Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.

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.

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

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

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.

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.