Jade Jagger's colourful east London home is the perfect blend of order and chaos
“What I like about it is that it’s quite LA,” says Jade Jagger of her east London house, built 20 years ago by a roofer. What the jewellery designer describes as a “weird door” opens up into a vast open-plan living space and kitchen, which looks out on to a gorgeous, secluded terrace. And the artist feels it reflects some of her own personality. “It’s an introverted house with a lot of flora and fauna and gardens. I think it’s unusual, it’s not what you expect, it’s open-planned and unified once you’re inside.”
Jagger moved here from west London 12 years ago when she was looking for something a little different from your classic period townhouse. “I definitely wanted to stay in a more alternative living arrangement. The upstairs, downstairs thing of the traditional Victorian house — I think I’d lived my time in that … I couldn’t stand having to go back upstairs for someone’s socks!”
Instead, the majority of the living area here is on one floor and sliding doors add flexibility to the space. “I’ve got quite a few terraces; I would like some more outside space, but I do like the inside/outside element. When all of [the sliding doors] are open it’s phenomenal … You can open up the kitchen and living room.”
Jagger did a small amount of work to the property when she first moved in, updating the gardens, extending the flat upstairs and redoing the kitchen, although she says: “Essentially, the bones of the house were here — the doors and stuff — it is kind of a lean-to.” What’s made it truly hers, however, is the unique sense of style and Jagger’s own artwork, which covers much of the walls. “I’m very art-faced. I was an artist before I was a jeweller, so I’ve always been into, not only painting myself, gold-leafing myself, but also artwork and books.”
Jagger, daughter of The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and his ex-wife Bianca Jagger, describes her style as eclectic. “I’d like it to be different sometimes, but I like collecting fabrics.” Her furniture is a mix of colours and funky materials that she’s collected over the years, while a diverse mix of books, art and plants adorns her shelves.
“I’ve always been close with [architectural designer] Tom Bartlett and [interior designer] Joanna Plant, and it becomes a bit of a family affair about what we’re going to do — but I tend to keep all my stuff and not really afford myself to buy new things. We’re always recycling or upcycling something so trying to accommodate things into a place.” That said, Jagger says she’s almost ready to give the house “a little redo” and is toying with putting curtains up over the sliding doors that look out on to her garden.
The house holds many memorable moments for the artist, including, in 2014, when she gave birth to her son, Ray. “He was born and bred in here — back down the corridor, in the bedroom he still lives in.” Jagger, who also has two daughters with artist Piers Jackson, has previously used it as a place to have parties, but that’s less the case these days.
“I still have a young one so there are rules that come with having young people around you. When he was younger, it was easier to host, when he was asleep, but now, if I had a whole host of people come in for a dinner party, I think he would suddenly wake up and be more up for it, wanting to get involved.”
Instead, Jagger uses her home as a place to work and be creative. “The thing that I like is that you can keep on cooking and working. I tend to be a little bit like one of those people who like to do everything at the same time. We dine here, we work here, it’s comfortable. And there’s nooks and crannies.”
She says her work is separated into two parts: one that’s more creative, which is done in her studio in Dalston, and another which is more businesslike, involving references and research development, that she does here. “There is a tolerance with me about living and working together, which means chaos is around, but we are really tidy as well. This place is very much a sanctuary. It’s like a think tank almost — as you walk in, you feel like you go through levels.”
As well as the house itself offering Jagger a sanctuary and privacy away from the limelight, the same can also be said for this part of London, which was a huge attraction for her. “I’d lived in Notting Hill for a long time and I felt like I needed to change something to inspire me. Also, I’m a bit more anonymous here and younger people don’t relate to me so much.”
She admits living east means she’s “sort of out on a limb”, but the area has so much to recommend it. “De Beauvoir has turned into a very ‘boujie’ place, which is wonderful for food. I love all the markets that I’ve got around here and London Fields. I have great access to all the organic stuff I want, even though I still get my Riverford box.”
Jagger, who also has a home in the Cotswolds, says living in the capital is important for her work and creativity. “One of the reasons I don’t live [in the Cotswolds] is because the wonderful, younger people who work with me don’t want to live in the countryside. Particularly, it’s about the creative affluence that we have here, as well as the places to buy amazing paints, the museums, all of that. That’s what keeps me in the city and keeps me alive in the city, because I am more of a nature lover.”
Her latest creative venture, Jade Jezebel Jagger x Monsoon Vintage, is a pop-up of her amazing 360-degree career as an artist, fashion designer and jewellery maker, and gives fashion fans the chance to buy her archive designs.
“It was kind of me expressing myself through clothes,” she says of the collection, which includes a complete cross-section of designs, from T-shirts and jewellery through to couture pieces and even her own artwork. “The couture I made in India, and I bought all the brocades between India and the UK, only the finest, top-end fabrics, and just had so much fun making these ladylike clothes for slightly unladylike people.”
Jade Jezebel Jagger x Monsoon Vintage goes on sale from November 22 at Monsoon Vintage, 239 Portobello Road, W11
Photography by Sarah Brick
Make-up by Sophie Mabel Stephens