Home Comforts: Raven Smith on fish slices and The Fugees

There’s nothing we love more than having a nose around other people’s homes – not least those we admire. In this new series, we’ve convinced a glittering group of tastemakers, from our design heroes and creative crushes to our pals and other pin-ups, to let us peer through their keyholes. What’s Anya Hindmarch reading at the moment? Which tunes get Duncan Campbell dancing? What’s Maureen Paley’s guilty pleasure? Check back every month to find out, or sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of the page. First, though, read on to discover Raven Smith’s top tip for a tip-top drinks cabinet and how a naked swimmer has brought balance to the author and all-time Insta-caption king’s art collection. Bottom’s up!

My most recent home improvement…

Oh, I just commissioned some shelves, which sounds very fab and expensive and time-consuming – and was all of those things. They’re celery green, which someone described as a “nan colour” and I couldn’t really argue.

The latest addition to my wardrobe…

I love a Dries van Noten print, so I always try and get a seasonal shirt from him.

The most useful item in my kitchen…

It might not be the most useful, but I’m slightly obsessed with a Margaret Howell fish slice that I bought as a lowly but aspirational student.

What’s always in my fridge…

Homemade pickles: cucumber, jalapeño, red onion.

The prize bottle in my drinks cabinet…

I always have an ice-cold bottle of Moët to hand. I love a wee Montenegro spritz at sundown too, though you should not be using your best champagne for a spritz, might I add.

Hanging on my walls…

I’ve just got a picture back from the framer’s. It’s of my mate swimming, naked and sunburnt. My husband and I have way too many male torsos around the house, but this is of his arse, so maybe it balances things out?

The knick-knacks on my mantelpiece…

We’ve no mantelpiece, so we have a sort of trinket cluster on the dining/work table. There are a lot of ashtrays for someone who doesn’t smoke but I find them so useful for all my pretentious paraphernalia – a nutcracker in the shape of a woman’s legs, matches from Egypt, blue-ink rollerball pens, half-burnt smudge sticks…

The books on my shelf right now…

It would be weird if I didn’t mention the 20 copies of my latest book, Raven Smith’s Men. I’ve lined all the spines up like a shit, unmoving zoetrope. I would have given more away to friends and family, but I have pre-sales to think of.

The music on my stereo…

I have a hankering to listen to The Fugees atm.

Growing in my garden…

Hundreds and thousands of potatoes and I don’t know how to stop them. It’s a pain and possibly a health hazard?

Hidden away in my cupboards…

We have a back bedroom that’s more of a storage garage, all half-full paint pots and bits of washing machine.

On my to-do list…

Sorry to be basic, but I’m gagging for a week of sun and swimming.

Further reading

Raven Smith on Instagram

Raven Smith’s Men is published by Harper Collins and is available now from Amazon, Waterstones and selected independent retailers