Jonni Sissons

As someone who appreciates the finer things in life, Jonni Sissons looks to the tastemakers of couture for the finest in interior decorating motifs and design concepts. An ardent admirer of Michael S. Smith, best known as the interior decorator for Barack and Michelle Obama, Jonni Sissons frequently looks to the famed designer’s books, Michael S. Smith: Elements of Style and Michael S. Smith: Houses, for ideas on updating her own living spaces. One of America’s premier interior decorators for the past two decades, Michael S. Smith launched an independent interior design operation in the early 1990s. A former student at the Otis College of Art and Design and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Michael S. Smith worked in an antiques dealership and collaborated with New York-based interior designer John Saladino, building a rich background in traditional arrangements and an appreciation for grandiloquent accents and sweeping gestures. At the same time, Michael S. Smith’s work extends beyond the typical confines of haute bourgeois interiors and creates a neo-rococo all his own, blending artistic elements from cultures across the globe into a classy, European framework. Regularly sought by celebrities and public figures for his services as a designer and consultant, Michael S. Smith has personally handled the houses of Cindy Crawford, Steven Spielberg, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Dustin Hoffman, and has earned featured coverage in House Beautiful, W, Town & County, Elle Décor, Architectural Digest, and elsewhere. Jonni Sissons counts her Michael S. Smith titles among her favorite books. [Vienna’s Albertina museum, former residence to Duke Albert and a striking example of the 1700s neoclassical interior style – a likely aesthetic inspiration to Michael S. Smith.]