Nancy Lancaster Quotes

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

Nancy Lancaster

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

Nancy Lancaster

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

Nancy Lancaster

#4. I had learnt from going to Houghton that to make a room quiet, to make it harmonious, you never wanted to have only one 'mouvement' thng like the Savonnerie rug that would stand out. You must have 'mouvement' everywhere.

Nancy Lancaster

#5. It is usually a mistake to impose an individual's taste on a room that has its own ... style. Conversely, to put very fine pieces of furniture in a room that is without architectural distinction is as absurd as wearing a tiara with a bathing suit.

Nancy Lancaster

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

Nancy Lancaster

#7. 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).

Nancy Lancaster

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

Nancy Lancaster

#9. 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.

Nancy Lancaster

#10. 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).

Nancy Lancaster

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

Nancy Lancaster

#12. Even if it's not a style of architecture or period you like, a decorator has to have a feel for a house's personality and try not to fight against it. I like to get the juice out of a house and not spoil it.

Nancy Lancaster