Homes & Ideas meets the stars Christmas with Beverley Craven Home for singer Beverley and her family is a spacious maisonette in northwest London, cleverly converted from two flats. Here they chat to Alan O'Kelly about this home and their plans for celebrating Christmas. Even if she practised her songs at the top of her voice, it's unlikely the neighbours would hear Beverley, let alone complain. The large Victorian house which she shares with her partner Colin Campsie has walls thick enough to muffle any sound! The music room is where Beverley hides herself away to compose ballads like her hit singles Promise Me and Holding On. It looks like a miniature recording studio, with enough dials and switches to fill the cockpit of a jet, and Beverley talks about 'compressors', 'echoes' and 'reverbs' as though she's reciting a shopping list. Colin also works in the music business producing records and songwriting, so he's at home among the tools of Beverley's trade. The couple met at a Tears For Fears concert four years ago and Beverley later bought the flat above his so that they could be together. Since then, they've changed the structure so that what was once two flats is now a large maisonette. Last year, they were joined by their baby daughter, Mollie, who's now 20 months old. 'People ask me if I've been busy working on the new album, but I tell them I've been busy looking after Mollie', says Beverley. 'I even went through a stage where I didn't want to play; I just wanted to be a mum.' But now that her new album, Love Scenes, has been released, music is fun again for Beverley, and she can enjoy Christmas without worrying about recording pressures. The music room reflects her relaxed approach. A rust-coloured sofa gives it a softer edge and on the shelves are Thirties-style pots and dishes from Phoenix (a Staffordshire works), which Colin collects. 'You'll see these all over the house', says Beverley. Also on display are the gold silver and platinum discs that she's received for the worldwide sales on her records. In the spacious square living room it's clear that Christmas will be celebrated in the traditional way. A massive tree fils the bay window and coal is already ablaze in the open fireplace. They can even shut out the world by closing the wodden shutters, creating a cosy, cocooned atmosphere. 'Ours is a very ordinary, lovely Christmas - a time to have family and close friends round. There won't be any raucous parties here, that's for sure! I'm vegetarian but Colin isn't, so on Christmas Day he'll have turkey and all the trimmings, and I'll be eating a nut roast.' Over the holiday Beverely and Colin will be indulging in a favourite pastime - hunting through the antiques warehouses at Tower Bridge, Good finds so far include the antique cane-backed suite and the fireplace, which was built from three separate parts. As the living room is so large, the furniture has to be on rather a grand scale. But it's the small finishing touches that give the room its special interest. Little Mexican nativity figurines, from Mexique in East Sheen, are lined up on the mantelpiece, almost next to Beverley's Brit Award and a lovely photograph of Mollie and mum. The bathroom is an elegant affair with black, blue and white tiles and a traditional bath on ball-and-claw feet. A wooden blind complements the expanse of white and a single depth border of tiles goes around the walls like a dado. A winding staircase descends to the 'basement', where Christmas lunch will be eaten in the conservatory, which doubles as a dining room. Opening off this room is the small but modern kitchen with units from Magnet. 'Colin and I are both as bad as each other at cooking', Beverley admits, 'but I love this conservatory area because it has such a good view of the garden. It's my first proper garden and I'm enjoying learning about it; it really is my pride and joy.' On this floor is the main bedroom, blissfully quiet and furnished with the impressive flair evident elsewhere. An antique mirror, which takes the place of a headboard, is the exact width of the bed, and green brocade curtains are draped across a window pole adding a hint of lazy decadence. 'The bird's-eye maple bedside tables come from an antiques shop in Camden', Beverley explains, 'and the wardrobe and chest of drawers are pine because I was into pine at one time'. But the real stunner here is a purple and yellow check Conran armchair which, despite it's bold colours, manages to look traditional. 'I can imagine the Joker in Batman having that in his bedroom. They're his kind of colours', laughs Beverley. There's a subtle romanticism about the bedroom and it's easy to imagine Beverley singing Promise Me in here with the lights down low. Her opinion, however, is more down to earth: 'The floor squeaks and we have to creep around so we don't wake Mollie. And when she plays with sand outside, she drags it in so that we end up with it in the bed!' Although it's just an average sized bedroom, Colin's fitted out the wardrobes with display rails and shelves, using every available inch of space for their extensive collection of clothes. For both of them, Christmas is a time for children, and Beverley celebrated her lovely daughter in the way she knows best. 'My favourite track on the new album has to be Mollie's Song - it's about the wonder of having a baby. In my twenties I became a bit self-obsessed, but having Mollie brought me back to normal.' Beverley Craven has the look of someone who's truly happy; and she gives Colin the credit for her beautiful home. 'He's really interested in interior design and he's taught me such a lot. The man has style!'

Footnote Although this article states that there were originally two flats in the building, other articles say there were three. I don't know which is correct.

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