I love ottomans
I sometimes wonder whether it would be possible for me to decorate a sitting room without one slap bang in the middle.
Avoid pointless style clichés
All of my design pet hates are beautifully summarised in my favourite decoration blog: fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com.
Seagrass is brilliant for floors
It's cheap and beautiful, and it smells delicious.
Never spend anything on built-in technology
There is no relationship between its absurd cost and the effect it will actually have on your life.
Don't lavish too much care on every detail of a restoration
Pedantry is a sure-fire way to kill a room's personality.
Save on modern furniture and spend more at your local auction
Beautiful antique furniture has never been so inexpensive.
You shouldn't fight a bad carpet or the wrong sofa
That's my only well-proven decoration rule.
Take inspiration from the past
If I was to think of a single look that remains influential on every project we do, it might be from the pages of House & Garden in the Sixties.
Stay away from beige
Especially when it's a polished marble.
Support your ideas with pictorial references
I buy lots of books - they are my greatest form of visual memory. Always with Andy Warhol's adage in mind: 'I never read, I just look at pictures.'
Don't take it all too seriously
The best jokes are always in slightly bad taste; the same could be said of decoration.
MAY WE SUGGEST: Ben Pentreath and his husband Charlie McCormick's triumphantly restored Dorset parsonage
