An unexpected take on traditional Southern style in a sprawling Kentucky estate

The designer deploys his keen understanding of scale in the sitting room, which, though large, is warm and inviting, with a soothing but interesting use of colour and several comfortable places to perch. The wallcovering from Gracie in a chalky sea blue creates an atmospheric mood and sings in combination with the vibrant chartreuse velvet used for the sofa upholstery. Contemporary artwork by America Martin, as well as a Sixties abstract painting above the chimneypiece, ensures a fresh feel, while simple burlap-like linen and elegant bamboo window treatments offer balance.

‘There are certain colours that flow through rooms,’ says Matthew of the duck-egg blues that resurface in the dining room in both textiles and paint. A tobacco-hued floral English landscape wallpaper from de Gournay provides a muddy backdrop to the chairs in a punchy peacock-blue velvet. A modern rosewood dining table by furniture maker Keith Fritz and an old weathered olive jug that Matthew likes for its ‘crustiness’ calibrate the prettier, more formal elements in the room. These include the elaborate 17th-century-inspired chandelier, the Georgian demi-lune table and an Italian 18th-century mirror.

Each room offers a different perspective on texture and colour. Matthew had the library joinery, made from dark mahogany and formerly stained, painted to resemble limed cypress to preserve the warmth of the space but also to lighten it. A collection of bright Chinese ivory crackleware punctuates the antique leather-bound books on the shelves, while the vibrant textiles and Arne Norell chair enliven what could seem more predictable. Meanwhile, the TV room was treated in a lacquered aubergine hue (‘Brinjal’ by Farrow & Ball), which comes alive at night. Bright marigold velvet on the sofa and indigo and aquamarine accessories – such as the oversized candlesticks Matthew picked up in Turkey – tell a dynamic colour story.

Furnishing the enormous (and numerous) bedrooms was an equally important task. ‘Some of the rooms are like houses in themselves – they are so big we had to fill them up with lots of objects, sofas, chairs, textiles and antiques,’ explains Matthew. To define each of the spaces, he focused on the layering of fabrics, colours and artwork. In one of the bedrooms, a largescale painting of ballerinas by contemporary artist Valeriy Gridnev and an ochre Sultanabad rug provided direction for the rest of the room, the scale of which Matthew has humanised with oversized mirrors and a commanding four-poster bed. A Syrian chair at the foot of the bed is both sculptural and a practical place for a guest to throw a bag or jacket. In another room, Matthew plays with chintz in mismatched colourways and combines it with unexpected elements, such as a white ‘Tulip’ table by Eero Saarinen and a vivid yellow bed, that both frame spaces and contrast with the rest of the room.

While the guest quarters boast prodigious proportions, the main bedroom is more intimately scaled, with an exposed ceiling painted a warm oyster grey. A diminutive adjacent sitting room – lacquered in lime green and affording bucolic views through french windows – feels luxuriously private. Orange fabric cloaks the bedroom walls and a striking geometric print from Vaughan has been used to cover the frame of the streamlined four-poster designed by Matthew. At the foot of the bed, the last-minute addition of an old and faded Turkish suzani adds just the right kind of patina and pretty detail. ‘I can’t plan everything on paper,’ reflects Matthew. ‘I like to allow for a lot of chaos at the end – that’s where most of the interest happens.’

Matthew Carter Interiors: matthewcarterinteriors.com