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I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

Decorating has always been my hobby.

I'd always want to decorate my bedroom. I needed visuals and to be stimulated by things. I'm still like that. It's the way I see the world.

But I hang on to books. I love them. I even think they're very nice decor in a room - far better than paintings... That's not quite true!

I have two quite large houses, and every cupboard and drawer is stuffed with books.

People commonly educate their children as they build their houses, according to some plan they think beautiful, without considering whether it is suited to the purposes for which they are designed.

Design, to me, is part psychology, part sociology, and part magic. A good decorator should know what's going on in someone's marriage and how their kids are doing in school.

My favorite thing about decorating is mixing different periods and styles. If you have something that's old, and you really do want to mix those styles, then you have to add something that's obviously modern with it. You can't put a kind of a mediocre thing in the middle.

Houses are one of my passions. I probably should have been an interior decorator.