Open house

Musician VV Brown on her dream countryside home and visiting Nigeria with Damon Albarn

Home is… contemporary and beautiful. I lived in London from the age of 17 and left at 32 for the countryside, after spending about seven years in LA. My husband (art director Daniel Price), two daughters and I live in a small Northamptonshire village. We renovated an outdated 1970s box and made our first family home exactly how we wanted; it’s got Siberian larch cladding, anthracite-grey windows and a landscaped garden.

My childhood home was… in rural Northamptonshire with my parents and six siblings, so it was always very busy.

Right now I am… working at my mum and dad’s house. Besides my music career, I run a local coffee shop called Grandbies (below) with my brother. I also lecture every Wednesday at a university and I’m business development manager for my mum’s business.

My dinner party style is… rustic chic: a long wooden table with benches, elegant prosecco glasses, tall candles and mood lighting. I like having lots of sharing plates (above right). We’ll play an album by someone like Cleo Sol. On every plate I’ll put something cheeky, like a truth or dare card.

When I get home, the first thing I do is… pick up the toys that were left out when we rushed to school. After I drop my daughters off, I get the house in order. Within 20 minutes of coming home, they unravel it all!

My favourite room in the house is… the open-plan kitchen. We chat, eat and drink over the breakfast bar with friends and family. It’s more of a social space than the living room.

My favourite homeware stores are… Ikea, Next Home and Habitat, and I go to John Lewis or Nordic Nest for more expensive stuff. Our home is filled with cushions, throws, vases and interesting sculptures. I’m a huge colour fan – the brighter everything is the better.

My walls are… white – it’s a very fresh, Scandinavian look – and packed with art that we’ve collected or my husband’s made. We also frame special artwork our children bring home from school and they have a gallery wall for other bits and bobs to go up with Blu Tack.

My biggest extravagance is… our garden office/recording studio and landscaping, which we finished just before lockdown. There’s also a kids’ play area, plus an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue and pizza oven.

The biggest bargain in my home is… a secondhand conservatory for £1,000, which cost £10,000 new! We assembled it and sprayed it anthracite grey. It’s now the kids’ playroom and has been a godsend for keeping toys out of the main living space.

My biggest decorating disaster was… painting my bedroom orange. It was in my first rented flat in Walthamstow, London. I thought I was being creative and cool, but it was disgusting.

I love to collect… photos of doors – I’m obsessed with posting them on Pinterest. They are the window into the soul of a house.

In my bathroom cabinet you’ll find… loads of unused toiletries that I’ve been given by aunties.

The home I’d like to nose around is… actor Jeff Goldblum’s. He’s quite eccentric – I would love to see what artwork he has on his walls.

At parties, you’ll find me… in the corner, being shy, talking to another shy person about nerdy things – probably quantum physics.

My favourite design object from my travels is… a mask from Nigeria, which I bought during a trip with Damon Albarn’s Africa Express project. It’s a good memory of a fantastic time, surrounded by superstars such as Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Every Sunday you’ll find me… at my parents’ having dinner. Living close to family is wonderful. It’s good for wellbeing and great for the kids to regularly see their grandparents. VV Brown’s new album Am I British Yet? is out now. The House of Grandbies, her new homeware store, is at 21a St Giles Street, Northampton

‘I’m obsessed with photos of doors’