One of our favorite Portland artist, Matte Stephens, recently had an interview featured on the Herman Miller blog. It includes photographs that give us a glimpse of his home and workspace. A long time fan of Herman Miller, he has assembled a great collection of furniture that families itself well with his other vintage finds.
Click through to the Herman Miller blog to read the interview with Matte and see a couple more photos of his studio. By surrounding himself with these mid-century objects, Matte has created an environment that is cohesive with his artwork. His aesthetic translates well into home design and onto the canvas. His paintings have a vintage quality that resonates with people that are also fans of this era.


images clockwise: Monsieur Hulot Mon Oncle, Dancing, NYC from Staten Island - Limited Edition prints available at his Etsy shop. To see more of Matte's paintings you can visit his blog.
(Images: Matte Stephens)






Shaw's Original Fir...
I adore
Matte--
I have an extra Herman Miller anti-knock-off poster that is yours for the taking. Follow links from my name to my HGTV portfolio where you'll find my email address.
And love your illustration style.
there's not much negative space in that first shot, is there?
Thank you meganross1 and Patrick!!
Patrick, I am very interested in your poster. I clicked on your HGTV link but can't seem to find your profile. You can contact me at matte_stephens@yahoo.com . Thanks again!
Hi krunkinator, There isn't much negative space in the whole condo :) I'm much more of a collector than a decorator.
I'm sorry; this looks like an interesting apartment, but I can't get past the furniture that "families itself" with other vintage finds. Some nouns are not meant to be verbified.
Matte~
I have the same hanging lamp as pictured left. It has yellowed and the metal has rusted some over the years. Any suggestions on how to clean and/or restore it?
Hi GatoBelly , There is not much you can do about the rust you can use an SOS pad very gently to get some of the rust off of the wire. I use Dawn dish washing liquid to clean the actual shade and it works great. The kind with the Oxogen logo works the best. Pour it directly on the lamp and let it sit for a few minutes . I usually take them outside and spray them off with a hose then. The skin of the lamp was used as fire proofing for the inside of ships during WWII so its pretty tough, I would just be carful not to puncture it.
Wow! Great collection and well presented too.
Unfortunately like Cassis I can't get over the use of 'family' as a verb. It's so bad it makes me itchy.
Tobermory ,thank you for the nice comment!
Matte,
I love your place! I'm a collector more than a decorator too and its a struggle for me to edit my things. Your place is very inspirational because everything is so neat and nicely displayed. Something for me to aspire to. Also, your artwork it totally fab!
Thank you very much suzy8track! Its hard for us to edit our stuff also we just get more storage. :)
Beautiful collection, thanks for sharing! -Cyn
great place, so cheerful! love that you said you are a collector not a decorater. its so much more fun that way instead of making it all perfect. nice collection of plants also.
really love your art, ive been wanting to buy a print for a while now!! must decide which one...:)
Thank you so much Cyn and miajaffe !
Thank you Matte!