As soon as you step in the front door of Fiona Kennedy’s home, you can tell that it belongs to an entertainer. It has the feel of a place that regularly plays host to celebrities, and everywhere there are photographs of them. Alongside pictures of the singer, actress and producer are ones of her father singing with her son and two daughters, as well as photos of some of the stars with whom she has worked, including the late Roy Castle, her co-presenter on the television programme Record Breakers. There are pictures of Kennedy’s performance in The Wicker Man, of her in panto with Allan Stewart and a record of her singing at the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations at Balmoral Castle in 2006.

Kennedy’s home, with its eclectic mix of furniture and styles, reflects her varied and colourful career, during which she has worked all over the world, from New York to Australia, and it is now a valuable part of preparations for Highland Heartbeat, the traditional and contemporary Scottish music show she devised with her sister, Morven. It acts as the main rehearsal space.

Kennedy has lived in her 18th-century, seven-bedroom, four-bathroom house overlooking the Dee Valley with her husband, Francis Clark, for more than 25 years. It was built by the Ogston brothers, local industrialists who were also responsible for the nearby spa hotel Ardoe House.

She was familiar with the area before she moved there, after living on a farm outside Aberdeen as a child. When her late father, the singer Calum Kennedy — dubbed the King of the Highlands, among other titles — took over the running of the Tivoli theatre in Aberdeen, he moved the family there from Glasgow.

One of the Tivoli’s pianos now lives in Kennedy’s ground-floor music room, and these days it sees service during rehearsals for her productions.

The house’s showbiz theme is mingled with a nautical note, thanks to Clark’s passions. In the hallway, a series of ship paintings is grouped above a violin case, which sits on a Louis XIV chair. The artworks reflect his ancestry: his great-great-great-grandfather designed the Cutty Sark. In fact, there is a wonderful collection of paintings — many by local artists — showing landscapes of the area, as well as portraits of Kennedy and her children, Hannah, 22, Francis, 21, and Sophie, 18.

In the conservatory, which was added four years ago, a quirky take on Highland style looks out onto the lush garden. The space is lit by a stag’s head on which each of the antlers has a differently coloured light bulb.

Kennedy’s home blends modern luxuries with traditional features: large plasma-screen televisions and big hearty fireplaces can be found in many of its rooms.

The capacious kitchen is one. With its two big black leather sofas and state-of-the-art television, it also acts as a sitting room. In the winter months, the family gathers there to huddle around the log fireplace. The functional side of the kitchen is supplied by elegant units, supplied by the Banchory firm Drumoak, with marble-effect Corian work surfaces.

For guests, there is a separate wing. “We did think of renting out the guest wing and putting in a special kitchen area, but it is very handy for us to have a self-contained area when we have people to stay,” says Kennedy.

Decor in the family bedrooms is flamboyant and luxurious. Hannah and Sophie have canopied four-poster beds and one of the guest bathrooms has sumptuous pleated fabric on the walls and a bath so enormous it could accommodate the whole family.

The influence is French, says Kennedy. “My husband studied at business school in Fontainebleau, so that is why I felt strongly influenced by French style in decorating this house — we also got engaged in Paris, so it has a lot of meaning for us,” she says.

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