I have a bit of a thing for Tom Ford. Not for the man himself, as in “I like to break in to his house and watch him sleep”, but for what he does. For his very definite sense of style and design that runs not only through his fashion designs, but into his advertising and his product packaging and even, in a difficult-to-describe way, his fragrances. Everything is sleek without being overdesigned, masculine without being too heavy, sexy without being ‘in-your-face’. It’s all so timeless – modern and chic but with a touch of ‘times gone by’  – when people wore leather gloves and drank whiskey from thick crystal tumblers. When I saw A Single Man, I loved Tom’s style even more – the mid-century modern houses were exactly my cup of tea. I do, in fact, actually live in a mid-century modern house; that’s my house in the photographs below – and yes, that’s Colin Firth/Mr Darcy, brooding on my sofa and at my dining room table, wearing Tom Ford suits. Sigh.

Copyright Richard Grassie, www.richardgrassie.com

Sorry, I got all distracted there! I was supposed to be writing about a candle! Tom Ford’s Private Blend candles come in three fragrances; Oud Wood, Tobacco Vanille and Tuscan Leather, pictured top. If you – like me – have an interiors style that simply won’t accommodate the standard ‘pretty’ candle, then this could be your answer. Yes, it’s £50, so you might only want to light it up on Valentine’s Day, but my does it look amazing! If ever a candle could be described as sexy, it would be this one – and the scents, just on the masculine side of unisex, are incredible.

At the moment, Private Blend candles are only available at Selfridges, but they will be available nationwide from February 2011. Just in time for that sexy Valentine’s supper then!