At home with...Christine Yorath

Christine Yorath is a developer and designer and is working on new apartments by Raven St John on Wigton Lane, Leeds.How would you describe your home and its style?

It’s an original Art Deco home set in about an acre of well-stocked garden with fabulous long distance views. I have some original Art Deco furniture and light fittings mixed eclectically with furniture I have had made bespoke or purchased over the years on my travels, including to Thailand and South Africa. I also have furniture from homes we lived in when we were in Vancouver and Lebanon. Comfort is a priority in all my furniture and glamour comes a close second. The house has first and second floor terraces and balconies. The patio is accessed from severalrooms at garden level so the marriage between the garden and the house is a big art of the appeal of my home and is great for entertaining.

Christine's house has all the hallmarks of Art Deco style

What’s on your interiors wish list?

There’s not really anything I don’t have that I want, if money was no object I would probably rebuild the kitchen but it suits me as it has everything in reach and a comfortable sitting/dining area. It also has a lovely view of my garden with a full wall of glazing.Which household items could you not live without? My AGA. I always say if I lived in a one-bedroom flat I would still want an AGA. When I was a 20 year-old mobile beauty therapist in the days when all my clients were wealthy womenliving in huge houses I could never understand their attachment to their AGA and their Volvo. In 1976 we bought a house in Coventry with a cream 1940s AGA and that’s when I fell in love with them so when we moved in to my current home in 1984 a brand new AGA was installed the same day. I also love my Quooker instant hot tap. It is a necessity.

Which designers do you most admire?

Nicky Haslam. he is nearly 80 and doesn’t play it safe. I also admire the the Candy Brothers for elegance and comfort. I think by this you can tell that a minimalist interior isn’t for me personally.

What is your favourite building?

If I had to choose a modern building in Leeds it would be Bridgewater Place. My first big, solo city centre development in Leeds was a Grade II listed building, 19 Wellington Street, and I feel a huge sense of pride whenever I drive past it. I did each apartment to suit the buyer and achieved the highest price per sq ft in the city centre and the highest percentage of owner occupiers.

The new Raven St John development on Wigton Lane, Leeds

Which design projects are you working on?

I am working on two great projects. One is 16 sea view apartments in Scarborough which we are designing for universal living to suit people with mobility issues and other difficulties and they are going to be offered as holiday homes. I am also working on eight very high end, luxurious apartments on Wigton Lane in North Leeds. They have a heated ramp to the underground car park, balconies, terraces and roof gardens and a specification which I believe is superior to any apartments ever built in Leeds.I am incredibly excited about them.

Who would you like to invite to dinner?

I am blessed with a large group of friends of varying ages, male and female and working in such a variety of industries that I don’t need to fantasise about anyone outside of all the wonderful people already in my life.*Contact: For details on Heather Royd tel. 07749 564548 or email [email protected]