Dan's Papers - June 22, 2007 - At Home with B. Smith

B. Smith, lifestyle savant for most of America but better known to Hamptonites as a friendly local and the titular owner of the best water-front dining restaurant in downtown Sag Harbor, is adding another notch to her ornate belt: furniture designer. With Clayton Marcus, a division of the La-Z-Boy Corporation, she will debut the At Home with B. Smith furniture collection at the International Home Furnishing Spring Market in High Point, North Carolina on March 26th through April 1st. The collection marks a major racial turn-point in the field of furniture design, as the first by an African American woman to be presented for national distribution.

The debut of Smith's collection not only opens up doors for African Americans in the world of interior design, but is also a point of pride for residents of Sag Harbor, the inspirational locale for part of the collection. Sag Harbor is one of the three groups that comprise the complete collection; the other two are Central Park South and Mosaic Treasures.

"My Central Park South collection, inspired by my current home, represents modern and sophisticated living combined with the soothing effect of having nature right outside my door," said Smith.

Among the signature items is a console table in a dark finish with a sensually curved front that will make Gothamists proud. "It's beautiful and fits in any room in the house," Smith says.

But Smith not only has nature right outside her Central Park South building door, but also embraces it across the L. I. E. at her Sag Harbor home. For this collection, Smith turned to that seaside cottage feel and artistic airiness that Sag Harbor's free spirits and weekenders adore.

"The color choices and fabrics I've selected for the Sag Harbor collection reflects that combination of sky, land and water," Smith said.

Lastly, Smith recalled the experiences she had around the world as a former model to design the Mosaic Treasures collection."Mosaic Treasures captures the sense of adventure in looking for exotic fabrics from the four corners of the world," she said.

Dealers and media attending the spring market will have an opportunity to see the At Home with B. Smith collection first-hand in the Clayton Marcus showroom, where nine vignettes of living spaces will feature the three furniture groups. Consumers will get their first look at the collection when it arrives in stores in the fall. Smith's furniture collection with Clayton Marcus is an additional aspect of her lifestyle brand that also includes the successful B. Smith with Style(R) Home Collection sold exclusively for the past six years at Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide and the "B. Smith with Style" television show, now in its 10th year. Her flagship New York restaurant is celebrating its 20th year in business and the Sag Harbor restaurant opened for its 10th season this past May. This affable mover and shaker may want to snag a piece of her own nice new furniture to relax and take a break in.