The art of selecting luxury: how I choose the pieces that make a home

Joseph Matthews III

Sep 25

4 min read

J Matthews Design Studio. Interior designer, Southwest Florida, 20 years of experience.

Anyone can fill a room. The harder part, and the real reason to work with a designer, is choosing pieces that fit the people who live there and hold together as one space. Here is how I approach selecting the furniture, accessories, and art in the homes I design across Southwest Florida.

When people ask why they should hire an interior designer instead of furnishing a home themselves, my honest answer is one word: selection. A house becomes a home in the choices. The chair that is sculptural and still comfortable. The piece of art that sets the mood of a room. The accessory that keeps a space from looking like a showroom floor. After 20 years of doing this work, I have both the trained eye and the sources to make those choices well and to make them work together. I also work full-service and turnkey, which simply means I take a project from the first concept through to a finished, move-in-ready home.

Why hire an interior designer instead of doing it yourself?

Two things a designer brings are hard to buy at retail: judgment and access. Judgment is knowing what belongs together, what will read as cohesive rather than gathered at random, and which costly mistakes to avoid before anything is ordered. Access is the trade relationships and showrooms that most homeowners cannot reach on their own. You can absolutely furnish a home yourself. Hiring a designer means having those decisions made by someone who makes them every day.

How do I choose furniture for a luxury home?

look for pieces that do two jobs at once: hold their shape as objects you notice, and still invite you to sit down and stay. That might be a velvet tuxedo chair, a boucle lounge, or a sculptural accent chair. Comfort and form together, not one at the expense of the other. In Southwest Florida I also weigh how a piece will live with the climate, including strong coastal light and humidity, which shapes the fabrics and finishes I recommend.

What do accessories actually do in a room?

Accessories are the styling layer: the smaller objects like bookends, vases, and bowls that finish a space. They are easy to dismiss, but a room without them tends to read flat or unfinished, closer to a model unit than a home. The right ones give a space personality and make it feel considered rather than staged. This is often where a room stops looking decorated and starts looking like it belongs to someone.

How do I select art for a space?

Art is not filler for an empty wall. More often than not it sets the emotional tone of a room, so I treat it as one of the most personal choices in a project. I choose art to suit the life of the home and the people in it, whether that is a bold contemporary canvas or a quieter vintage abstract. It usually comes toward the end, once the room can tell me what it needs.

Where do I source furniture and art?

I use a mix of luxury showrooms and direct relationships with manufacturers, along with trade markets where I can find makers and pieces before they reach the mainstream. High Point Market in North Carolina is one example of such a market. This kind of access is a large part of what a designer offers that shopping retail cannot easily match.

What design styles do I work in?

If you are planning a project in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Tampa, or the Lakewood Ranch area and want it handled from concept to completion, Contact page is a good place to start. You can also see finished rooms on the Portfolio page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need a designer if I already know what I like?

Knowing your taste is a good starting point, and it makes the work easier. A designer turns that taste into a coordinated result: sourcing the pieces, confirming they work together, and handling the ordering and installation. You also gain access to trade-only furnishings you cannot buy directly.

What areas does J Matthews Design Studio serve?

The studio is based in the Lakewood Ranch area and serves Southwest Florida, including Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, and Tampa.

Where do the furnishings come from?

A combination of luxury showrooms, direct manufacturer relationships, and trade markets. That range is what makes it possible to bring in pieces you are unlikely to see in every other home.

✦ Furniture That Feels Like Fashion

Joseph’s favorite finds often include luxurious chairs that flirt with sculptural form, commanding attention while inviting relaxation. Think tailored velvet tuxedo chairs, shapely boucle lounges, or gold-accented accent pieces that are as much art as they are furniture.

✦ Art with a Pulse

The artwork Joseph curates is never filler—it’s the emotional center of the space. From bold contemporary canvases to thoughtfully sourced vintage abstracts, his selections always speak to the lifestyle of the home, the energy of the room, and the story of the client.

Ready to transform your space into a sanctuary of style?

Connect with us today and experience the magic of working with Joseph Matthews—where luxury is personal, and every detail matters.