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There’s barely an oilcloth, mug or ironing board cover that hasn’t been embellished with a nostalgic floral print from Cath Kidston. Because of the brand’s ubiquity, it’s easy to forget quite how influential it was when it appeared in the 1990s. What I love about Cath is that she’s living proof you can be a wildly successful entrepreneur whilst also being a kind, gentle soul. Although her name’s still above the door, she hasn’t been involved with the Cath Kidston business for many years, so I was intrigued to find out what that feels like.  She’s now set up a bodycare brand called C. Atherley, which makes all of its products using scented geraniums. Despite her love of flowers, life hasn’t always been a bed of David Austin roses for Cath and she talks very honestly about the personal grief she’s suffered through her life.  She has a great eye for interiors and we had this conversation at her kitchen table in London, with a surprisingly modern backdrop of Danish wood flooring and an Ellsworth Kelly artwork.  Cath was very generous with her time and emotions and I’m really happy with how this episode has turned out. I hope you enjoy it. This episode was recorded in person at Cath Kidston’s West London home. For more:  Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode Check out Cath Kidston’s latest venture, C.Atherley Production: Hannah Phillips Editing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father This episode was sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m chatting to the swashbuckling artist and restaurateur Jonny Gent. We recorded this episode during a busy lunch service at Sessions Arts Club, Jonny’s inspirational restaurant in Clerkenwell. It’s fair to say that he’d emboldened himself with a few martinis beforehand and what ensued was a conversation that very much represents the man himself: unstructured, poetic and generous.  Jonny’s a brilliant painter, and his artworks range from the sexualised and salacious to tenderly painted still-lifes that are a tribute to his late mother. After getting himself through art school, he met a casting director who wrote him a cheque for every painting he’d made. What followed was a journey that took him to more than 20 countries around the world, establishing art studios in everything from a cabin in Scotland to a tobacco factory in France.  Now approaching his late 40s, he’s finally starting to put down some roots. As well as having a permanent home in London, Jonny spends a lot of time in the Scottish Highlands, where he’s opened a retreat for creatives called Boath House. Like Sessions Arts Club, it explores the confluence of art, food and music.   Jonny says of his childhood, “I felt totally alone in what I found beautiful.” He begins by telling me about the Slow & Easy, the pub he grew up in, and the lasting impact of 500 strangers coming into your home every day. I hope you enjoy it! This episode was recorded in person at Sessions Arts Club, London. For more:  Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode Check out Sessions Arts Club and Boath House Take a look at Jonny Gent’s latest work Production and editing: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Akram’s rich career includes performing at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, collaborating with artists Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, and choreographing tours and videos for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Florence + the Machine. He was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005.  He kindly invited us to his home last summer and we recorded this conversation in a shady spot in the garden. Akram is of Bangladeshi descent and he grew up above his parents’ restaurant in south-west London. He was bullied at school and harassed by the National Front outside of it, so he’s always had a conflicted view of his community. As a child, he was introverted to the point of being mute, and movement quickly became his primary form of expression. He tells me how he danced so enthusiastically at home that the lights in the restaurant below would start shaking, putting the customers off their food. The word ‘home’ has come to mean many things for Akram: it’s the small studio in the garden where he practises dance for four hours every morning, it’s the stage on which he performs, and it’s also his own body.  As is the case for so many true artists, there’s a lot of conflicting emotion inside him. He talks particularly poignantly about his relationship with his late father, who always struggled to demonstrate his love. Akram’s story has really stayed with me. Being able to talk to people on this podcast is a great privilege, and conversations like this one really remind me of that. For more:  Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode Check out the latest from the Akram Khan Company Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father This episode was sponsored by Vitsoe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I first met Roksanda in 2006. We were selling her flat in King’s Cross, which was unlike anything I’d seen before: a brooding space with cast-concrete worktops, a black resin floor and mirrored lightwells. It had a subterranean lap-pool that was completely black, like a cave, where one could imagine Bruce Wayne practising his backstroke. Roksanda had recently shown