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

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.

My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens.

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.

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