houses
sartorial Fashion designer Filippa Knutsson has
brought a sense of lightness, fluidity and family
functionality to this gorgeous Georgian terrace
lead PHOTOGRAPHY The Modern House
X
WORDS Juliet Benning
70 livingetc.com
home profile
THE OWNER
Swedish-born fashion designer
Filippa Knutsson who set up her
sustainable fashion brand,
Filippa K, in 1993. She lived in the
house with her children Nina, 25,
Tom, 22, and Dylan, 19, from her
previous marriages.
THE PROPERTY
A Georgian town house in
Islington, north London, built in
1828 and laid out across five
floors. The lower ground floor
has two bedrooms, a utility room
and cloakroom. The ground floor
has a dining/living room, kitchen
and cloakroom and leads out to
the garden. On the first floor is
another living room and home
office. The second floor has the
master bedroom and large
en-suite bathroom. The third-
floor bedroom has an en-suite
bathroom and balcony.
H A L LWAY
The original panelling from
1828 was restored and new solid
oak floorboards were laid.
Flooring, Havwoods. Sisal stair
runner, Alternative Flooring.
Walls and woodwork in
Cornforth White, Farrow & Ball
houses
architect Angus Shepherd of Powell Tuck Associates. ‘I
enjoyed working with him as he really understands these old
Georgian houses and has an amazing eye for detail.’ Together
the pair sympathetically updated the house for modern family
life, improving the basement with a utility room and updating
the kitchen and loft extension. Her sons, Tom and Dylan, were
soon settled and later daughter, Nina, came to join the family
while finishing her degree in fine art. ‘I never thought I’d end
up with all three but it is probably the last time we will all live
together under the same roof so it was a special time,’ she says.
The layout allowed the youngsters plenty of their own
privacy both in the basement and attic bedrooms while the kitchen
in on Barnsbury, finding it the ideal location for her home, and living/dining room became the central heart of the house.
which has recently been sold through The Modern House. ‘So many of the properties around Barnsbury put the kitchen in
Despite having been born in Sweden, the fashion designer’s the basement but I wanted it on the ground floor where the
formative years in the capital imprinted on her heavily. ‘I came light is good,’ says Filippa. It is this light that she attributes to
to London when I was three and didn’t leave until I was 21 so I creating the mellow yet seductive glow of the living room walls.
do feel culturally part-British,’ says Filippa. Following a period ‘Farrow& Ball’s Setting Plaster very accurately mimicked the
of living in Paris, her children’s educations prompted the move plaster below. It would look different in darker, north-facing
to London and now that they are all independent, Filippa is rooms – it needs a lot of light to look that lovely,’ Filippa notes.
readying herself to move to Corsica to live with her partner After such a strenuous renovation, it’s easy to assume that
Thomas Fourtané, a French architect, who is based there. Filippa would be sad to be moving, but she is content to leave
‘I loved the fact that London was so open and diverse,’ says the home to its next custodian. ‘I’m not a nostalgic person and
Filippa. ‘I focused my search on Barnsbury and Canonbury as before I make a decision I go through an intense process,’ she
I’d become aware of the area through a friend. From my bed says. ‘I see it as a new phase in my life.’ While the Mediterranean
in Paris, I’d spend so long looking at Google Street View that island beckons Filippa, someone here in London will no doubt
I’d get arm ache from propping up the iPad.’ Filippa took a few be delighted with their new Islington home.
trips from Paris to get a feel for the area and then after five X
viewings she bought the fifth house. ‘I’d originally intended Filippa’s house was listed for sale on themodernhouse.com
to buy a flat, but the appeal of these Georgian houses with their
gardens proved impossible to resist. In Stockholm, I’d had
this huge apartment and I realise now I’d felt quite lonely in it.
I wanted a home with a human scale, that would feel cosy. The
idea of living vertically rather than horizontally appealed to
me as it was such a contrast from Stockholm and Paris.’
Although the house was in relatively good condition when
she bought it, further investigations proved a considerable
renovation was needed, with Filippa placing her faith in
livingetc.com 73
DINING AREA
The large overmantel mirror
increases the sense of space.
Building the banquette seat
into the wall made it less
obtrusive in this snug area.
Bespoke joinery, Ashley Smith
Furniture; painted in Lamp Room
Gray, Farrow & Ball. Table and
bench, Ilse Crawford for De La
Espada. Golden Bell lamps by
Alvar Aalto for Artek. Find similar
cabinet knobs at Yester Home
houses
livingetc.com 75
KITCHE N S ECON D FLOOR
A long shelf and rail keep BEDROOM
cooking gear close to hand. Filippa chose a muted, restful
The glazed Moroccan tiles scheme for her room. The gib
have a reflective quality that door of the en suite blends
bounces light around. with the wall when closed.
Cabinetry in Inchyra Blue; Walls in Clunch, Farrow &
walls in Strong White, both Ball. Mustard cushions and
Farrow & Ball. Source a bedding, Caravane. Table
polished concrete worktop lamp, Garbo Interiors.
from Worktop Express. Recipio side table, Maxalto
Find similar handles at Door
Handle Company. Oven, hob
and extractor, all Gaggenau
REAR
BASEMENT
BEDROOM
Bamboo planting in front
of the doors adds privacy
to this space.
Walls in Ammonite,
Farrow & Ball. CH27
chair, Hans J Wegner. Linen
cushion, Svenskt Tenn
home truths
M O S T FA S C I N AT I N G
P E R SO N YO U ’ V E
NEVER MET?
Georgia O’Keeffe
A MEMORABLE SCENT?
The herbal aromatic scent of the Corsican maquis,
the shrubland that covers the island.
B O O K YO U WI S H
YO U ’ D WR IT TE N ?
Anything by Ernest Hemingway – I adore his
sparse writing style.
B E S T S C A N D I N AV I A N
EXPORT?
Stylish simplicity.
I D E A L D AT E N I G H T ?
Delicious dinner with plenty of wine in a small,
cosy restaurant.
A DVI CE FO R YO U R
1 8 -Y E A R - O L D S E L F ?
Don’t worry too much about what others think.
THREE DESERT ISLAND
ESSENTIALS?
Box of matches, strong sun protection and a good
knife for carving up all those fish.
houses
“I wanted my bedroom to be
simple, pure and uncluttered”
X
livingetc.com 77
houses
GARDEN THIRD FLOOR
This richly planted space BEDROOM
features a pathway of Built-in cabinetry makes
concrete sleepers softened clever use of the space in the
by white hydrangeas, dormer. The entirely grey
sculptural box bushes and scheme draws attention to
lush ferns. the crisp architectural forms.
Garden landscaping by Bedspread, The White
Stuart Craine Design Company. Wall lamp,
Arne Jacobsen
the blueprint
UTILITY
KITCHEN
OFFICE
BED
ROOM
DINING/ LIVING
BEDROOM LIVING BEDROOM
ROOM
AREA
LOWE R
GROUND GROUND FIRST SECOND
FLOOR FLOOR FLOOR FLOOR
LIVING ROOM
Painting the shutters and
architrave in the same dusty
pink tone brings a chic
uniformity to this scheme.
Walls in Setting Plaster, Farrow
& Ball. Sculpture (left of
fireplace), André Bloc.
Painting, Jacques Nestlé
