Me And My Home: Vintage chic in Camden

Singer and textile designer Pearl Lowe has lived with boyfriend Danny Goffey from Supergrass for 10 years. Becoming known with Brit Pop nearly-rans Powder in the 1990s, she now records under her own name. She also makes and sells coloured lace curtains. She lives with Danny and her three children in a Victorian house in a square in Camden, north London.

Singer and textile designer Pearl Lowe has lived with boyfriend Danny Goffey from Supergrass for 10 years. Becoming known with Brit Pop nearly-rans Powder in the 1990s, she now records under her own name. She also makes and sells coloured lace curtains. She lives with Danny and her three children in a Victorian house in a square in Camden, north London.

We used to live in Brondesbury Park, near Kilburn. It felt like miles away but Danny and I had moved out of Camden to try something new. We went for one year but we really missed being here - especially in the summer when you can walk down and go to all the pubs. We found ourselves travelling here constantly and having to get home at night. So, when a house came up for sale in this square, I looked at it immediately.

It was a mess. It was owned by a guy who had lived here for many many years and the basement was just rubble, and the garden was a forest. But when I walked in, I just loved it. Danny was reluctant to move back but I was insistent. We know lots of people round here and in the summer it's so nice; we have garden parties all the time.

The first thing we did was knock down the walls between the living room and the corridor to make one large room. We did the same with the loft to make one big bedroom and open up the ceilings. We didn't have much money. We didn't get a new floor; we stripped and painted the floorboards - we did our best on the budget we had.

The bedroom is my favourite room; you can go up there and feel like you're just away from everything. At night, you can see the stars from the window. It's a tranquil place to be. I had the mirrored dresser and chest of drawers already; I got them from Paris. I collect vintage stuff. I'm just mad about it - I have been since I was 14.

The 7ft bed was given to me by Samantha Morton this Christmas. She asked if I knew anyone who could store it for her. I'd just given mine to my 15-year-old daughter, so it was perfect. We had to have the banister taken out to get it up the stairs. I haven't found a sheet yet to fit it. The good thing is our two boys always come up to our bed in the night, they bring their pillows up and now both of them fit in.

Yes, the house is quite feminine; it's all my style. Danny did the last house but one, and he likes bright orange, blacks and browns. When we moved here, I just wanted everything white, a complete and utter change. Another room that I'm proud of is the bathroom. We painted it pink but I couldn't find a curtain to go in there. I was putting bits of material up and everything was too chintzy. I found a piece of vintage lace in my cupboard - I collect fabric - and I dyed it fuschia. It looked amazing. Then a friend came round and asked if I could make her one, then another friend asked, and that's how it started.

The Cross in Notting Hill ordered some and then Elle Decoration came in and said they wanted to do 10 pages on me. It became a business, it was crazy. It was during a time when I had recorded my album but nothing was really happening with it. I started selling in places such as Coco Ribbon and now I'm doing cushion covers, big ones with feathers, tablecloths and bed spreads. Sometimes I feel like the Martha Stewart of my set. My living space is very important to me. I spend most of my time here with the kids - Danny's away a lot - so it's important for me to be in a nice environment. Am I ever spotted in Ikea? I haven't been there for many, many years. Habitat, maybe.

My two boys worry that there are a lot of pictures of naked women around the house. We've just taken one down in the bedroom and put up a print of Sly Stone. I'd like to clear one thing up: the photograph in the living room is an original 70s James Wedge portrait for Biba. It's not me or my daughter, as has been reported.

I don't decorate to fit in with fashion. I've had this style for many years; you either have a style or you don't. But there are lots of things I still want to do with the house when we have the money.

I'd like to get some old mirrored doors and use them to make a wardrobe for my bedroom. I'd like to gut the kitchen and get some old kitchen cabinets, lay some big flagstones and knock out the wall, so it's all open-plan. There are so many things... some people might call it "boho" but some parts of the house are starting to look a bit tatty. Danny says we should have a huge spring clean. There's a lot of clutter.

I really love this house but I have this idealistic view that I want to live in the country. It's become a standing joke with friends and family - I do talk about it a lot. I want the kids to grow up with greenery. My friend has just bought somewhere in Oxford and it's so beautiful. We go down there quite a lot and on Sunday evening I never want to go home. I love this area so much, I don't know if we ever will.

Pearl Lowe's curtains from The Cross, 141 Portland Road, 020-7221 9686, and Coco Ribbon, 21 Kensington Park Road, 020-7229 4904, both London W11; mail-order: 020-7284 4722; Pearl Lowe plays at the Bush Hall, London W12, on 5 March.