In the latest instalment of The Modern House Podcast, presenter Matt Gibberd invites British designer Faye Toogood on for a chat about her work, life and approach to design, as well her three favourite living spaces around the world. It was a remarkably easy episode to set up, given that the two are married and share an apartment, along with their three young daughters.

But ease of production was not why Toogood’s been invited. Through the cross-disciplinary work of her eponymous studio, the designer has, over the last decade, risen to international fame, with pieces like her Roly-Poly Chair found in the permanent collections of museums around the world. Her work spans furniture, sculptor, fashion and interiors – “I’m a greedy designer,” she says – and is all conceived at her studio on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, a Victorian townhouse that itself has been the subject of a fair amount of intrigue.

Toogood’s career began at World of Interiors magazine after finishing a degree in Fine Art and Art History. It was at the magazine that Toogood worked as an interior stylist, a time she calls her “education”, and through which shoots on locations such as Malian mud huts and Rajasthani palaces gave her a wide-ranging aesthetic grounding.

In 2008, feeling the need to break out of the two-dimensional limitations of a magazine, Toogood set up her studio and has since capitalised on the physicality of the mediums she works with to a restless degree. Applying her investigative approach to form; sculptor-like love of materials and affinity for colour palettes inspired by British landscapes, Toogood’s creations range from a chair that is one half spade to anachronistic interiors that evolve the English décor tradition, gender-neutral clothing and a bespoke gift box for The Modern House.  

Tune in now to hear Toogood reflect on her career, influences and love of colour, as well as her top three living spaces across the world. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode, and if you could rate and review us, we’d be more than grateful. Happy listening.