As her home comes onto the market, artist and illustrator Fee Greening – whose dip pen and ink works inspired by Medieval, Gothic and Flemish art have seen her work with the likes of Alex Eagle, Liberty and Gucci – invites us into her converted shop, which she lives in with her partner, music producer Dan White. Check out the sales listing here.

Fee Greening: “We were after something quite specific! We knew that we wanted to be in De Beauvoir, but we were also really keen to live in a shop conversion. We spent ages looking, and then this one came up. We saw it the first day we could and knew straight away it was the one.

“We were in Highgate Village before, but we wanted to move eastward because a lot of friends live here and we love the architecture and village-like atmosphere of De Beauvoir. And it’s near loads of bars and Kingsland Road, so perfect for Dan as he goes to a lot of gigs for work.

“It was still very much a shop, or like a typical estate agents office, with laminate floors and glass bricks, but we decided it had potential. We’re drawn to shops because you get so much light coming through the front, which is amazing for my drawing. And it’s just a more unique space, which is what we were after.

“With the renovation, we just wanted to create a bit more space, a bit more light, and a bit more privacy. Spatially, the main thing we did was to lift the floor on the ground level so we could get light down into the basement and put the bedroom and bathroom down there. The ceiling heights were so tall that it didn’t make much of a difference to the upstairs.

“And we redesigned the shopfront. The one before was a bit tired, so we replaced it and put in these slightly curved, arched windows, which I love, and a well-designed front door. It was so worth it – the day they put it in was just so exciting!

“When it comes to interiors, I like things to be as stripped back and as simple as possible. My work is very intricate, and it’s inspired by things like medieval manuscripts. I tend to go for something very elaborate but set within quite a simple space, which is what we’ve done here.

“We both like very earthy, simple materials. We’ve done stuff like used clay paint in a neutral palette and, with our fittings, we found things that feel quite classic, like they could have been here forever.

“I have some of my work here, but I didn’t want it everywhere. I don’t think it would be fair on Dan if it was like, ‘Be inside my head’!

“He’s a music producer, and so he tends to like things to be really efficient. He’s not keen on things without a purpose, so he was very much the driver in making the space feel very easy and practical to live in, while I would say, ‘Oh, I found this really beautiful chair that’s incredibly uncomfortable.’

“Dan, I’m sure, would love to live in a space that looks like Abbey Road, and I probably would like to live in some kind of medieval monk’s lair. But we came to this middle ground. And I think that middle ground feels almost like a domestic workshop, I’d say.

“We both have a shared love of things feeling quite soulful, down-to-earth and not too fussy. We don’t like things to look too designed either.

“I think when you’re doing a renovation you can easily be affected by trends. When we first moved in, we went for a colour scheme almost like a Dutch painting – quite dark – and, actually, it just wasn’t a particularly nice space to be in!

“I think the perfect formula for us ending up being something that didn’t feel trend-based but that would be enduring. I guess simplicity is just really good.

“We love living here a lot. We call it our treehouse as it feels contained and private. You might not expect that from a converted shop but we put a linen film on the windows, inspired by Japanese screens, which lets the light in but gives us privacy.

“I love how private the downstairs feels as well, being sunk down like that. We still get good light and it feels airy, which don’t often get in a basement. But I think the high ceilings make it feel cool in the summer, but still cosy in the winter.

“We’ve got this little outside space at the front as well, which we’ve been working on during lockdown. I’ve gotten really into gardening, which is one of the reasons why we’re interested in going to the countryside.

“We’ve been here for five years now. We love it and we’ll be really sad to go but we’re both freelance and just want a slightly larger place so we can both work at home. At the moment I share a studio with my friend Luke Edward Hall in Highbury, but I work from home a lot too, especially when I have a big deadline as Luke and I talk too much!

“We’re renting a cottage in Dorset. It’s just very fortuitous as the cottage came up right by some friends of ours, and Dan happens to be working with them on a project for the next six months. So, we thought, ‘Oh, this is kind of perfect.’

“We’ll see how it goes for a bit, and then think about what we want: to come back to London or to see if it works for a bit longer. And I want to write a children’s book, so I want to go and focus on that for a while.”