The Stand-up Citizen Interview: Designer and debonair socialite Nicky Haslam
NB: This interview was written for another magazine and is re-printed here for illustration purposes
The celebrated interior designer and socialite, 84, talks to Rob McGibbon about the lost Chelsea of his youth of his youth, what he loves living in Earl’s Court, and why London worked better without so many One Way streets…
I was born in 1939, so I think of myself as a Phoney War Baby. My first home was Great Hundridge Manor, our family estate in Buckinghamshire. It was the perfect William-and-Mary house from the 17th century. We had a swimming pool, which was rare in those days, and I had a mutt terrier called Annie. Her full name was Annie Get Your Gun because I was madly in love with the actress Ethel Merman.We lived there during the war. I always remember loving the servants more than my parents. I loved my nanny, the cook, the chauffeur, the gardeners. They were all so nice and much more fun than mother and father.
Our other home was a wonderful Nash terraced house in Cumberland Terrace, Regent’s Park. My father bought it in the 1920s before he was married and we started staying there more frequently after the war. It had not been lived in and was quite sad, so my mother spruced it up. She asked what I thought we should do, which was the first time I had been consulted about decoration. I loved helping her with the design and furnishings.
My first home after leaving Eton at 18 was a tiny rented basement flat in Beaufort Street, Chelsea. Samantha Eggar lived opposite and she would sit on her front steps in shorts getting some sun. I knew her long before she became a Hollywood star.
I gave a Breakfast at Tiffany’s party when Tru’s (Truman Capote) book came out in 1958. The book was the talk of London. I hired a friend’s garage at their mews house in Regent’s Park. It started at midnight and everyone had to wear jewels. The party went on until we served breakfast.
I love London, but it has changed so much. When I was growing up, it was carefree. Now it is careful. Everything is controlled by the Nanny State. You need to book for everything, or have a password. Nothing is careless, the spontaneity has evaporated, which saddens me. And everyone dresses the same.
I live in Earl’s Court which is the last real village in London. I enjoy it there because it has proper, old fashioned local shops and a sense of community. But I dread leaving or coming back because the traffic is awful. Getting around takes forever. One whizzed around in the old days. There were no One Way streets then – now they are everywhere. When I was young you could hire a taxi for a whole morning for five pounds. Now an app tells me a “Prius is on its way”. What the fuck is a Prius! But Earl’s Court has the best Tube station and the No.74 takes one everywhere.
At home at Earl’s Court
With Bob Geldof
With Mick Jagger
Ever the dandy
Holding one of his ‘Common’ tea towels
Primark in Hammersmith is my favourite place in the world to buy clothes. They make clothes to last because they know that their customers cannot afford to keep buying new stuff. Prada falls apart as you buy it because they know rich people will just buy something else.
I spend half the week in the Cotswolds at a very beautiful Georgian lodge. One is more in control of one’s life in the country. It is easier to do what one wants. I am always working and creating wherever I am. I write and design. Whether I am in the city or the country, I always keep busy. I dread relaxing. I think it is a bore to be relaxed. I like to be nervous and on edge all the time. One gets more done.
View Nicky’s new collection of furniture and fabrics at www.nhnicholashaslam.com
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