Katie Fontana loves 1929 Riley tourers, British artist Harry Becker and the city of Porto

My personal style signifiers are my Robert Clergerie shoes, because they’re quirky but also comfortable, and a Georgian gold and emerald ring that my husband Greg gave me when we got engaged. It’s from around 1830 and I like it because it’s trying to be fancy but it’s quite crude and not totally over the top like a modern one would be. The emeralds are cut flat, as they didn’t know how to cut them to make them glisten in those days. There’s something charming about it as it’s handmade and a bit imperfect. I love all things Georgian. Robert Clergerie, 180 Walton Street, London SW3 (020-7584 4995; www.robertclergerie.com).

An indulgence I would never forgo is Patna, our wooden yawl built in the 1920s by Charles Nicholson of Camper & Nicholsons. She’s 17m long and took Greg six years to repair; she’s currently docked in Cannes. Greg saves important, classic boats and people give him wrecks, rowing boats mostly. We keep them all in a boatshed on the Helford River in Cornwall and have so many we’ve lost count.

The best souvenir I’ve brought home is a candlewick trimmer. In 1999, I sailed across the Atlantic and ended up in Antigua for several weeks while our boat was being fixed. I came across it in a junk shop in St John’s. It’s bronze, probably Georgian, and must have come across on a trading ship. I keep it on my windowsill at home.

The books on my bedside table are Findings and Sightlines by Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie. My sister writes poetry and gave them to me, and Jamie writes beautiful descriptions of the places she has travelled to. I recently bought Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham in the junk shop opposite my house. She’s from Essex, like me, and it’s set on Mersea Island, which I used to sail around with my parents as a child.

The last meal that truly impressed me was at L’Autre Pied. To my astonishment, I only discovered it was practically opposite our showroom in Blandford Street by reading about it. It has a Michelin star and does a lunchtime special – the presentation is divine. L’Autre Pied, 5-7 Blandford Street, London W1 (020-7486 9696).

The best gift I’ve received recently was a necklace Greg gave me. He’s a sculptor and he made it from silver and 3,000-year-old walrus ivory. It’s shaped like a cloud and is inspired by a Margaret Howell cashmere jumper with a frilly collar that I love. On the back is an engraving of our cat. You’re probably not allowed walrus ivory now, but Greg got it when he lived in Alaska with the Eskimos. He was there for nine years and learnt how to make tools and things like snow shoes out of whaleskin.

And the best I’ve given recently was the lid of a sea chest with a painting of an early clipper on it. I bought it in an antiques shop in Tetbury and gave it to Greg for his birthday. Sailors often painted their ship inside the lid of the chest where they kept all their belongings, although this one has no name. It’s hanging on the wall at home like a painting. Lorfords, 30 Long Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8AQ (01666-505 111; www.lorfordsantiques.com).

In my fridge you’ll always find very little, because I live between Framlingham, Helford and St Katharine’s Dock in London, where I have a houseboat. In Framlingham, I have eggs that my art director Sue Skeen gives me. She has chickens and writes the date they were laid in pencil on them. Being an Essex girl, I always have a half-consumed pot of Tiptree jam and something sparkling; it’s Gusbourne sparkling white wine at the moment, left over from a do in the showroom. My housekeeper wraps my vegetables in paper as she says it preserves them. Gusbourne, Kenardington Road, Appledore, Ashford, Kent TN26 2BE. (01233-758 666; www.gusbourne.com).

The site that inspires me is The Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, in Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. It’s on its own in a lonely spot near a disused power station. It’s where the Christian Othona Community still worships and when it’s stressful at work I dream about spending a week in solitude there. www.bradwellchapel.org.

The beauty staples I’m never without are Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, which I have been using since my late teens, and Annick Goutal’s Eau d’Hadrien perfume. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, from £18 for 50ml; www.clinique.co.uk. Eau d’Hadrien perfume, from €79 for 50ml; www.annickgoutal.com.

My style icon is Coco Chanel. She came from difficult beginnings, and succeeded at a time when women were like birds in gilded cages. She advocated cutting your hair short, wearing trousers and a Breton shirt. I often think that I would like to design clothing. I find things are either too plain or too fancy.

My favourite room in the house is the dining room at Framlingham. It has an intriguing internal window that looks into the hall, and my 1836 Broadwood square piano is in there. The house dates to William IV and once belonged to a brewery, so the kitchen is very scullery-like. It’s tiny and has a four-foot sink in it that I found on a pavement in Hoxton. There’s an Aga and a chair, but nowhere to sit properly, so I eat, and work, in the dining room.

An unforgettable place I’ve travelled to in the last year is the Douro Valley in Portugal. I discovered it while driving down to Lisbon, where our yawl Patna was docked last summer. We hadn’t booked anywhere to stay and saw a sign – the nice graphics attracted us – for Quinta da Pacheca. It’s an old wine estate that has been restored by a new owner, and the rooms are beautiful and really good value. From €110 a night; Rua do Relógio do Sol, 261, Cambres, Lamego (+35125-433 1229; www.quintadapacheca.com).

