Growing up in Minnesota, Lorenz always aspired to work in the design world—he knew wanted to be a designer since kindergarten. After receiving his Bachelors in Interior Design from the Illinois Institute of Art, he became design director for Darcy Bonner & Associates. He has since opened his own design firm, ML Design Studio, in Chicago.

Life for Lorenz has been a whirlwind in the months since winning, but I caught up with him recently at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, where he was supervising the work on his bedroom for this fallÂ’s Dream Home.

WF: Why did you get involved in Top Design?
ML: A friend of a friend was involved in the auditions for the show and they called me and said I should do it. They persuaded me to audition, and I decided to do this to build a client base to jumpstart my own firm.

WF: How was the experience?
ML: It was somewhat surreal. I couldnÂ’t tell my boss anything other than I needed a leave of absence. I couldnÂ’t even tell them how long I would be gone. As shooting progressed and I remained on the show, I had to continually postpone my return. It was tough. Only my family knew. I couldnÂ’t even tell anyone after I returned until the show finale was aired. Doing the show was like college: living in a dorm atmosphere, sometimes with little sleep or food, and under crazy time restraints, schedules, and deadlines. And there was this undercurrent of a definite fear, would those of us with an established practice still have any clients when we returned home?

WF: Should other designers do it?
ML: I think young designers could do it for the same reasons I did. I donÂ’t know if an established designer who has been in business and developed a clientele would want or need to go through that experience. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. And because it is for TV, the final results portrayed donÂ’t really reflect who you are as a designer, so your clients could get the wrong impression. If you have talent and are willing to work hard, do it.

WF: What was the most memorable part for you?
ML: I remember sitting in the Viceroy Hotel during the Challenge Number Eight and it suddenly hit me that here I was sitting in an amazing space, meeting amazing people and designers that I would otherwise never met. I realized what an incredible opportunity it was and that I had to do my best while still trying to enjoy it.

WF: One thing recent design shows are credited with is demystifying the design process. Is that something you do consciously for your clients?
ML: I think so. I am a pretty good judge of people and what they want. I want them involved enough to feel engaged, but there needs to be a certain amount of trust on their part that the designer can do the job.

WF: Define a Matt Lorenz space.
ML: For me it’s all about proportion and scale. It’s traditional, yet modern. Usually in cool colors—I am very careful with color; very tactile and with a sense of timeliness interjected. I take a design path directed by the client’s taste and styles, fill it with the best quality pieces they can afford, and hope to create rooms that alter the way they live.

WF: So is it a recognizable room? You know do you have certain formulas that repeat and someone can instantly attribute to you?
ML: I believe that you can have a recognizable room, but still be individual. Each of my projects are unique. I donÂ’t do things over and over.

WF: How important is the Internet in the design process?
ML: Clients are using it more and more to do their homework before we see them. It definitely is becoming increasingly important. There is no hiding anything from clients anymore. For example, I see clients asking for specific things, like mohair for a chairÂ’s upholstery. It is educating them on quality.

But the Internet also has a downside. Because clients have access to everything now, they donÂ’t always see our value. It takes an experienced client to understand and deal with all that the design process entails. ClientÂ’s need to realize that there is no immediate gratification, and it can take weeks to see results even though they keep writing checks and see nothing for it initially.

WF: So how has it changed the way you work?
ML: Well, I am brutally honest with them about lead times, shopping, etc. I am obsessively observant and I always meet them in their home first to get a sense of how and on what items they spend their money, which defines how they live. It provides me a direction and helps determine what they want and need. You also have to be a good listener now.

I am using a flat-fee structure because it takes less work and energy, and I am tired of cost plus. I don’t hide anything from the client. They see all the invoices. I say, “Here are the hard costs. Here’s what I need to do the job for you.”

It really comes down to building a relationship. That is the major part of the design process—the relationship between client and designer. Also, I don’t do presentation boards. They are too final. Most clients can’t visualize floor plans anyway. I pull together top choices, sampling, colors, and images for the direction I want to go with, and lay them out for the client. We work together editing, adding, and changing. Ultimately it is the client’s decision.

WF: Most designers have a special passion for a category or specialty. WhatÂ’s yours?
ML: Space planning. I love working out relationships and cross referencing them in a space.

WF: What have you been up to since winning the Top Designer title on Top Design?
ML: Doing publicity, opening my business, working with clients, and doing the Dream Home.

WF: LetÂ’s talk about the DreamHome, the design house at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Your room focuses on window-fashions. Do you regularly design window treatments?
ML: Yes, I think itÂ’s an important part of the interior architecture.

WF: Do you have a favorite style?
ML: I prefer mostly tailored and box-pleated looks like inverted box-pleated valances.

WF: Favorite fabric?
ML: Linens and silk.

WF: Since the concept behind the DreamHouse is to provide consumers with inspiring ideas that they can take home and translate into their own decorating, tell me about the bedroom you designed.
ML: When I saw the room I decided to explode it since the concept was to help people understand ideas and techniques through visual presentation. I treated the window treatments as part of architecture, so I decided to not only use treatments on the windows, but to envelope the room with them. The hardware replaced the crown molding and the draperies replaced wallcoverings. The added benefit was a feeling of being in a cocoon and created great acoustics.

I really envisioned the room at night and as a sanctuary. The color palette consisted of cool grays, whites, and charcoals. ItÂ’s monochromatic like the bedroom I designed on the show, but with darker values. To filter light at windows and doors, I added natural shades.

A black-leather floor grounds everything. I used cottons and silks that reminded me of Prada fabrics. I even dealt with the TV. I hate TVs; I donÂ’t watch much TV, but everyone wants a big plasma or LCD in almost every room now. So I decided to put one in the room and cover it with the draperies that can open or close to hide it. The tailored pleated draperies on polished nickel rods as a crown played off of the white tile on the wall behind the bed. I used tiny cartridge pleats as a heading. It took 250 rings to hang them.

WF: Any Chicago-area designer resource secrets youÂ’d like to share?
ML: Great Plains is a great resource for window coverings especially for their textures, weights, and subtleties. I have hardware custom made by my iron guy and IÂ’m not sharing those details. I have been using Silk Trading Co., which has great looks at reasonable prices.

WF: You have so much enthusiasm. What inspires you?
ML: Actually the show inspired me. There was a constant need to produce work at a certain level and winning means that I need to continually prove and push myself.

WF: Who inspires you?
ML: Jean Michel Frank was amazing in the classic way he minimally addressed things. Designers working today: Thomas Pheasant. I like his personal aesthetic.

WF: WhatÂ’s next?
ML: I am focusing on building my firm the right way and IÂ’ll be doing a Dining by Design table at The Merchandise Mart Design Center this November.

WF: Can I get a sneak peek?
ML: No, itÂ’s still only in my head.