I’ve known Duncan for many years now and he’s definitely one of the good guys. We first met when I was commissioned to write a piece for The World of Interiors about the amazing home in west London he shares with his wife, Lyndsay Milne McLeod, and their son, Oban. Duncan’s kindly invited me back to the house to record this episode. He tells me about how growing up on building sites brought him close to his father, the importance of magic in architecture and why he believes you should always design a house as if you’re playing hide-and-seek in it. Duncan certainly isn’t the first guest to shed a tear or two on this podcast and I think this is a really lovely, heartfelt conversation.
This episode was recorded at Duncan's home in West London.
For more: Check out Studio McLeod's latest work Visit our website for images of places discussed, and to read our interview with Duncan McLeod Sign up to The Modern House newsletter for weekly interiors inspiration
Production: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duncan McLeod: the emotional story of an architect whose home is a source of magic and motivation

What does home reveal about who we are? Almost everything, it turns out. Join The Modern House co-founder and author Matt Gibberd as he talks to cultural and creative leaders about the most influential space in our lives: home. In each episode, we ask guests to talk about a home of their past; their current living space; and where they would like to end up – revealing what home means to some of our most inspiring public figures. Be prepared for tears, laughter and everything in between.&nbsp;
"The Best Podcasts To Listen To Now" – Vogue&nbsp;
Homing In is produced by The Modern House, with music by Father.
The Modern House is an estate agency that helps people live in more thoughtful and beautiful ways. If you have a modern home to sell, get in touch to find out how we can maximise its value.
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This is the first time we’ve recorded an episode in a hotel suite, and that’s because today’s guest knows more about opening doors to glamorous guesthouses than anyone else. 
James Lohan co-founded the travel company Mr & Mrs Smith with his wife Tamara back in 2003, and since then he’s visited nearly 4,000 hotels in the name of research. 
James is a gregarious character with some brilliant tales to tell.We discuss his earliest experiences as an entrepreneur, from selling cheese toasties at school, to setting up a mobile disco called Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It. 
He tells me about his refurbishment of a Dutch barge on the Thames – complete with flock wallpaper and a freestanding bath – and what he’s learned from hotels that we might apply to our homes.
This episode was recorded in person at The Nomad Hotel, London.
For more:  Check out Mr & Mrs Smith  Visit The Modern House website
Producer: Hannah Phillips Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford Music: Father Graphic Design: Tom Young and Ben Tucker 
This episode was sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Lohan: the co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith on how his first experience of home shaped an obsession with boutique hotels

During her tenure at Nowness, Claudia commissioned the well-known ‘In Residence’ series, which took us inside the homes of the biggest names in design and architecture. Today, I’m meeting Claudia in her beautiful London home to give her a taste of her own journalistic medicine …
She tells me about what it was like to grow up in an English prototype of the American dream, and talks fondly about her ‘impossibly glamorous’ grandparents’ house, which had shagpile carpet, pink loo roll and a telephone next to the sunken bath.
We discuss why she prefers to define space with furniture rather than architecture, what happened when she broke her hip and couldn’t get down the stairs, why a home is never truly finished, and the power of procrastination.
This episode was recorded at Claudia's home in north west London.
For more:  Visit The Modern House website for images of some the spaces discussed in this episode Check out Cloakroom
Production: Hannah Phillips  Editing and mixing: Oscar Crawford  Graphic Design: Tom Young  Music: Father 
This episode was sponsored by Vitsoe. 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claudia Donaldson: the pioneering editor and creative director on creating a sanctuary at home – and the luxury of pink loo roll


 Philippe designs everything from furniture to lighting, combining modern geometry with a sense of humour and materials that are built to last. I first met him many years ago, when he was doing some work with my wife, Faye Toogood. We’d turned our bedroom into a makeshift design studio, and Philippe and a few others would come round to make maquettes and geek out about ergonomics. 
Nowadays, he’s a burly, bearded bear of a man with an extra 20kg of muscle, but his wit and warmth are the same as I remember. He tells me about what it was like to grow up beside a lake in Canada. From the age of seven, he would take himself off in his boat for the whole day, catching fish and swimming off the islands. 
This independent, practical spirit has continued into adult life. He largely works on his own, because that’s how he likes it. His studio in Hackney, where we met to record this conversation, is the epicentre of his creative output – a place where he can build something, obsess over which type of screw he’s going to use, or just sit and daydream. 
He tells me what it’s like to create a home from stuff that others have thrown away, how he saved up to buy his favourite sofa and kept it wrapped in plastic for two years, and why space is the ultimate luxury.
This episode was recorded in person, at Philippe Malouin’s studio in East London.
For more:  Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode Check out Philippe Malouin’s latest work
Production: Hannah Phillips Editing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippe Malouin: the experimental designer on creating with integrity – and the art of upcycling

Today I’m talking to the wonderful Sumayya Vally, founder of the architecture and research practice Counterspace. When in 2020 Sumayya designed the Serpentine pavilion, she joined the ranks of luminaries including Zaha Hadid, Peter Zumthor and Frank Gehry. In 2021, Time Magazine named her one of the ‘100 Leaders of the Future’ and, more recently, she was artistic director of the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Saudi Arabia.
What really shines through in this conversation is Sumayya’s interest in the notion of home as it relates to place. She was born in an Indian township in Pretoria, just after Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and she cites the city of Johannesburg as her biggest inspiration. When she arrived in London, she became interested in the gathering spaces where settlers from other countries and communities have established themselves: churches, synagogues, marketplaces, female community centres, black-music venues and so on. ‘Home is not a physical place,’ she says. ‘It’s a sensibility and a feeling.’
The name ‘Sumayya’ means ‘to rise to the occasion’, and she tells me how she’s an outlier in her family and how her parents made sacrifices to provide her with an education. Very occasionally in life, you meet someone who has an inner light that seems to shine more brightly than other people’s. For me, Sumayya has that. She’s incredibly composed, articulate and wise beyond her years and I’m full of admiration for the work she’s doing to bring disparate cultures together.
This episode was recorded in person in London.
For more: Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode. Check out Counterspace.
Production: Hannah Phillips Editing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sumayya Vally: the South African architect on how growing up in a township defined her sense of place

At the time of recording, Tim was knee-deep in building works at home, so I polished up my Chelsea boots for a visit to his London studio. 
As always, I asked him to describe his life story through the lens of the homes he’s lived in over the years. It was particularly interesting to find out more about his current home, which he bought after seeing it on our website and falling instantly in love. It’s a mid-century masterpiece set in splendid isolation near Rye, in East Sussex.  A celebration of craftsmanship comes through in everything that Tim is about. 
His father was a textile manufacturer, and he’s inherited a fascination with how things are made and the excitement of seeing something take shape on the factory floor. He tells me about his background in advertising, when he was given the most thrilling brief of all time: ‘Make Adidas cool again’. Having been given the keys to one of the world’s most established brands, he was inspired to start his eponymous footwear company and ultimately take over Grenson.
Tim is a lovely guy – very humble and grounded – and I really enjoyed getting to know him through the course of this conversation.
This episode was recorded in person at the Grenson Studio in Chelsea.
For more: Visit The Modern House website to see images of the spaces discussed in this episode. Check out Grenson.
Production: Hannah Phillips Editing: Oscar Crawford Graphic Design: Tom Young Music: Father
This episode was sponsored by Vitsoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duncan McLeod: the emotional story of an architect whose home is a source of magic and motivation

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