Avoid spending too much on one thing.

People buy very badly made furniture and fabric. Instead, buy a beautiful dining table, well-made upholstery. It's almost like dressing for success.

People with big personalities are best in the center of the table. They can help carry the conversation from that place.

Look at your world and your life, and look at what is personal to you. If you're living in an apartment, you need to stick with a narrative that's personal to you.

Make sure furniture decor has similar scale. It's all about scale, proportion, measuring, being conscious of the overall plan.

To have a 9-foot sofa in a small room can be kind of treacherous.

Think of how much furniture you need. What's the best way to have it be functional in a great way? If it's in groups, define it.

People get trapped in the way things should feel and less focused on the way things should function.

Be judicious with your budget and buy things that are going to last.

People buy things in isolation and don't think of how they work together.

To be influenced by a magazine and, say, a Swedish theme, unless it resonates with you, it seems kind of odd and influenced.

There are people who will always doubt you and you have to live with it. It only gets a lot worse when you have to die with it!

Whenever I have nothing better to do, I roast a chicken.

Spending time with people without ambition is a self-destruction.

I have to be a teacher to my daughters.

I love portraying the totally indifferent person.

Once I feel I'm right, I have enjoyed provoking.

Social justice rests on the hate towards those that enjoy a comfortable position, namely, upon envy.

Much of romantic relationships today have to do when the people are not in the same room. Whether it’s texting or emailing or Facebooking, there’s a kind of distance between the participants.

Having a perilous adventure is always better than comatose safety. Always, always, always, always, always.

I try to exercise as much as possible and eat healthy. But most importantly, I try to make sure that I'm near people who inspire me to be a better person.