A talent for the theatrical
Designer creates the 'coolest rooms in the house' for the famous

Jeffrey Smith's love of the movies left a mark that lasts to this day. Because of it, he went to work in the publicity department of Metro Goldwyn Mayer as a starry-eyed 20-year-old. He also worked as a set designer, 'because I loved the smoke and mirrors and was fascinated with trompe l'oeil [a `trick the eye' paint effect].''

Years later, this fascination has blossomed into a home movie theater company with a client list including multimillionaires and celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Cher and Celine Dion.

In 1975 Smith says he and his then-wife, who was an interior designer, opened a store in the San Souci neighborhood of North Miami selling high-end contemporary furniture.

The luxury home theater business grew out of a few requests for custom entertainment units in the early 1980s. After pictures of the first complete home theater he designed were published in Ideas, a national magazine, his phone rang off the hook. He decided to concentrate on luxury home theaters, forming First Impressions Design & Management/First Impressions Theme Theatres.

The commissions escalated and soon the client list included basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, who requested a Superman-themed theater for a home in California, and singer Kenny Rogers, who wanted a theater with a country feel to match his big ranch and farmhouse in Georgia.

JUNGLE DECOR

A jungle theme was the choice for the theater designed at Graceland's museum. 'To match Elvis' jungle room,'' he quips.

''Celine Dion was a favorite client. We designed a complete theater for her home in Jupiter, Admiral's Cove,'' he says. ``It was very French, with red velvet curtains and walnut paneling.''

Other clients include NASCAR race car drivers and a team owner; novelist Jackie Collins; Evander Holyfield, the fighter; Marla Maples, for whom Smith designed an entire apartment in New York's Trump Tower in the early '90s; the late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's; and Motown founder Berry Gordy.

What style do clients want most? An ``Old World glamorous movie palace type theater like Gusman in downtown.''

Others run the gamut from a pirate ship to Star Trek and the I Dream of Jeannie theme he designed for 'N Sync singer Chris Kirkpatrick.

Another commission was a football stadium theme for a former Miami Dolphin that includes a retracting sky dome, 50,000 fans painted on a cyclorama and on-cue audio of screaming fans as you walk in.

Depending on what materials are chosen, a home theater costs anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000. ''Some fantasies cost more than others,'' Smith says.

Clients who don't want a whole theater can order motorized CineLoungers, for which Smith holds the patent.

FIT LIKE A SUIT

''J-Lo, Cher and Mel Gibson have them and we fit them like a fine suit to everyone's exact measurements,'' says Smith. ''Especially handy for athletes who can be much larger than the average person.'' For those, there are the SportsLoungers with extra structural reinforcement.

''Clients use the theaters for everything from family time to entertaining friends to holding business conferences,'' Smith says.

The largest job so far is in Georgia. ''A 40,000-square-foot home with a four-room theater that will include a box office, a grand marquee entrance with marble, stainless steel and rare woods'' he explains.

''But my greatest satisfaction,'' he says, 'is when it's all done, the clients beam and say, `this is the coolest room in the house,' You can't beat that.''

-- Miami Herald