Kevin McCloud Quotes

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.

I admire anyone that follows the road less travelled.

I don't know whether other asthma sufferers find this, but I've noticed that even when I've got my asthma under control, I often develop another problem such as an ear, chest or sinus infection and sometimes even joint pains.

If you said to me, 'Lie down on that concrete floor and fall asleep,' I could do it. I can sleep anywhere at any time of day on any surface.

When I left university, I idled around without focus for much too long.

The greatest architectural illusion is not Baroque fancy or Victorian flamboyant, but minimalism.

There's nothing you can do about busted ribs. You just have to wait for them to pop back into place again.

Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family.

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.

Your home should be about enriching the daily experience.

Sustainability is now a big baggy sack in which people throw all kinds of old ideas, hot air and dodgy activities in order to be able to greenwash their products and feel good.

I've got lots of friends who are musicians, and there is a fair proportion of broken marriages and relationships as a result. You are on the move all the time. It's difficult if you have kids, and it's hard to make money unless you are in the premier league.

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

One mustn't mistake bling for excellence, just as one mustn't mistake quiet for mediocre.

A great deal of energy is wasted in hating people, and I can honestly say I've no wish to expend such a precious resource on being outraged about anyone.

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

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.

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.

I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.

Generally speaking, I think that if you do anything with commitment and passion, it will come good.

My father, an engineer, was the gentlest man I knew.

I've forgiven all my enemies - even those who have stolen money from me.

There's no reason for your imagination to be fettered by money.

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.

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.

Living an environmentally responsible lifestyle can seem like a Scrooge-like list of don'ts. Don't take that flight, don't buy that car, don't eat those blueberries flown in from somewhere far-flung.

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.

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.

I am a big fan of long drop, composting toilets - I like the cycle of using waste. When you have experienced one and seen what comes out of the bottom, it is amazing stuff. It's the most beautiful, driest, sweet-smelling compost.

I spend a frightening amount of money on books.

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.

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

My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens.

I don't want anything that I buy to have done any harm to anyone or anything.

You cannot use the democratic process for the procurement of excellence.

Luckily I have never missed a day's filming or work due to asthma.