The last music I bought was Blackstar by David Bowie, after he died. I have a lot of his music, and his autograph. I was a big fan. For a big birthday a few years ago, some friends bought me an iPod. It’s still in its box. I’ve never downloaded anything in my life. davidbowie.com/blackstar.

An object I would never part with is my dad’s 1929 Riley 9 Mark 4 tourer. My father was an engineer and a total Riley enthusiast. We didn’t have a modern car until I was eight, and it was a Morris Minor Traveller that held all the stuff for the boat. He had seven Rileys at one time, scrapyard buys that he bought for £7. My one is dark blue with a fabric body, open-topped – very Downton Abbey. We drove it on our wedding day, but it broke down and it’s been in my barn in Suffolk ever since.

If I could live in one city, I would live in Porto. I visited for the first time last year – we moored the boat at the new Douro Marina – and fell in love with the city’s rundown, Spitalfields atmosphere. We spent most of our time gawping at the early-Georgian houses. Miss’Opo is a buzzy restaurant, exhibition space, guesthouse and shop; and there’s Livraria Lello, a bookshop in an incredible art nouveau building. We visited the fantastic old warehouse of Burmester and sampled white port and tonic and bought its Reserve Jockey Club Port for the lovely label. We also discovered Forneria São Pedro, a fabulous pizzeria. Burmester Museum and Wine Cellar, Avenida Diogo Leite 344, Vila Nova de Gaia (+35122-374 6660; www.burmester.pt). Forneria São Pedro, Rua Eduardo de Matos 84, Vila Nova de Gaia (+35122-772 2736; www.forneria.pt). Livraria Lello, Rua das Carmelitas 144 (+35122-200 2037; www.livrarialello.pt). Miss’Opo, Rua dos Caldeirerios 100 (+35122-208 2179; www.missopo.com).

The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was a Reefer jacket. I finally wore out my mum’s brand new one after she died 12 years ago. I love them because they’re English, an icon from the 1960s, and I like hanging on to those old names. I bought it in Luna & Curious in Hoxton. 24-26 Calvert Ave, London E2 (020-3222 0034; lunaandcurious.com).

The one artist whose work I would collect if I could is British artist Harry Becker. Twenty-five years ago, a friend’s mum, who was an antiques dealer, told me he was one to watch. I managed to buy a small pencil sketch at an auction for around £500 and would love to have more.  

The people I rely on for personal grooming depends on where I am. Every year, pampering is my New Year’s resolution. I occasionally get a facial or a pedicure. If I’m in Cornwall, I’ll head to The Walled Garden Spa on the Trelowarren estate as it’s quite empty; in Suffolk, I’ll go to The Beauty Room in Melton Park, and in London I have Cowshed on my doorstep. The Beauty Room, 7 Clements Rd, Melton, Ufford, Suffolk IP12 1SZ (01394-548 734; www.thebeautyroommelton.com). Cowshed, Shoreditch House, 1 Ebor St, London E1 (020-7749 4531; www.cowshedonline.com). Trelowarren, Lizard, Helston, Cornwall TR12 6AF (01326-221 224; www.trelowarren.com).

If I had to limit my shopping to one neighbourhood in one city, I’d choose Shoreditch in London. It’s very New York – every time I leave my studio I find another unusual shop. MHL, Luna & Curious and Ally Capellino are favourites. I shop in Leila’s for groceries and I love Labour and Wait and Goodhood for household things. If I’m after a good bottle of wine or loose-leaf tea, I’ll head to Amathus. Ally Capellino, 9 Calvert Ave (020-7033 7843; www.allycapellino.co.uk). Amathus Shoreditch, 303 Old St (020-7729 2111; www.amathusdrinks.com). Goodhood, 151 Curtain Rd (020-7729 3600; www.goodhoodstore.com). Labour and Wait, 85 Redchurch St (020-7729 6253; www.labourandwait.co.uk). Leila’s, 15-17 Calvert Ave (020-7729 9789). Luna & Curious, 24-26 Calvert Ave (020-3222 0034; www.lunaandcurious.com). MHL, 19 Old Nichol St (020-7033 9494; www.margarethowell.co.uk).

My favourite websites or apps don’t exist – I put my blinkers on; I don’t look at them. Instead I devour the pictures in the weekend colour supplements and The World of Interiors. I have every copy of the latter, but I’ve actually only read a dozen articles.

If I weren’t doing what I do, I would be a singer, like Edith Piaf. It’s the show-off in me. My father was Italian and I think that might be where it comes from. More realistically, though, if I had the time I would be a painter. I feel there are some paintings in me.