Interior designer and socialite Nicky Haslam has named the one garden item he considers truly tacky – and it’s not your plant choices.
According to the famously outspoken tastemaker, it’s modern, matching furniture sets that are ruining outdoor spaces across the country.
The green-thumbed enthusiast, whose London-based studio has designed glamorous interiors around the world, believes today’s sleek patio sets look more like airport seating than something you’d want in a garden.
‘Nothing looks more horrible in winter than furniture with covers over it,’ he told the Telegraph.
Now in his 80s, Nicky is as opinionated as ever when it comes to what’s tasteful and what isn’t – publishing his infamous ‘What Nicky Haslam Finds Common’ tea towel annually.
Recent entries have included ‘strawberries’, ‘remote-controlled lawnmowers’, and ‘music’, but his garden gripes are particularly exacting.
Nicky has no time for coordinated outdoor sets or synthetic-looking materials, and instead prefers a more eclectic, characterful approach.
Lloyd Loom woven furniture is, in his words, ‘definitely too common’.
Interior designer and socialite Nicky Haslam says matching garden furniture sets are the one garden item he considers truly tacky
His own ideal setup features classic wooden or wrought-iron benches and sofas, dressed in thick mattresses, throws and a generous scattering of cushions.
For fabrics, Nicky favours timeless stripes, especially green and white.
He recalls a particularly chic example of garden elegance from a visit to Belvoir Castle with the late socialite Diana Cooper.
There, old cane benches were lined with black chintz cushions patterned with oversized red roses – a look he calls ‘so chic’.
Nicky is also a fan of mixing indoor and outdoor elements, though only when done with style.
An outdoor bench in a hallway or trellis on an interior wall can bring charm, but dragging your dining chairs outside is a step too far.
It’s a flair for style he’s honed since his school days. While a pupil at Eton, Nicky transformed his study with faux ocelot curtains, cardboard ostrich plumes, artificial grass from a local greengrocer and carriage lamps.
A dramatic photograph of James Dean completed the look – so impressive that his house master would bring guests to see it after dinner.
The socialite also said yellow garden flowers are ‘tacky’, and lower the esteem of your back yard space. Stock image used
Now in his 80s, Haslam is as opinionated as ever when it comes to what’s tasteful and what isn’t – publishing his infamous ‘What Nicky Haslam Finds Common’ tea towel annually
From Eton schoolboy to international designer, he has always had an eye for the fabulous, and a sharp tongue for the faux-pas.
If your garden furniture came as a matching set, you may want to rethink.
The socialite also said yellow garden flowers are ‘tacky’, and lower the esteem of your back yard space.
And it’s not the first time the designer has been outspoken about plant selection.
Nicky has in past said he cannot stand red roses in the garden – along with other plants such as berberis, rhododendrons, sunflowers and conifers.
He also relegated red hot pokers, aubretia, and copper beeches to gardening purgatory.
Red roses are acceptable when picked and displayed in a vase, Haslam added, making a design concession for the flowers widely associated with romance, passion, and devotion.
He also highlighted that, while plants can help set the mood in your garden, it is important to consider how they are arranged – not just what kinds of plants you have growing.
Instead of letting your plants grow recklessly in a wild garden that Haslam deems ‘quite boring’, the furniture designer and socialite recommended informally organising them into large groups.
Some of his favourite plants include the stinking iris, that can be found blooming in Britain all-year round, white foxgloves, white pansies, and the Stokes’ aster ‘White Star’.
While Nicky adores white flowers, he recommends steering clear of yellow-coloured blooms.