Art and soul

Creative director Isatu Funna’s fabulous family home is bursting with life, colour – and artwork

- Kara O'Reilly

When Isatu Funna’s husband, Philipp von Hammerstein, landed a new job that involved the family decamping from Berlin to London, it took them some time to find the ideal spot to put down roots. This was in part down to the fact they needed a house with walls of sufficient scale to display their burgeoning art collection. ‘We looked at maybe 60-plus houses,’ says Isatu. But when they saw this one in north London, Isatu knew it was the one.

For a start, it had a space in the living room that could fit her favourite painting, a three-by-two-meter floral piece painted on glass from a triptych by German artist Stefan Sehler. ‘It was always about finding that wall. I thought, “We’re not moving unless we can fit in this work” – because it would be very sad to have it stored away.’

It was a while before the couple were wrestling with hanging their collection, however. Their new home needed a fair bit of work as it had been subdivided into a series of flats so the family stayed put in a rental, while interior architect Ramses Frederickx took charge. ‘We had to gut the whole place, then build everything back up again,’ explains Isatu, who says that finding Ramses was happenstance. ‘A good friend had used him, and I loved what happened with her home and how he brought it all together. We had a similar aesthetic, so I asked for an introduction.’