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.

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud

I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones.

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud

Every decently-made object, from a house to a lamp post to a bridge, spoon or egg cup, is not just a piece of 'stuff' but a physical embodiment of human energy, testimony to the magical ability of our species to take raw materials and turn them into things of use, value and beauty.

Kevin McCloud

As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.

Kevin McCloud

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.

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.

Kevin McCloud

I have a recurring nightmare that I wake up in a gutter with nothing. I've had it all my life. That's why I work, I think.

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

A friend of mine once wrote a silly article about all these metrosexuals like David Beckham wearing sarongs, and she described me as a 'heteropolitan.' I don't know what that means. I think it was a joke.

Kevin McCloud

What happened in 2008 stopped people in their tracks. People stopped looking at their homes simply as commodities to exploit and starting thinking about how they might personalise that space and make them less bland and more autobiographical, and that's healthy, I think.

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

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.

Kevin McCloud

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

Kevin McCloud