her first collection at London Fashion Week and garments dangled enticingly from rails in her workspace. Some 18 years later, I’ve come to meet her in her studio in the East End to record this podcast. As before, her latest collection is on display, only this time the hanging rails have multiplied by a factor of a hundred. The colours are even more vibrant. Roksanda is no longer simply a name; it’s a brand with a global following. I loved finding out more about Roksanda’s life story. She talks passionately about the importance of nature in her life, from the old quince trees in her grandparents’ garden to the inside-out living of her favourite Modernist houses in Brazil. She describes how the birth of her daughter was like a portal opening up, which gave her new confidence and a sense of perspective. She tells me about how she’s managed to bring architecture into fashion, and why she believes that clothes are there to provide shelter and protection in the same way that a home does. Thank you so much for listening, as always, and I really hope you enjoy it! This episode was recorded in person at Roksanda’s East London studio.  For more:  Visit our website to see images of the spaces discussed  Check out Roksanda’s latest collection  Check out The Lost House sales listing, over on The Modern House  Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin has been a fixture on our tellies for so many years that we feel like we know him. But, actually, I didn’t have a clue about his life story, so this conversation was really interesting for me. He tells me about growing up in what he refers to as an ‘architectural zoo’ of housing from different eras. We talk about his involvement with Footlights, the famous comedy troupe at Cambridge University, where he collaborated with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson. And he explains why he’s spent years living in a camper van and why his future home will definitely have a view of the mountains. Kevin is one of the most engaging and fiercely intelligent guests I’ve spoken to on Homing In and he’s full of amusing anecdotes and top tips. I hope you enjoy the episode! This episode was recorded in person at St Anne's Court, a home currently for sale on The Modern House. For more:  Watch Grand Designs Subscribe to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration Find out more about Matt Gibberd’s latest book, A Modern Way To Live Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father This episode is sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosh is founder of the brilliant jewellery company Alighieri. We discuss her life story through the prism of the homes she’s lived in, from humble beginnings in Zambia to the beautifully designed flat she now owns in Clerkenwell. When Rosh moved to London at the age of eight, she was the only person of colour in her school. She tells me how she’s managed to channel this feeling of alienation towards a personal mission of bringing people together, celebrating commonality rather than difference. We talk about the importance of ritual at home and why she likes living on her own. We also discuss her suspicion of the colour green, the joy of negative space and why she imagines herself living in the desert as an old lady. Hope you enjoy it! This episode was recorded in person at Rosh's London studio. For more:  Visit Alighieri See images of Rosh's own home and Frey House over on The Modern House Subscribe to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration Find out more about Matt Gibberd’s latest book, A Modern Way To Live Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father This episode is sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’ve known Duncan for many years now and he’s definitely one of the good guys. We first met when I was commissioned to write a piece for The World of Interiors about the amazing home in west London he shares with his wife, Lyndsay Milne McLeod, and their son, Oban. Duncan’s kindly invited me back to the house to record this episode. He tells me about how growing up on building sites brought him close to his father, the importance of magic in architecture and why he believes you should always design a house as if you’re playing hide-and-seek in it. Duncan certainly isn’t the first guest to shed a tear or two on this podcast and I think this is a really lovely, heartfelt conversation. This episode was recorded at Duncan's home in West London. For more: Check out Studio McLeod's latest work Visit our website for images of places discussed, and to read our interview with Duncan McLeod Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jacqueline is a jewellery designer whose work I’ve admired for many years, probably because it’s so architectural. As you probably know by now, we try to record these podcasts in the guest’s home whenever possible, and this one is particularly exciting on that front, because Jacqueline lives in a 1960s house perched on a hillside in Los Angeles. As is the custom on this podcast, I asked Jacqueline to talk about a home from her past, her current place, and a home of the future. She told me what it was like to grow up in a big family, and how the soul music that boomed around the house was somehow a form of defiance against the racial tension that African-Americans were feeling at that time. And we also talked about how the pandemic inspired her homing instinct, why