The Times Magazine 75extravagant detailing and a mix of bold and
baroque, Williamson’s flat acts as a perennial
testing ground. Recently, the living-room walls
were given a plaster-pink finish, because he
craved a calming anchor that “wasn’t grey or
beige”. The main bedroom is a riot of florals,
forest-green colourblocking and overscaled
foliage for a vibrant but cocooning feel.
“Colour is fascinating to me,” he says. “I
approach it as if I were layering up a painting.
I tend to consider the background first
- choosing an anchoring tone – then the
middle ground, those colourful large-scale
accents; finally, the foreground, the smaller
details, such as accessories and soft furnishings.
I liken it to layering up an outfit, starting with
the statement piece, such as a dress, before
finishing it off with earrings or a bag.”
The key, for Williamson, lies not in
co-ordinating but in creating surprising
clashes. It’s a mantra that’s evident in the
homeware collection that he’s just launched
with John Lewis & Partners, which features
peacock-studded pouffes, leopard-print
cushions, colourblock lighting and densely
patterned bedding. “I designed the pieces to
elevate the everyday,” he says. “If you’re going
to buy a cushion, why not have a monkey on
it, or bed sheets studded with palm trees, for
that matter? They’ll create their own type of
harmony, that’s the point.”
Although his own home has become “more
refined” over the years, Williamson says the
lynchpin of his interiors is his travels, plus the
women who have inspired him throughout his
life, including his mum, muses Jade Jagger and
Sienna Miller and his beloved six-year-old
daughter. “Plus, nothing beats rummaging for
antiques on a Saturday morning. It could be
a car boot sale or a Parisian flea market – I’m
not precious.” As a result, his home is scattered
with one-offs and unusual juxtapositions,
from neon lamps sitting on baroque tables
to Seventies glass pendant lighting, kitschceramics, art deco-style armchairs, gilt-framed
mirrors and spray-painted bedframes.
“My rule of thumb is that anything goes,
in the sense that if you love it, it will work,”
Williamson says. “I never think, ‘This must
match with that’ – instead I like to jolt the eye.
For me, that’s when the magic happens.” njohnlewis.com; matthewwilliamson.comHome!
From left: drinks trolley
and Rose Garden wall
mirror, £150, John Lewis
& Partners + Matthew
Williamson; the bathroom,
with tiled flooring
from Bert & May