Text: Mysty McLelland
Photos: Photography: Emily Followill, Robert Peterson
Southern Home (SH): What inspired you to completely alter career paths from the field of medicine to kitchen and bath design and ultimately to purchase your company, Design Galleria Kitchen and Bath Studio?
Matthew Quinn (MQ): After enrolling in medical school, I made the pivotal decision to leave the career path my family desired for me to pursue my passion for design. The change was invigorating, and the excitement I felt every day was a stark contrast to my previous medical-minded experience. My new career began quite serendipitously, when the original owner of Design Galleria called the design school I was attending and requested a draftsman candidate. While I didn’t know it at the time, I would ultimately find my specialty in kitchen and bath design—a perfect niche of interior design that fully engages both the analytical and creative sides of my brain.
SH: Interior designer Jamie Drake describes your design vision as “delightful, artistic, and full of aesthetic surprises, while being the ultimate in function, task ease and cleaver use of space.” What elements do you include in each of your designs to achieve the ultimate in both form and function?
MQ: Function is the foundation of my work. This process, much like an anthropology experiment, involves interviewing my clients and taking a detailed inventory of their current kitchens, bathrooms, and dressing rooms. I then create a meticulously detailed and thoughtful design plan they can live in with great ease and efficiency. The form of these spaces is drawn from many sources, such as the home’s architecture and the homeowners’ fashion, art, or even their favorite hotels or boutiques. The look is achieved through the collaboration with the other members of the design and build team to create a gorgeous, cohesive, and timeless project.
SH: How would you describe your design aesthetic?
MQ: My design aesthetic is continuously evolving and never formulaic. I am incredibly fortunate to manage an extensive and diverse portfolio each year—often spanning the globe, with all becoming part of my design DNA. Creatively, I have the opportunity to express a broad base of aesthetics—traditional style in a New York apartment, a modern concept in a Florida home, or a rustic approach in a Colorado retreat—each one focusing on the client’s unique vision and the intricate details of their space.
SH: How has technology influenced your designs over the last 15 years?
MQ: Technology has completely transformed the design world. My clients are inundated with a stream of images and ideas, and it takes a skilled interviewer and editor to interpret those concepts into a unified design scheme. Once the plan is complete, we utilize our own cutting-edge technology by creating photorealistic renderings and upload them into our immersion room, allowing our clients to step inside their future spaces in stunning 360-degree detail to ensure their vision and dreams have been achieved before a single item is ordered.
SH: You have stunning signature collections for various luxury brands as well as your own hardware collection available through Matthew Quinn Collection. Your latest range designed for La Cornue and hood collection designed for François & Co. are debuting in your recently purchased Atlanta home. What are your greatest sources of inspiration for your product designs?
MQ: My dedication to product design is driven by identifying needs and new opportunities in the marketplace and partnering with the best brands and artisans to bring a shared vision to life. I began this approach 20 years ago, when I sought out manufacturers willing to explore new applications for mixed-metal faucets, hardware, and lighting. For example, I have enjoyed an excellent partnership with La Cornue for many years. Together, we recognized client interest in a more contemporary aesthetic, and as a result, I designed a modern interpretation of one of their iconic ranges. This same approach defines my recent collection for François & Co. in which we collaborated to blend historical architectural references with a unique mixture of finishes.
SH: You have an impressive list of celebrity and notable entrepreneurial clients. Can you share one of your most memorable projects with homeowners in this category and how your artistic sensibility was shaped by the experience?
MQ: I am indeed fortunate to work with many talented and highly successful clients, and I am frequently asked about my favorite projects. Oddly enough, the vast majority of the amazing projects that come to mind are about the homeowner and the experience of creating something personal for them, not the actual spaces. I am artistically and personally transformed by observing the world through their eyes and experiences, and I’m shaped by their perseverance, enthusiasm to create something unique, commitment to do it right, and their trust in me to achieve their desired results.
SH: Your passion for travel has inspired trips to hundreds of cities throughout the world. Of all the places you have visited for professional projects or personal adventures, which two or three cities have been the greatest sources of design inspiration?
MQ: First and foremost, Paris, France, will always be my go-to for innovation, fashion, art, and architectural inspiration. At the same time, I find the landscape of Iceland, the waters of the Exumas Islands of the Bahamas, and the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia to be a different sort of stimulus but equally as important to filling my creativity well.
SH: Will you name a few features always included in your kitchen designs?
MQ: My design palette includes a unique ceiling treatment—understanding it is equally as important as the surrounding walls and flooring, versatile lighting incorporating sources from different heights and locations which are able to create unique moods and scenes, countertops that are not only stunning but touchable/livable, cabinet hardware used as jewelry, and the inclusion of at least one item made by an artist—whether it is a single knob, light fixture, or hood. One or more of these design elements can also be applied to instantly modernize an existing kitchen.
Kitchen Trends
MQ: The kitchen featured in each project of my latest book, Quintessential Kitchens and Collaborations by Matthew Quinn: Volume Three, is the epicenter of the home and is the foundation for the design language of a new build. When looking back through my first two volumes, I am filled with such gratification to see the kitchens remain current and beautiful.
Trending in kitchens today:
• Bold colors and all shades of green used in cabinetry, tile, stone, and fabrics
• Chilled carbonated filtered water faucets
• Leather upholstered cabinet and appliance fronts
• Traditional moldings and detailing
• Art Deco/Hollywood Regency style
• Graphic-tile patterns
• Hardware remains mixed metals while becoming more detailed and traditional
• Sculleries (also known as back kitchens/working pantries) are the most requested feature to maintain an uncluttered kitchen
