dress it up or down depending on the day’s activities.
Who is your star crush? Timothée Chalamet “Elio, Elio, Elio...”
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Self cording
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Colefax and Fowler The Best in English Decoration
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Keeping classical styles relevant to how we live today
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Gosford Park
Book: Grew up reading Mark Twain, then onto F. Scott Fitzgerald (both my father’s favorites) now I’m more into biographies, many from Jon Meacham.
Scent: For myself - Creed Millésime Impérial or Creed Royal Water, For the home - Nest hearth in cooler months and Nest bamboo during the spring/summer.
The fabric you always come back to: Brunschwig & Fils Le Lac
Dream project: The White House
Meal: Chicken Scallopini and an Orange Thing from Frank Stitt’s Bottega Café in Birmingham, Alabama.
Drink: French 75, or a good bourbon.
Hotel: In Charleston - The Dewberry, in New York - The Nomad. Both are outside my wheelhouse of design and are an experience for me, that’s what a hotel is meant to be.
Travel Destination: London
Artist: Frank Phillips
Thing to collect obsessively: China, stemware, and serving pieces. I’m big on entertaining
Era in the history of design: I think I’d have to go back to the magical interiors of pre-war England, the inherited interiors of those country estates that Nancy Lancaster, John Fowler and their many followers (Mark Hampton, Mario Buatta) have recreated in the last century.
Museum: The Met
Paint Color that always look great: Benjamin Moore Ivory Tower
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Duane Hampton for a good laugh or quick history lesson, Christopher Spitzmiller for continued inspiration in all things.
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? I’m a dog person. I have a 2 year old Wheaton terrier named Priscilla and a 4 year old black doodle named Presley.
