Interior designer Matilda Goad’s quirky London home — and her tips for a stylish house

Matilda Goad, a 31-year-old designer and creative consultant, has become a prominent figure in the intersection of fashion and interiors. Her designs, characterized by eccentric flourishes, rainbow colors, scalloped edges, and cane detailing, are highly popular on platforms like Instagram, where she boasts over 62,000 followers. Goad has also established herself as a go-to homeware expert within the fashion industry, counting notable figures such as creative director Alex Eagle and designer Margherita Missoni among her admirers. Her strong connections to the fashion world are evident through her familial and social circles, including her cousin, Vogue journalist Plum Sykes, her best friend and Shrimps founder Hannah Weiland (whose 2018 wedding Goad styled), and her friend and neighbor, podcaster and author Pandora Sykes. During a tour of her recently renovated London home with her three-month-old baby, Domino, Goad emphasizes her keen attention to detail in her decorating approach. She explains that her decorating style mirrors her fashion sense, prioritizing detailing, accessories, textures, and colors. Examples of her meticulous design choices include vibrant red grout on white pantry tiles, cut-out cane diamond paneling in her bedroom wardrobes, and French bistro-style half-curtains by her breakfast table. Goad's journey into interiors was somewhat serendipitous. She began her career in fashion, working for Vogue Russia, Teen Vogue, and Wonderland magazine, and later assisting photographer and stylist Venetia Scott. Her transition to interiors occurred when she struggled to find an affordable lampshade with specific design elements. This led her to customize lampshades by adding braiding and eventually having them professionally made. This pursuit of visual perfection culminated in the launch of her eponymous brand in 2016. The brand, which initially featured a best-selling range of lampshades, has since expanded to include cutlery, napkins, planters, and other items, with prices ranging from £24 to £300. Her products are retailed at prominent stores like Liberty and Matchesfashion.com, and she also maintains a global customer base through her website. Goad is mindful of not overproducing, aiming for a concise collection where every item serves a strong purpose while also being aesthetically pleasing. In May 2019, Goad and her husband, Tom Corbett-Winder, moved into their three-story terrace house in northwest London. The renovation, which took four months, was managed by Tom's project management company. The outcome is a colorful and contemporary space that seamlessly blends practicality with style, embodying Goad's whimsical aesthetic while remaining a functional family home. The home features several clever design solutions: a reeded drawer cabinet in the sitting room, painted a vibrant betel-nut red with Beata Heuman bow handles, offers deep storage for children's toys. The denim-upholstered banquette in the kitchen incorporates hidden plug sockets and built-in storage. Japanese-style bar stools swing out from a reinforced breakfast bar to maximize space. While the design includes feminine touches, Goad ensures a balanced aesthetic by incorporating elements that add a subtle toughness, preventing the overall look from being overly sweet. For instance, her pink bedroom is balanced by scuffed wooden floorboards and a four-poster wooden bedframe, an eBay find that she personalized with blue rings using leftover tester pots. Goad draws inspiration from diverse sources, ranging from her mother's appreciation for chintz to the art of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint. She actively shares her design knowledge through her monthly newsletter, the Dispatch, where she recommends suppliers and sells vintage finds. Despite the polished appearance of her home, Goad considers it an ongoing project, constantly adding and adjusting elements, believing that a home evolves over time. She likens small changes, such as swapping a lampshade, to putting together a new outfit, emphasizing that these adjustments can refresh a room. Ultimately, she believes that the feeling a home evokes prepares one to engage with the outside world. Matilda also offers several practical tips for achieving a stylish home: repurpose luxurious fabrics for smaller impactful areas, use misspelt words or designer names in eBay searches for bargains, follow accounts like @haines_collection for affordable fabric offcuts, don't hesitate to use placeholder items until the perfect piece is found, and introduce unexpected furniture pieces into rooms to make them feel less sterile. She also recommends several antique dealers on Instagram: @oldalbion for vintage gems, @thehomebothy for decorative antiques, and @vintageonthevine for Goadesque chintzy pieces. #MatildaGoad #InteriorDesign #LondonHome #HomeDecor #FashionAndInteriors #DesignTips #ColorfulInteriors #Renovation #HomeStyling #MatildaGoad #InteriorDesign #LondonHome #HomeDecor #FashionAndInteriors #DesignTips #ColorfulInteriors #Renovation #HomeStyling