Richard Smithies is the owner and Managing Director of Design Matters. He has worked at the luxury end of the kitchen industry for thirty years. He formed Design Matters in 1992 after running a franchised kitchen business in nearby Beaconsfield for over 10 years. His early experience was gained working for leading manufacturers Poggenpohl and SieMatic; his specialist knowledge increased while running kitchen studios within Heals and Waring & Gillow in London. Richard is the first point of contact for Private Developers. He also works alongside Adam specifying our specialized Accessible Kitchens. He has strategic overview of the company and leads the weekly review meeting to check on the status of all current orders. Richard lives locally with his family.

Adam Thomas has worked with Richard since 1979, and has been designing kitchens for over 30 years. He became a wheelchair user in 1981 and found himself Britain’s only wheelchair-using kitchen designer. Over time this led him to suggest to Richard that they develop a service to provide accessible kitchen design on a consultancy basis for older and disabled people. This original idea has developed into an additional strand to the Design Matters business. Adam has lectured extensively on kitchen design, and is also asked to give his opinion as an expert witness for clients who require specialised kitchen designs as part of a legal case. He trains groups of OTs in Accessible Kitchen Design regularly throughout the year. He is also passionate on furthering the case for life time homes and to this end is a member of the technical advisory group. Adam lives in Bucks with his family. He is a dedicated supporter of Arsenal FC and can be found on the terraces most weekends during the season. He is also a keen fly fisherman, and campaigner for civil rights for disabled people.

Tracey Lardeau comes to Design Matters from a background in architecture. She completed a degree and postgraduate diploma in architecture and has worked for architects and builders on a variety of different projects, often specialising in conservation and sustainable design. While working on the refurbishment of a listed farmhouse, she found she enjoyed working on the interior of the house more than the structure, and decided to concentrate on interiors. Tracey is particularly interested in projects where there is an interplay between contemporary design elements and an older building. She also keeps an eye out for products that are kind to the environment and come from sustainable sources. Tracey lives locally with her partner, and enjoys countryside walks and cycling at weekends.

John Simmonds brings years of design and installation experience to the team. He has worked across London and the Home Counties on a wide variety of quality furniture installations and now brings this expertise to bear on the projects he runs for Design Matters. John’s role includes checking progress and liaising with clients, builders and architects, which makes him the first point of contact for most technical and installation queries. John lives in Surrey with his family, and enjoys music and travel.

Natalie Foskett joined Design Matters in 2008, from a background in admin, and sales and marketing. With her unflagging enthusiasm and energy Natalie runs the office, and is the key contact for order processing. She also supports Adam when he takes our training courses in Accessible Kitchen Design out to OTs in the community, and coordinates our appearance at the NEC for the NAIDEX exhibition. Natalie lives in Berkshire with her partner and teaches exercise classes at local gyms in her spare time.