"Nicky Haslam: A Designer's Life: An Archive of Inspired Design and Decor" 2014 Halsam, Nicky (Inscribed)

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HALSAM, Nicky

Inscribed by the author on half-title page:
With love 3.111.15

[288] pp.

Rizzoli

2014

11 3/4" x 9 … Read more HALSAM, Nicky

Inscribed by the author on half-title page:
With love 3.111.15

[288] pp.

Rizzoli

2014

11 3/4" x 9 3/4"

The enduring appeal of English-style interiors from the current master of the genre. Nicholas "Nicky" Haslam is one of the world’s most distinguished interior designers, and this career-crowning monograph explores his signature style. Haslam began designing in 1972 and has become known for opulent, original, and timeless interiors. With a prime motivation of creating interiors that are "flattering to their owners," his firm’s work is seductively glamorous, layered with a historical knowledge and an originality that belies the careful focus on practicality and livability. The mix of the deeply serious, grand, and impressive with charm and above all wit is Haslam’s trademark. With its fresh, lively, and spontaneous approach that reflects Haslam’s charisma, wit, and charm, this gorgeously illustrated volume reveals the influences, inspirations, and achievements that have been pivotal to his success. Haslam shares material from both his personal scrapbook and professional archive to highlight key moments in his colorful career, his most acclaimed designs, and the sources of his creative inspiration. Clients have included Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hong Kong, Maurice and Charles Saatchi, Rupert Everett, Alec Wildenstein, Peter Soros, and Janet de Botton, among many others. He has also designed parties for the Prince of Wales, Lord Rothschild, Sir Evelyn and Lady de Rothschild, and Tina Brown. This beautiful and inspiring volume will appeal to anyone interested in interior design and the art of living well.

Nicholas Ponsonby Haslam (born 27 September 1939) is an English interior designer and socialite, and founder of the London-based interior design firm, NH Studio Ltd.

Background
Haslam was born at Great Hundridge Manor, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, the third son of diplomat William Heywood Haslam (1889–1981) and his wife, the former Diamond Louise Constance Ponsonby, known as Diana, who was a granddaughter of the 7th Earl of Bessborough, a goddaughter of Queen Victoria, and the former wife of Dr. Henry E. Marks, an American physician. Haslam's brothers are Ralph Michael Haslam (born 1931) and William John Heywood Haslam (born 1933). He also had a half-sister, Diana Marks, known as Anne (1925–1987), who in 1949 married John Hilder Loeb, son of a founding partner of the Brillo Manufacturing Corporation.

Haslam was educated at a private school and then at Eton College.

In 1966, Haslam and his lover at the time, American banking heir James Davison, bought Black Canyon Ranch, near Phoenix, Arizona, for breeding and showing Arabian horses. From 1970 he combined breeding show horses, working in Los Angeles as a photographer and designing rooms and parties for clients such as Natalie Wood.

Haslam broke up with Davison and in 1972 returned to London, where he was soon asked to design and decorate a townhouse for Alexander Hesketh. In the early 1980s, Haslam owned and operated the Nicholas Haslam Showroom on Holbein Place, London, together with his then-partner, Paolo Moschino. When the pair split in 1995, Haslam took control of NH Design as the interior design side of the business, with Moschino taking ownership of the Nicholas Haslam shop. The two businesses today operate separately.

In 2002 Haslam published a book of his work entitled Sheer Opulence and is working on a second book on design. His autobiography Redeeming Features was published in 2009; in it he mentions his affairs with numerous individuals, including architect Philip Johnson, photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones (who later married Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom), art dealer Cavan O'Brien, and artist Michael Wishart. He is a frequent columnist for The London Evening Standard and The Sunday Telegraph magazines. Besides frequently writing reviews for The World of Interiors and The Spectator, Haslam wrote a gossip column for Ritz Newspaper under the pseudonym 'Paul Parsons', and has been a contributing editor of British Vogue and Tatler for many years. In December 2010, Haslam started blogging for The Telegraph.

Before launching her own retail chain, the designer Cath Kidston worked for Haslam.

In 2011 Haslam designed a set for the play "As I like it" by Amanda Eliasch and also worked on her house in Cheyne Walk.

In March 2013, Haslam published a book entitled "Nicky Haslam's Folly de Grandeur: Romance and revival in an English country house", which reveals the history and design behind his own home.

In September 2013, with Annabel Astor's luxury furniture company OKA, Haslam launched a collection inspired by Gothick-influenced furniture and accessories from his own house. See less