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I've got a farm in Somerset, and I think it's God's own country. I love it.
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The more of your private life you put into the public domain, the smaller your private life becomes.
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Your home should be about enriching the daily experience.
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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.
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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.
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Luckily I have never missed a day's filming or work due to asthma.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I've forgiven all my enemies - even those who have stolen money from me.
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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.
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As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.
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I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.
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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.
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I'm quite shy. Television presents an amplified version of yourself. When I'm on camera I'm pumping more adrenaline, I'm being a bit more engaging than I am in everyday conversation, but that's normal, isn't it? Otherwise nobody would want to watch.
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I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.
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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.
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Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.
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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.
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We are borrowing money from future generations. We are borrowing the carbon impact, the resource impact from future generations to get stuff cheap now. We have swept the dirt and dust from our society under the carpet - but this carpet is on other side of the planet.
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I don't want anything that I buy to have done any harm to anyone or anything.
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When I left university, I idled around without focus for much too long.
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I don't enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.
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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.