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 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.

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?

I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones.

I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick.

Generally speaking, I think that if you do anything with commitment and passion, it will come good.

I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.