TV presenter George Clarke is well known on our screens for creating Amazing Spaces. He travels the country looking for inspirational people who are turning the most unlikely of spots into an incredible place to live, work and play.
An architect by trade, George was born in Sunderland in 1974 and raised in nearby Washington. He studied architecture at Newcastle University and University College London and has since written several books on housing and property.
Though he's now a regular on our screens, George Clarke's presenting career began almost by accident, when he was asked to do a screen test for Channel 5's Build A New Life In The Country. He ended up presenting two other property shows for Channel 5 before joining Channel 4 in 2008.
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Having spent the years giving hundreds of people advice on property and architecture, including designing new houses in Smiths Dock, North Shields, he now lives in a house in Notting Hill in London with his wife, Katie.
What is George Clarke's home like?
George Clarke is a well-known fan of Georgian homes, especially the work of Sir John Soane, but he actually lives in a property much younger than that distinctive era.
George says: "I think everybody thinks I live in some Georgian house or some grand Victorian, but I actually live in a 1960s house in London and I love it.
"It's got very simple clean lines, its own elegance but it's also very cosy. You know, when people come to my house they say it feels very homely as soon as you walk in.
"I've got real and very warm beautiful English oak cladding on the interior and it feels like a very cosy and warm house, so even though it's modern dating from the 60s it's very homely; so you can have a bit of Georgian but you can also have a bit of 1960s mid-century modern - that's how eclectic I can be!
"I like that kind of mid-century modern look, the Conrad look, contemporary but still very homely, the California look from the 1950s and 1960s.
"I'm actually a real fan of 1960s English design but only the really good stuff because we built some awful, awful stuff in the 1960s!"
George Clarke's home decorating advice
1. Declutter and have less stuff
"Decluttering is something that I do a lot," he told House Beautiful in a recent interview. "Sometimes I realised that I'm hoarding stuff and that the house is too busy. I will literally spend an entire day going through things that I don't like and it feels great when you've done it."
George's advice is not to keep things you don't really need 'just because it might come in handy one day'.
2. Don't buy cheap things
"When it comes to buying stuff, I don't really buy cheap things because they become disposable." His advice is to buy things that will last a lifetime and not to buy things that cost peanuts to save money - as they probably won't last long anyway.
"Whenever I buy furniture I always like to buy the originals because I don't really like promoting cheaper copies," he told House Beautiful. His greatest bargain was an Eames chair that he paid £75 for second hand - the originals usually cost thousands.
3. Clear out your kitchen
George says if you keep your counters clean, it can make your kitchen feel huge. Get rid of fridge magnets and scraps of paper. Keep a board for essential bits of paper.
And if you throw away the chipped mugs and wooden spoons you don't use instead of keeping them for a rainy day, you might even have space in your cupboards. The TV presenter recommends using baskets, tubs or tins to provide the contents of the kitchen into product types.
4. Make one space do many things
"We should not design a space to do one thing but to do three or four different things," he told Real Homes. "It's really challenging from a design point of view, but when you get it right, it's amazing."
At a time when kitchen tables have become desks and cupboards have become offices for so many people, it's a particularly useful tip.
5. Create a retreat in your home
George advises turning one space in a home into a retreat, using fabric, textures and colours that you love. He advises making the most of every nook and cranny to do this.
He said: "Creating nook and cranny is kind of what you need to do if you think about it no matter how small your house or apartment is I can guarantee you I bet there's a tiny tiny little space or a corner somewhere that is either not very good in terms of how it looks that is underused or under designed if you like of its potential.
"I can't think of many houses that I've been in where every single square inch has been used to its maximum potential I really can't.
"I can probably guarantee nearly every house I've gone into thought yes that's good that's good that's good but why isn't that corner working hard enough? That space under the stairs that's full of junk that you never go into ever! I can guarantee you there's always somewhere you can find.
"Some people might think that it's bonkers to create a circular space because a circular space can be harder to build than square spaces because most building materials support design that square there's lots of reasons why you shouldn't do a round space in a square room but when you've done it there's many reasons why should however the benefits probably outweigh the reasons why you shouldn't do it."
6. George Clarke's advice on where to shop
Buy straight from the makers, he says. Follow companies on Instagram that you like and go direct for the things you want to buy.
"I'm really lucky in my job as I visit a lot of factories and I get to see people making beautiful things."
George Clarke's favourite craft producers include:
- Feldspar - 'they make beautiful teacups and teapots'
- Havelock - 'where I got all my salad bowls from'
- Blenheim Forge - 'they make the most beautiful knives'
George Clarke's Amazing Spaces is on Channel 4 on Sundays at 5pm.
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