How lucky I've been to live in such beautiful places and able to make them as I dreamed. I've been lucky. I've adored my houses more than my friends (or husbands).

In restoring a house one must first realize its period, feel its personality and try to bring out its good points.

If every piece is perfect the room becomes a museum and lifeless.

A gentle mixture of furniture expresses life and continuity but it must be a judicious mixture that flows and mixes well. It is a bit like mixing a salade. (I am better at room than salads).

I never think that sticking slavishly to one period is successful, a touch of nostalgia adds charm. One needs light and shade because if every piece is perfect the room becomes a museum and lifeless.

Crossing too many t's and dotting too many i's makes a room look overdone and tiresome. One should create something that fires the imagination without overemphasis.

I like to preserve simplicity rahter than over-polishing. Fashions are changeable. Taste is in realizing the essence of a place.

Scale is of prime importance and I think that oversized scale is better than undersized scale.

In choosing a colour one must realize that it changes in different aspects.

I've lived too long and I've lived too well.

People regret not achieving enough success in life, they should regret missing many opportunities in life.

Life is too short to miss out on the beautiful things like a double cheeseburger.

Love is wanting others to be happy.

I don't think you're going to be a success in anything if you think about losing, whether it's in sports or in politics.

Just because we're stupid doesn't mean everybody else was.

The Senate used to be a place of great debate and accomplishment. Now it is run like a dictatorship shutting out the voices of millions of Americans.

The force of love is the same as the force of the soul or truth.

I was the new boy. It was like joining a new class at school where everybody knows everybody else but me.

Little girls, like butterflies, need no excuse.

Mendeleev, unlike the squeamish Meyer, had balls enough to predict that new elements would be dug up. Look harder, you chemists and geologists, he seemed to taunt, and you’ll find them.