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

As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.

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.

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 got a farm in Somerset, and I think it's God's own country. I love it.

I don't enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.

Life involves other people and it is a compromise.