"and they're all made out of ticky tacky"

"When I look at the world around me, I frankly despair."

When I look at the world around me and in particular the buildings and interiors offered up for our praise, I frankly despair.

"...there must be others who like me, yearn for better."

It obviously must be me that is at odds with the rest of the world yet, deep down I cannot believe that I am a lone voice, for there must be others who like me, yearn for better.

"I only desire of the simple things in life."

I only desire of the simple things in life. Fresh vegetables picked half an hour before I eat. Home baked wholemeal bread, freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly made vegetable and fruit juice before a meal. Real coffee, made in a caffetierre, from roasted beans and drunk from a bone-china cup and saucer. A loving companion with whom to share.

Crisp linen napkins, large enough to cover ones lap. My trusty fountain pen with which to write.

"To be courteous and polite to those with whom I have dealings."

To be courteous and polite to those with whom I have dealings. To phone and say 'thank you' and not just to complain. To try to speak the Queen's English, not in some snobbish or offhand manner but simply because it gives me pleasure and keeps me grounded.

In a world where respect of others and their property has become a joke, I need to continually remind myself of the basic social graces I was taught as a young teenager.

"...a world that seems quite suddenly to have become a lesser place in which to live."

I chastise my staff when working under pressure, if they do not keep their working environment clean and tidy. It is this need in me, when faced with the challenges of this world, a world that seems quite suddenly to have become a lesser place in which to live, to keep the basic social graces; politeness, courtesy and simple refinement in tact.

I will not apologise if the urge to help, far outweighs my desire simply to take.

"So when it comes to my home"

So when it comes to my home, it has to be calming, not sombre; simply tranquil.

The homes we are offered are so boring, that we spend all of our time and energies trying to improve them. Pictures hung on the walls, for ever painting the latest fashion shade and adding new pieces of furniture. All in a desperate attempt to disguise the simple fact that, we live in boring and ill-conceived boxes.

"How did the seventies song from America go?"

"Little boxes all the same, There's a green one and a pink one, and a blue one and a yellow one, and they're all made out of ticky tacky. And they all look just the same."

"I need the basic architecture, to excite my senses."

The forever changing interplay with sunlight throughout the day. Lighting surfaces here, forming soft moving shadows there.

"...to shower in the soft warmth of dappled sunlight"

I have never liked being subjected to the extreme heat of the sun but, like many, I need to experience its gentler presence. What can be more stimulating than to shower in the soft warmth of dappled sunlight?

"..a continually changing internal landscape"

I want the simple shape of my home, the articulation of the individual elements, the minutia of the detailing and the texture of the surfaces to be sufficient to excite my senses. Like a continually changing internal landscape, of which one fails to tire.

The idea that I should need to rely on pictures projecting out from the surface of the wall somehow to address the blandness of my lot is quite a depressing notion.

"Not some gathering of dispirit items"

The soft furnishings, fitted and free standing furniture must appear as if born of the same womb as the elements of the house. Not some gathering of dispirit items that caught my eye in a shiny showroom, or catalogue of ubiquitous classic pieces.

"..the best part of thirty plus years of continually swimming against the tide."

Arriving at this point has taken me the best part of thirty plus years of continually swimming against the tide. During which time I have been privileged to be commissioned by some of this country's wealthiest individuals, including two Duchies, a Marquis, an Earl, a Duke, an Ambassador and many of this country's leading businessmen?

Please email Christopher directly to discuss your requirements

Further Reading - 'I have grown weary!'