At home with York gallery owner Lotte Inch

How would you describe your home? I live in a fairly average three bed, red brick terrace house in York. At least from the outside it appears average, inside it’s full to the rafters with pictures, shelves of ceramics and oddments picked up at car boot sales or on our travels. It all fits in alongside my husband’s ever expanding record collection, and of course, Saffie the cat. It’s a cosy house and I love it, but we’re definitely running out of wall space.

Velvet chair by Sofas & Stuff

What is on your interiors wish list? I love the idea of a light, airy and fairly clutter free living room where I could retreat into an oversized, velvet armchair with a cup of tea and a good book.Which household items could you not live without? As the weather is turning more wintery it would have to be my collection of cosy, woollen blankets. I often work from home and always have a blanket to hand for when I begin to get cold from sittingstill too long. Also, I’m totally addicted to drinking Yorkshire Tea, so I would be lost without the kettle and my Adam Frew stoneware “hug-in-a-mug”.

Fabric by Ed Kluz at www.stjudesprints.co.uk

Which designers do you most admire? I am lucky enough to have gone to school with – and later to have studied and worked with – some really amazing young British designers, such as Sam Parkin of Last Leaf Furniture and Karen Mabon, whose scarves are literally to die for. It’s been wonderful to see them go from strength to strength and to gain the recognition they deserve. I am also in awe of St Jude’s and the brilliant designs that they tirelessly produce in collaboration with some of my favourite artists including Ed Kluz, Mark Hearld, Michael Kirkman and Emily Sutton.What is your favourite building? Having spent a weekend on the Kent Coast near Margate, I have been reminded just how much I love 1930s Modern and Art Deco Architecture. I’d love to visit the Modernist De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill, East Sussex, but when it comes to a building I’ve actually been to, I’d have to say Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Building in New York.

Kay Latto's ceramic heads on display at the Harrogate Open exhibition at the Mercer Art Gallery

Is there anything exciting you at the moment in terms of design? There is so much going on in the North of England in terms of art, craft and design at the moment it’s hard to know where to begin but that is what is so exciting about living and working up here. There’s the Harrogate Open at the Mercer Art Gallery, which is such a brilliant opportunity for talented creatives to showcase and sell their work in a professional and established gallery and it was an absolute honour to be invited to judge the competition along with Emerson Mayes and Michael Richards.What and where is your ideal home? Can I have two? I’d love a little flat in Paris. I have family over there and spent a year working in Paris at Rose Bakery when I was in my early 20’s and I’ve never lost my love for the city. I’d also like a slightly bigger terrace house in York – one that will accommodate our picture collection.Who would you most like to invite to dinner? Because we are spread across the globe, I’d love to have some of my friends from our university days in Edinburgh and if Nigel Slater wanted to join us and bring dinner, that would be perfect.*The Harrogate Open is at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate, HG1 2SA, until January 11. www.lotteinch.co.uk