Suzie Mc Adam
photo by Ruth Maria Murphy
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? It would be in Sóller, Mallorca, where the architecture is all weathered stone, green shutters, and tiled floors cooled by sea breeze. The dramatic coastline, fringed with olive trees and citrus orchards, feels like something out of a painting, soulful, sun-drenched, and utterly transportive.
What are three words to describe your style? Atmospheric, Curated, Artful
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? I had painted humpback whales on my walls and Moon & Star printed curtains and cushions, pure 90s heaven! Ironically (or maybe inevitably), I just finished a mermaid mural in my current coastal home, thirty years later. Some things never leave you.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I bought an abstract painting at an exhibition when I was 18. It has come with me to every apartment and house since, and actually become the starting point of the design scheme of my drawing room design in my current home.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? I’d hire Bunny Mellon in a heartbeat, her style was impossibly refined yet deeply unfussy, a masterclass in quiet luxury & symmetry.
No room is complete without Art & Lamps
People think of me as an extrovert, but I am really introverted and crave solitude
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Lillies or sunflowers or carnations An hors d’oeuvre platter: Anything that is greasy....
A bar cabinet: Anything with bad branding.
A song for
Dinner at home: River: Leon Bridges
Working at your desk: Goodnight Dear Void: George Fenton Going for a run: Too sweet: Hozier
Biggest Vice? Simone Rocha handbags & dresses
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? It’s more a glass of Rose for me! I love collecting Egyptian revival sculpture & furniture, so this would be in my basket!
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I’ve often found that my personal style echoes the way I approach interiors, rooted in a love for history, storytelling, and the unexpected. I'm drawn to silhouettes with a sense of bohemia & vintage references. Even the most contemporary designs I gravitate toward tend to carry that thread of nostalgia.
Who is your star crush? Leo in Romeo & Juliet.
What design book do you find yourself going back to again and again? The one I return to again and again is Cabana, it’s a sensory world of layered textiles, timeworn beauty, and interiors that feel lived-in and loved. It’s a reminder that design should move you, not just impress you.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? For posterity, I’d like my work to be known for its understated elegance and quiet boldness, always evolving, never repeating, with each project telling its own distinct story.
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Marie Antoinette is my forever film, a sugared fever dream where beauty disarms and pastels speak in secrets, the palette has stayed with me and inspired countless projects.
Book: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Scent: Encens 9 by La Labo
The fabric you always come back to: Anything by Pierre Frey has my heart, my sample room is filled with every collection they have made.
Dream project: A lakefront Vila on Lake Como is my dream project, faded frescoes, shuttered light, terrazzo floors under bare feet, and every room opening to water and sky.
