Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Building design isn't trendy.
Awesome is loud but awe is quiet.
I spend a frightening amount of money on books.
I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.
My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens.
Life involves other people and it is a compromise.
I admire anyone that follows the road less travelled.
Every breath we take as human beings damages the planet.
Your home should be about enriching the daily experience.
There's no reason for your imagination to be fettered by money.
Luckily I have never missed a day's filming or work due to asthma.
I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones.
I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick.
When I left university, I idled around without focus for much too long.
You cannot use the democratic process for the procurement of excellence.
I've forgiven all my enemies - even those who have stolen money from me.
Architecture was pretty much the sexiest thing to be doing from 1700-1800.
I've got a farm in Somerset, and I think it's God's own country. I love it.
I don't want anything that I buy to have done any harm to anyone or anything.
Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.
One mustn't mistake bling for excellence, just as one mustn't mistake quiet for mediocre.
The greatest architectural illusion is not Baroque fancy or Victorian flamboyant, but minimalism.
Generally speaking, I think that if you do anything with commitment and passion, it will come good.
I don't enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.
The more of your private life you put into the public domain, the smaller your private life becomes.
I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.
There's nothing you can do about busted ribs. You just have to wait for them to pop back into place again.
Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family.
I have a recurring nightmare that I wake up in a gutter with nothing. I've had it all my life. That's why I work, I think.
As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.
It's possible to be satisfied with a day's work or a cake, but a life... what is a life but a history of events badly remembered?
The thing that I champion is sustainability. My terror is that suddenly we see it as a luxury, not an essential. That's a danger.
If you said to me, 'Lie down on that concrete floor and fall asleep,' I could do it. I can sleep anywhere at any time of day on any surface.
I was never a hugely successful theatre designer. I painted a lot of scenery and did the lighting, and my lighting business grew out of that.
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.
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.
Self-builders are the adrenalin junkies of the DIY world; it's the equivalent of base-jumping off the top of the Gherkin to land in a paddling pool.
A great deal of energy is wasted in hating people, and I can honestly say I've no wish to expend such a precious resource on being outraged about anyone.
I hate negativity. I hate people who say the phrase 'I hate'. I really don't like the word 'hate.' Dislike, frightened of, terrified of, or yukky - but not 'hate.'
If I welcomed people into my lovely home every week in the pages of a magazine, they'd soon see how incredibly dull it is. It's important to maintain a bit of mystique.
Sustainability is now a big baggy sack in which people throw all kinds of old ideas, hot air and dodgy activities in order to be able to greenwash their products and feel good.
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.
Living an environmentally responsible lifestyle can seem like a Scrooge-like list of don'ts. Don't take that flight, don't buy that car, don't eat those blueberries flown in from somewhere far-flung.
People have got to get over the fear of not being able to trust others. I come across people who are very successful in their own sphere, and really believe they can do it all themselves, but they can't.
A friend of mine once wrote a silly article about all these metrosexuals like David Beckham wearing sarongs, and she described me as a 'heteropolitan.' I don't know what that means. I think it was a joke.
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.
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 know whether other asthma sufferers find this, but I've noticed that even when I've got my asthma under control, I often develop another problem such as an ear, chest or sinus infection and sometimes even joint pains.
I am a big fan of long drop, composting toilets - I like the cycle of using waste. When you have experienced one and seen what comes out of the bottom, it is amazing stuff. It's the most beautiful, driest, sweet-smelling compost.
I'm terrified of being poor, I always have been. It's growing up as a Methodist. I'll spend that bit of extra money to get a better seat on a train sometimes, because it's quieter and calmer, but I refuse to spend money on clothes.