Interior designer Mattye Dewhirst’s house is not just stunning, it’s scroll-stopping—something that’s not easy to pull off these days. And I say this matter-of-factly because her home took over Reddit’s biggest interior design communities within hours.
If I were to describe a bold, colorful, personality-filled home to you, you would probably expect some chaos. But that’s not the case in Mattye and Tom’s home. Built from the ground up, The Black Iris, as they’ve named it, is a giant example of unapologetic personality—and one that offers surprisingly clear interior design lessons.
Based in Rhode Island, Mattye is an interior designer who, after working with countless clients and even designing a previous home of her own, grew tired of neutral, safe design decisions. So when it came time to build her own home, she fully embraced color and pattern.
I sat down with Mattye, whose work was recently featured in Boston Home Magazine to unpack the thinking behind a home in full color and the interior design lessons that keep it cohesive. Keep reading to see how expressive interiors come together and how to apply these principles when decorating slowly, over time.
Inside a Home Designed Without Fear
Unfortunately, it’s very common for people not to design their homes around what they love—they design around imagined limits.
Think about it. How many times have you wanted to go in one direction with your interiors, but stopped halfway, thinking, “Is this color too bright?” or “I can’t mix these two patterns…” or even, “I don’t think my husband will like this.”
Hearing these kinds of comments over the years is what partly inspired Mattye to go all in on her own home. She wanted a giant, real-life example of “yes, you can” be unapologetically yourself in your interiors.
“My whole hallway is pink, and while the house was being built, the electricians and plumbers would say, ‘I really like this color.’ And I’d be like, ‘Ha, ha. Let me record them.’”
As Mattye pointed out in our conversation, your home should speak about you and the people living in it. Unfortunately, some trends (like the millennial gray living room, which we unpacked in detail) have made people think that playing it safe is the same thing as getting it right.
In the end, a series of safe decisions can lead to interiors that feel nice, but lack personality—and start to look like everyone else’s.
“I didn’t want it to feel ‘nice.’ I wanted to walk into a room and think—hell yeah.”
Cohesion Doesn’t Come from Matching—It Comes from Connection
One of the primary reasons people play it safe in their interiors is the fear of losing cohesion. And for many, that means making everything match. But Mattye’s home shows that cohesion isn’t about sameness, it’s about connection.
These interior design lessons show how that connection is built without sacrificing character.
- Be mindful of sight lines: What you see from one space into another matters. This is especially important when working with different shades and patterns. Always carry at least one accent color from one space into the next.
- Repeat color intentionally: What keeps Mattye and Tom’s home well balanced is how colors reappear throughout the space. They don’t need to match exactly, but they should feel related.
- Think in transitions, not contrasts: Instead of jumping from one color or mood to another, create a sense of progression between spaces. In The Black Iris, a pink hallway acts as a bridge between white walls and coral upholstery, making the shift feel intentional.
- Allow variation within a clear system: As Mattye describes it, you can think of color like a kaleidoscope—colors don’t disappear from one room to the next; they shift in proportion. Each space changes, but nothing feels disconnected.
The Importance of Restraint in Bold Interiors
It’s easy to go overboard with color, pattern, and expression. That’s why, believe it or not, calibrated restraint is key when designing bold, character-driven interiors.
But don’t think of it as a limitation—it’s actually what allows bold interiors to come together. Much like we discussed in our piece , the expressive homes that feel intentional do so because there’s a clear sense of what to hold back.
“There could be two solid-color rooms in a row, but never two wallpapered ones.”
Here are some of the ways Mattye controlled visual intensity throughout the home:
- Pattern control: Scale matters when mixing motifs. When similar scales compete, you end up with visual chaos. Instead, pair a large print with a smaller pattern and a solid.
- Alternating intensity: To avoid visual overload, Mattye intentionally used wallpaper in every other room, so you’re never seeing two competing patterns at once.
- Floor vs. wall balance: In the same way, she was mindful of not placing competing patterns next to each other on different surfaces. If one room had a bold, patterned floor, the next would feature a simpler shape in a solid tile.
- Layered lighting instead of a single focal source: Rather than relying on overhead lighting, Mattye used sconces throughout to create an even, distributed glow. This keeps the space balanced, much like we break down in our guide on how to layer lighting like a designer.
When you think about it, restraint actually works in your favor. Once you realize not everything you like needs to go in, it gives you clarity—and a stronger sense of direction in your decisions.
How to Build a Cohesive, Expressive Home Over Time
Achieving a cohesive home over time is one of the most overlooked interior design lessons—and it requires protecting your direction.
As Mattye pointed out, one of the biggest mistakes is designing around temporary pieces. Think about it. If you buy something “for now” and then start matching everything to it, you end up drifting away from your vision.
Instead, a powerful interior design lesson is to only buy pieces that move you closer to your vision, while ignoring what isn’t permanent.
On the other hand, if you’re stuck with something permanent in your home, own it and lean into it.
Slow decorating is a principle that builds truly authentic interiors, and it’s something I personally live by. One of our first articles, The Art of the Curated Home, explores how collected homes that evolve slowly over time feel more soulful and unique.
Nothing in Your Home Is as Permanent as You Think
Once you understand that very little is truly permanent, you start approaching your home differently. It becomes easier to design with intention instead of fear.
When Mattye’s previous home in Boston burned down, it shifted the way she approached design. Not because she became more cautious, but because it made something clear: in the end, it’s just stuff.
The loss was real, but it also put things into perspective. She realized she wasn’t as attached to those decisions as she thought, which made it easier to approach her next home with more freedom.
This doesn’t mean spending carelessly. You can always sell, donate, reuse, or buy secondhand. But once you internalize that most things can be changed, you stop holding onto decisions so tightly.
And that shift changes the way you approach every decision that follows.
In the end, it all comes down to designing for yourself instead of for others.
When you realize that spaces affect your mood—whether you notice it or not—you become more aware of what truly feels right to you.
I hope these interior design lessons help you see that you don’t need a perfect plan or a big budget. You just need a direction, and the willingness to commit to what resonates with you.
And remember, give yourself permission to change your mind by internalizing that nothing is ever fully permanent. When you lose the fear of “getting it wrong,” you gain the freedom to move forward and trust yourself as you go.
