The more of your private life you put into the public domain, the smaller your private life becomes.
I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones.
I don't enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.
Because I live in the countryside, I want a building which encourages me to have a fully formed relationship with the environment. It gives me an opportunity to not just be inside or outside, but in a range of contexts.
I don't look at what people do with their homes in terms of money, but the social and personal value of what they're trying to do and achieve.
Every decently-made object, from a house to a lamp post to a bridge, spoon or egg cup, is not just a piece of 'stuff' but a physical embodiment of human energy, testimony to the magical ability of our species to take raw materials and turn them into things of use, value and beauty.
We are borrowing money from future generations. We are borrowing the carbon impact, the resource impact from future generations to get stuff cheap now. We have swept the dirt and dust from our society under the carpet - but this carpet is on other side of the planet.
Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.
You cannot use the democratic process for the procurement of excellence.
I'm quite shy. Television presents an amplified version of yourself. When I'm on camera I'm pumping more adrenaline, I'm being a bit more engaging than I am in everyday conversation, but that's normal, isn't it? Otherwise nobody would want to watch.
I'm not too fond of really cool design. I've got quite kitsch taste really, in things like tableware. I'm quite a sucker for 1930s pressed glass.
I've had my fair share of colds, which last longer than they should and can cause wheezing, so I avoid people who are sneezing like the plague and am scrupulous about hygiene and hand-washing.
One mustn't mistake bling for excellence, just as one mustn't mistake quiet for mediocre.
Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family.
Architecture was pretty much the sexiest thing to be doing from 1700-1800.
Life involves other people and it is a compromise.
I admire anyone that follows the road less travelled.
I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick.
I'm really quite conscious of clothes and the way they fit and don't regret wearing anything. Not even the five-inch stack heels I wore with three-button high-waisters at comprehensive school. Regret is for wimps.
Building design isn't trendy.
