The broadcaster and auctioneer on her favourite finds, and what to invest in right now
How has your style evolved?
As the years go by, despite acquiring more ‘things’, my style is becoming less busy. I’m no minimalist, but maximalism just looks messy whenever I have a go at it. In saying that, our walls are very full. I love buying large (and I mean large) paintings at auction. People assume that bigger equals more expensive, but usually it’s the exact opposite; most bidders don’t want outsized pieces, so there’s generally very little competition.
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Who is your biggest influence?
One of my oldest and dearest friends missed his calling by not becoming an interior designer. His understanding of colour is genuinely incredible and, when it comes to our flat, what he says goes!
Who is your design hero?
In the antiques world: Christopher Dresser. In fashion: Elsa Schiaparelli.
What is your favourite building?
Caledonian Mansions on Glasgow’s Great Western Road. It was never meant to be in the west end (it was designed by James Miller in 1897 as an annexe to the Grand Central Hotel), but thank goodness it ended up where it did. Kelvinbridge wouldn’t be half as attractive without it.
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Describe your dream home
Loads of storage, plenty of guest bedrooms and a garden filled with wildflowers and fruit trees. As an adult, I’ve always lived in flats in areas where parking spaces are few and far between, so a driveway is very much part of the dream.
What is your own home like?
We live in a late-Victorian Glasgow tenement, which really seems to lend itself to dark colours. Our living room walls are painted in a rich brown called Georgetown from Paint & Paper Library, so we have a lot of lamps! The ceilings are high and I spend a lot of time looking for large (inexpensive) paintings to fill the wall space. The flooring isn’t original but the previous owners made a great decision to lay wooden parquet throughout.
What makes a home?
Oh, it can be as simple as one inherited piece of furniture (my friend has a gamechanging pink chaise-longue) or a kid’s drawing stuck to the fridge with a magnet. Doesn’t have to be fancy.
Tell us about an artist you love
Margot Sandeman’s oil paintings wow me every time I have the privilege of viewing them: the palette; the dream-like subject matter; the sheep… her sheep are sublime. She attended the Glasgow School of Art in the early 1940s at the same time as her dear friend Joan Eardley – their fellow students must have been in awe. The one luxury item you really covet A 1970 Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini. Now that would be a flex.
When antiquing, you’re always hoping to stumble upon…
Aside from the proverbial Ming vase, a linocut by the Swiss printmaker Lill Tschudi. Her prints are incredibly eye-catching and charged with movement, but they’re usually no larger than a piece of A4, so I live in hope that I’ll find one gathering dust in a corner somewhere. Fat chance…
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What should we be investing in right now?
At the moment, I’d have to say whisky and watches. And if I had to narrow it down even further: Macallan whisky and Rolex watches. An object you’d never part with A little treen carving of a duck that I purchased for £2 in 2013 from a Glasgow antiques shop as part of my screen test for Antiques Road Trip. It represents the start of more than a decade of adventures.
The most unusual object in your house
A tiny Polly Morgan taxidermy piece in a test tube. It always raises an eyebrow when a visitor looks closely and realises what it is. I love Morgan’s work, which uses animals that have either died of natural causes or in a road accident. The last thing you bought and loved A painting of four squirrels that I picked up for £20 (plus commission) at a local auction. It’s effortless and quirky… and worth a good bit more, if you ask me.
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What are you sitting on right now?
One of Marcel Breuer’s Cesca cantilever chairs. When you see them selling for a keen price (I managed to pick up four for £180), they’re almost impossible to resist. Were money no object… I would buy a house with an indoor swimming pool. Oh, go on – maybe there’d be an outdoor pool, too. Can you even imagine?
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