Lucy Goldbart is going to be a superstar designer of the future — you heard it here first. Unless, that is, you’re also a reader of our sister title, Homes & Gardens, which picked Lucy from hundreds of entries to be part of its inaugural Next in Design list last year, a spotlight on the rising stars who are shaping some interesting and incredible spaces.
Surprisingly, Lucy’s entry featured only renders and no images of any finished work — but even these showed her promise and flair. The trouble was that, despite having set up her own studio in 2022, after having worked at places such as Elicyon, her launch projects were so vast (including a total remodel in Antigua) that none of them were quite ready to share. In fact, this modern home in London’s Little Venice is her first completed work — undoubtedly the first of many.
Interior designer Lucy Goldbart at the dining table of her apartment project in Little Venice.
"The whole place feels very warm and very soft," says Lucy Goldbart of this duplex home on the raised and lower ground floors of a stucco-fronted house. "The owners are a young couple who were very familiar with Soho House and wanted the same sense of this being a welcoming space with an ever so slightly retro vibe."
"The kitchen already had this symmetrical layout, and we thought it was a really good use of space," says Lucy. "It’s very functional, while giving seating options with stools behind the bar and slightly zoning the dining area."
Soho Home's Oliver chandelier might be out of stock, but we love this alternative from West Elm — and a snap in the sale, too.
Lucy’s starting point was a rich palette of chocolate brown, terracotta, and deep red — a beguiling mix of hues that seem to increase the temperature of any space they’re used in. "The richer we got, the more inviting the home started to feel," says Lucy. "But rather than doing six colors in one space, I like to explore one really deeply, and use several different tones of the same shade."
Walnut is Lucy’s new favorite material, particularly for joinery details. "I used metal for the first three years of my career, but there is something more effortlessly cool in using walnut, something a little warmer," she says.
Used as a desk chair or around a dining table, this set of two chairs from Next is the perfect shapely bouclé accent piece.
She continues: "The real focus was texture. I like to be able to brush my hand across every surface, so even the walls are textural with their limewash finishes. Paired with bouclé and layers of velvet, then contrasted with glazed ceramic side tables, it all makes for a scheme you can’t help but want to sink into."
"I was obsessed with this travertine floor that was already here in the house, and it’s what the direction for the rest of the design grew out of," Lucy says.
The duplex had previously been covered in decorative cornicing, which was overshadowing the architectural features Lucy felt were most interesting, such as the arched doorways and alcoves. "Instead of over-decorating, I wanted this home to be about both sight lines and little cozy corners."
"This isn’t the biggest bedroom in the world, so I wanted to fill what space I had with the headboard to make it feel really encompassed and cozy," says Lucy.
This decorative trinket tray is sure to make a stylish statement in any modern bedroom.
And there are plenty of those, from the dining table down the end of the symmetrical kitchen layout to the built-in window seat in the living room, which Lucy says is perfect for cocktails. "It was meant to be a reading corner, but it’s clearly just as good for drinks," she says. A neat encapsulation of why her interpretation of the Soho House vibe works so perfectly in this home.
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