Kevin McCloud

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.

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.

I hate negativity. I hate people who say the phrase 'I hate'. I really don't like the word 'hate.' Dislike, frightened of, terrified of, or yukky - but not 'hate.'

I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick.

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.

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

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

Your home should be about enriching the daily experience.

The more of your private life you put into the public domain, the smaller your private life becomes.

Life involves other people and it is a compromise.

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 enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.