she’s enjoying living with less and her love of mid-century modern houses. This episode was recorded in person at Jacqueline's Los Angeles home studio. For more: Head to the Carpenters Workshop Gallery‘s London space, to visit ‘Jacqueline Rabun: A Retrospective’ Check out Jacqueline Rabun’s latest work Find out more about her dream home, the Loring House Visit our website for images and details of the places discussed Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father This episode is sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glenn's a brilliant curator and writer with a particular interest in craft. If that conjures up an image of lace doilies and crocheted waistcoats, then don't panic! Back in 2011, he put together the amazing 'Postmodernism' exhibition at the V&A in London, which was a riot of Memphis pattern and colour; and more recently, he's co-curated a show called 'Mirror Mirror' at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Glenn writes beautifully – and his book Fewer, Better Things was a really big influence on my own book, A Modern Way to Live. A phrase he uses a lot is 'material intelligence', which is the idea that we should try to understand the things we choose to live with – where they've come from and how they've been made. I don’t know if it's material intelligence or old-fashioned fate that led Glenn to find his home in Upstate New York, but it really is the physical manifestation of everything he believes in. We also chatted about his place in east London, what it's like to be an identical twin, his thoughts on the metaverse and all sorts of other things. Glenn is one of the most erudite people I know and his thoughtfulness is something we could all learn from. This episode was recorded in person at Glenn's east London home. For more:  Head over to The Modern House website for images of the places discussed  Watch the B-52's 'Love Shack' music video  Check out the house built by a librarian's collection of bricks Read more by Glenn Adamson Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration    Executive Producer: Kate Taylor of Feast Collective Production: Hannah Phillips  Music: Father Graphic Design: Tom Young  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of us know Mary Portas as a swashbuckling TV presenter with a flame-red bob, but her career away from the screen has been no less remarkable. She did the window displays for Topshop during its heyday and was the creative director of Harvey Nichols when it was immortalised on Absolutely Fabulous. Nowadays, however, she runs her consultancy, Portas, which helps brands create purpose and beauty in everything they do. As this episode reveals, her life story is incredibly rich and filled with both trauma and triumph.  This episode was recorded in person at the Portas offices, London. For more:  Head over to our website for more images of the places discussed Visit Portas  Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration  Check out Matt Gibberd’s latest book, A Modern Way To Live  This episode is sponsored by Vitsoe. Executive Producer: Kate Taylor of Feast Collective Production: Hannah Phillips Music: Father Graphic Design: Tom Young Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Skye Gyngell is an Australian-born chef who has spent much of her career shaping the British food scene. I first became aware of her cooking when I visited Petersham Nurseries’ cafe in Richmond, which she opened in 2004 and later earned it a Michelin star. Nowadays she runs her own beautiful restaurant, Spring, at Somerset House in London, and is the culinary director of Hampshire hotel Heckfield Place. For this episode, Skye generously invited us into her home in west London and we talked about all sorts of things, including her favourite things to eat here and what it’s like being a mother to grown-up kids.  This conversation was recorded in person at Skye's home in West London.  For more:  Head over to our website for more images of the places discussed Visit Spring and Heckfield Place Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration  Check out Matt Gibberd’s latest book, A Modern Way To Live  Executive Producer: Kate Taylor of Feast Collective Production: Hannah Phillips Music: Father Graphic Design: Tom Young Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hans Ulrich Obrist is the artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington, west London, and is universally acknowledged as one of the most important and prolific art curators of our time. When I spoke to him at his office, I discovered a force of nature with an energy unlike that of anyone I’ve met before. His notion of home is also pretty extreme. When he was a student, he turned his flat into a gallery and he’s lived in some of the world’s most famous house-museums. This episode doesn’t follow the usual format, but I think it’s a really interesting portrait of a brilliant man.  This conversation was recorded in person in Hans Ulrich Obrist’s office at the Serpentine gallery.  For more:  Head over to our website for more images of the places discussed Visit The Serpentine Gallery  Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration  Check out Matt Gibberd’s latest book, A Modern Way To Live  Executive Producer: Kate Taylor of Feast Collective Production: Hannah Phillips Music: Father Graphic Design: Tom Young Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.