Matthew Carter is known for designing timeless interiors that feel both traditional and modern. He started his eponymous firm — Matthew Carter Interiors — in 2002 at just 28 years old. The business is based in Lexington, but Carter has clients all around the world.
He’s transformed residences in California and Maine, historic horse farms and country houses in Kentucky, and the exclusive Lyford Cay Club in The Bahamas.
You might recognize Carter (or his colorful work) from Instagram, where he has amassed nearly 50,000 followers since 2014. He believes that social media presence has been instrumental to his success because it has helped him connect with design editors and reach new clients.
Carter, who splits his time between Lexington and Harbour Island, Bahamas, has been featured in publications including House Beautiful, House & Garden, and Southern Living. He was also named one of Veranda’s Next Legends in 2021.
Most recently, he designed interiors in the newly constructed Paddock Building at Keeneland. In true Carter fashion, these elegant new spaces see classic design elements (like mahogany wainscotting) paired with more contemporary touches (like gingham wallpaper).
We visited with Carter to learn more about his career and contributions to Keeneland.
How big is your team and how involved are you with each project?
We’re a team of five and I’m extremely hands-on, but I have the most amazing team out there and I couldn’t do it without them. We’re all friends and we travel together at times because what we do is sort of everywhere now. I’m heavily involved with the clients and big-picture schemes. I still choose most of the fabrics and colors, but I have a great young designer who works in the office and we have a collaborative relationship.
How did you honor tradition in the Paddock Building while also putting your own spin on the new spaces?
I’ve worked with Keeneland for over a decade now, but all of that work has been in the Clubhouse, so this was really an extension of that. What’s nice about this is you don’t have to be a club member to go into these really elevated, beautiful spaces. But it needed to feel consistent, and it does. We’re absolutely over the moon with how it turned out.
Keeneland is unapologetically traditional, and that’s their brand. The Clubhouse is coat and tie, and people love it. The worst thing you could do to a place like that is try to make it feel like something it’s not. But no one wants it to be boring, either. I have a hard time describing how I tread the line between traditional and interesting, but I think it’s just through interesting pieces we find along the way. They might be vintage, they might be more modern, but I think the mix and the way they’re put together is what keeps a space from looking too “yawn.”
Are you looking for specific pieces, or do you let whatever you find inspire the space you’re designing?
Both. If I’m shopping for a project and I see something that has nothing to do with that project, but I know it’s amazing, I’ll just buy it. Shopping for a project in The Bahamas is different from shopping for a house on the East Coast or a farm in Kentucky, so it depends on what I’m working on and where my brain is.
For Keeneland, the spaces are large, so we had to have pieces of furniture that were specific in size. We got really long console tables and chests — pieces that were able to hold their own within the interior architecture of the space — but I usually just buy what appeals to me and what I think will appeal to the project or client.
Your rooms have so much personality, but not in a way that feels overdone. How do you achieve that balance?
I tend to use color for a “wow” moment, so if we lacquer a room in a funny green or something like that, the rest of it is pretty tame. At home, we have an olive-green lacquered library, but everything else is fairly muted. I like one thing that’s commanding in a space, but then I always try to pull other elements back a little bit. There’s a happy medium there.
What role has social media played in your success?
I got on Instagram because the daughter of a client told me I needed to. This was a million years ago. I started posting pictures and developed a following, then we did our house on Harbour Island and I posted pictures of it. That was a pivotal point because the response was overwhelming — it still is, to the point that my husband is like, “Oh God, not another picture of our living room.”
It has helped my career more than anything else. I have about 50,000 followers now, and that’s the reason design editors know who I am. It’s why I’ve gotten projects in The Bahamas. I think what’s been successful for me is that every now and then I post a picture of Brent Bruner and me, of me, whatever it is — not just rooms. I get a little more personal here and there, but you have to decide if that’s okay with you. I have people recognize me all the time from Instagram. It’s shocking. But it’s been a great way to get my work out there. I can’t imagine my career without it, to be honest.
You’ve done work all around the world. Why have you chosen to stay in Lexington?
We have such a great group of friends and a close-knit family here. I think it boils down to quality of life for me, but I also think the horse industry gives a city our size something different than many other smaller cities. It brings such an interesting mix of people from all over the world to Lexington, and a lot of them are my clients. It’s opened a lot of doors.