Inside your homes: Rebecca Goddard

Prioritising honest materials and pieces with a sculptural feel, this is a home where the furniture and lighting take centre stage. Join us as we chat to Rebecca and discover what inspires her serene style, how she chooses pieces for her home and some tips for those looking to live a more minimal life.

Could you begin by telling us a bit about you and what sparked your interest in interiors?

I live and work in Berlin as a freelance interior stylist, designer, and author of the lifestyle blog, RG Daily. I’m originally from the US but moved to Germany about three years ago with my husband.

My professional background (and education) is in Industrial Design, and I worked for several years as a furniture designer for a contemporary brand in the US before moving to Germany and shifting my career freelance.

I have to say, my love for interiors has always been an innate interest. I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t curious about the spaces around me, imagining different possibilities for how they could be.

Even when I was a kid, I would use the spare graph-paper in my math notebook to sketch floorplans and interior ideas. But it was during my university studies that I truly dove headfirst into the whole realm of design and architecture, and the history behind each period and aesthetic movement — I think it’s this genuine intrigue for context that still feeds my interest today.

We’ve been captivated by your beautifully curated Instagram feed. What inspires your distinctive, minimal look?

On Instagram, I like mixing together bits of my work with snippets of my daily life — images that represent my creativity and visual sensitivity as much as the way I like to live and the things I appreciate (like soft light, and neutral tones). Because so much of my work revolves around social media, a lot of first impressions are based on my feed.

Hopefully, it gives a feeling of warmth, simplicity, and calmness — those are the feelings that make me feel the most inspired, and senses I like to weave into my work as much as my everyday life.

Have you got any tips for people looking to create more minimal interiors?

For me, creating a minimal interior is less about style and more about creating an atmosphere that feels freeing, with empty spaces that leave room for thinking. Anyone can tell you that the secret to creating a minimal home is ‘having less and investing in quality pieces’, but that’s easier said than done and most people stumble during the very first step - the transition phase.

The first step requires a lot of evaluation and decision making, especially if you’re in the position where you need to get rid of a lot of stuff. I think that we often underestimate how overwhelming this can be, but it’s all a part of the journey and you just have to open yourself up to the uncomfortable aspects of minimalism as well.

Over time, letting go of things will become easier, and you’ll develop a better framework for evaluating what truly brings aesthetic and functional value to your home and how to choose the pieces that fit into that concept.

Your home features a collection of carefully selected designs, with a sculptural feel. When choosing timeless furniture for your home, what qualities do you look for?

Nothing in our home is based on impulse, and I like to think about the pieces for a really long time before I make any decisions. I love mixing old-world vintage pieces with design classics and materials like stone, glass, and metal — partly because they endure really well, but also because these materials usually lend themselves nicely to sculptural forms.

I always prefer interesting materiality over ornament, decoration, or patterns. We don’t have a lot of art around our home, but I find that a space can feel full of artistic expression when all the little details are layered together - sculptural lighting, distinctive furniture, vases, textiles, flowers, books and journals - I see each piece in itself as its own work of art with function.

After curating your home, how does the space and living within it make you feel?

I feel really happy with our home and the way we live here. It’s small, but the rooms support our lifestyle and the things we have around us make me feel grounded.

I know we won’t stay in our current flat forever, but we’ve already begun building our long-term home in the forms of the forever-pieces we’ve been slowly collecting - these pieces will be a part of our future homes too, and I love knowing that each will carry a sense of familiarity.

What does home mean to you?

To me, home is a feeling of harmony and all the sensations of calmness, safety, and belonging that goes with it. So much about home is about sharing - not just the physical space, but also all the moments and memories that are held there.

I really appreciate the beautiful way our home holds us, and all the nice ways my husband and I get to share it.

We think it’s really important to create spaces that are positive for your mental and physical health, especially now that many of us are spending more and more time at home. Have you got any tips for creating a home that helps to look after you?

Have less stuff! This is always my number one tip for anyone who is seeking to create an interior that supports their mental and emotional happiness. I think that it’s important to understand how the things in our direct surroundings ask for our attention and draw from our energy.

The way people live in their homes and use their belongings doesn’t tend to be static, so having fewer things to manage, organize, or shuffle around gives us more mental capacity and time for other things in life. Just like in nature, there’s a lot of clarity to be found in emptiness or open space.

What’s your favourite item in your home, and why?

Even though we’ve been collecting a lot of really beautiful design pieces that have been on my wish-list for many years, I love our second-hand marble dining table more than anything else. It was the first piece of furniture my husband and I bought when we moved to Germany together, and the patinated stone and cast-iron base has its own beautiful soul.

It’s where we share our evening meals and weekend brunches with friends, but it’s also where I do all my work (I don't have a separate home office). Truth be told, this table is really too small to be a dining table, but it’s where life happens right now, and I love the way it beautifully supports that.

What’s your go-to place for inspiration? Are there any people, places or brands that never fail to inspire you?

Copenhagen. No other place on earth has me feeling so inspired as this city. We travel to Copenhagen quite often (usually), and even hope to eventually call it home. Every time I’m there, I feel inspired by the Dane’s beautiful approach to living and hand for creating spaces that feel balanced and inviting.

Most of my favourite brands (like &Tradition, Audo Copenhagen, and New Works) are based out of Copenhagen, and I’ve come to know quite a few talented and kind creatives there too — inspiring women like Robynn Storgaard, Malene Knudsen, and Maria Sørensen.

You live in Berlin, known for being one of the most creative cities in Europe. Can you give us any insider tips on the best spots for design lovers in the city?

Berlin is such a dynamic city with loads of creative energy that pulses through its unusual mix of neighbourhoods and architecture. In normal times, we love exploring the city’s many museums or checking out pop-up exhibits and galleries.

What I really love about Berlin though are its strange treasure-troves and second-hand shops. All throughout the city, you’ll find odd stores or markets filled with one-of-a-kind pieces. Some seem a bit uninviting at first and there’s always a good bit of junk to weed through. But for design lovers like me who also appreciate a good hunt, Berlin is a fantastic place to rifle through.

See more from Rebecca in her Design collector’s gift guide or over on her Instagram account @rebeccagoddard

Do you have an inspirational interior? Share your home with us over Instagram by tagging us @nest_co_uk. Looking for your own piece of forever furniture? Browse Nest today to discover thousands of everlasting designs.