Kirstie's Homemade Home, which goes out at 8pm each Tuesday on Channel Four, celebrates the true value of antiques: their individuality, artistry and craftsmanship, elegant designs, green credentials and superb value for money.
The theme of last week's show (November 23) was recycling, and what could have done more for the Antiques Are Green movement than to see Kirstie trawling around the Lincolnshire showground spotting bargains in the form of furniture to be restored and then showing how they could be transformed into something unique and desirable without breaking the bank?
Calling on the services of Christie's Orlando Rock, the programme explained to viewers exactly how to inspect a chair and how to assess the levels of damage and wear before deciding whether to buy and how much to pay.
Orlando and Kirstie then lined up a series of chairs for propective novice purchasers to inspect and try out for size. Instead of going for the cheapest, they actually chose the most expensive, a pair of antique examples of Swedish design.
Again, quality and comfort came to the fore and, as Kirstie pointed out, they would probably turn out to be the best investment. In the end, once that had been re-upholstered using recycled curtain material, they looked chic in the setting of their owners' refurbished home.
If this programme doesn't boost the gates of the country's bigger showground fairs, I can't think what will.
Kirstie clearly knows what she is doing in recommending a subscription to ATG to anyone who is interested in finding out more about antiques and how to acquire them.
Could it be that the daughter of a former chairman of Christie's (Lord Hindlip) will turn out to have a greater influence on the art and antiques industry than her father?
