Matilda Goad's London house is an imaginative take on a Victorian terrace

Enter the house through a typical London hallway and the first surprise is the kitchen. What was two rooms, is now one long beautifully proportioned space. 'We played around with the layout a lot. I found it incredibly helpful to draw where things might go on the walls in marker pen.' Anything that felt too fitted was vetoed. A kitchen island was substituted for a gnarled antique butchers block, and walls of cupboards for a large Colefax-esque dresser, found for £100 at Ardingly Antiques Fair. The cupboard doors, painted in ‘Sage Green’ from Little Greene, are fitted with a mix of vintage brass handles, some from an old ship. The breakfast bar counter is, ‘made a little higher than it would usually be’, and is specially reinforced to accommodate the two articulated stools, ‘the kind you would usually find in sushi bars in Japan’, to engineer the most convivial spot possible for perching with a pre-dinner drink, or chatting over a cup of tea.

The most striking detail in the room though is the wall surrounding the cooker, picked out in red and white checkerboard tiles - ‘simply buy the cheapest tiles you can and alternate the colours’ - a homage to the Moroccan and southern European kitchens that were also the influence for the ‘raw plaster’ walls (‘actually a wonderful lime wash paint from a company by Bauwerk’).

At the other end of the room is a large, comfortable dining area, with a reeded bench designed by Matilda and built by Tom, whose cushions are upholstered in blue denim from The Cloth House. Built into the bay window, under frothy blinds in ‘Nasturtium’ by Lake August, it strikes an interesting balance between informality and grandeur. At the back of the room a sweet little larder has been given decorative flair with a curtain in a hand-blocked Jean Monro 'Hollyhock' chintz. Matilda used red grout between the white tiles. 'It doesn't cost any more,' she says. 'I just love that it makes the room feel a little bit Eighties.' These kinds of details are characteristic of her style. Taking something ordinary and elevating it with an unexpected flourish.

At the back of the house, what was a conservatory was stripped to the bones and transformed into a space inspired by the airy, clapboard beach houses of Montauk, with wide tongue and groove panelled walls. 'I wanted a room that was calm and serene, but also multi-functional. It is a place to relax but also to work. It has the feeling of a summer house when it is warm, but has a cozy gathering of seats around an open fire for the colder months.'

Windows are another important factor in this space. 'I love to play around with the contrast of window frame colours and shapes. In the living room I looked at lots of references, and settled on three tall, skinny, Parisian-style double doors. The way that the curtains hang gives the impression of a full wall of glass on to the garden. I picked the window frames out in ‘Calke Green’ by Farrow & Ball. We also decided to change the height of the room and added an apex to the ceiling, with glass interspersed between the beams. That was our biggest extravagance, but it floods the room with light.’ The final touch was the addition of a round antique window, almost like a porthole, which gives a dark corner beside the fireplace a pretty jolt of character. ‘That is my favourite corner to sit with a book now.’

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The joinery was added later, again designed by Matilda and executed by Tom. 'We ended up painting the shelves in this paprika red which I picked from the flowers on the fabric of the daybed, and echoed in the piping on the ottoman. I find that I like to start with quite a neutral base and add colour in layers like that as I go.’

Upstairs the entrance to the master bedroom was moved to allow space for a full wall of storage. You now enter the bedroom through the bathroom, the two spaces connected by an arched doorway. The rooms are painted in 'Plaster III' from Paint and Paper Library. After not being able to find a stripe wide enough for the blinds, Matilda made up her own by sewing together two coloured linens from Designers Guild. A substantial four-poster bed fills the room, another eBay find, sanded back to the grain with the rings of the posts picked out in navy blue ('using up paint tester pots again'). The scheme is grounded by the bed curtain in a 'Ladder Stitch' linen from Volga Linen and the headboard, which is upholstered in a dark, ornate floral by Le Manach.

In the bathroom the same granite used on the kitchen worktops became the bath surround, and tiles from Made a Mano, ‘which I love but couldn’t afford to do a whole room in,’ are cleverly contrasted with more affordable green tiles inside the shower cubicle. A Crittal-style window was added to the shower wall.

Out in the hallway the floorboards were restored and painted in a white checkerboard pattern. On the landing outside her bedroom hangs a substantial piece by the artist Fei Wei Wei. Again, the combination feels unexpected but somehow harmonious. ‘I’m always looking for a balance, between masculine and feminine, warm and cool, old and new, high and low, soft lines and angles. It’s always fun to throw contrasts together and see what comes out.’

'Evolution of a Home with Matilda Goad' starts this Friday October 1 2021, with new episodes dropping every other week. Tune in on the House & Garden website.

https://matildagoad.com/