Nicky Haslam's London flat and his signature mix of the fake and the fabulous

As a reader of House & Garden, it's most unlikely that you haven't heard of Nicholas 'Nicky' Haslam, interior decorator to royalty, pop stars, oligarchs and aristocrats. As a scanner of diary pages, you'd be aware of the parties he's hosted, created or attended. You may own one of his compelling books, have bought a piece of furniture or fabric he's designed, have enjoyed his blog, or even have heard him sing. But what of the man himself? Where does such an inexhaustible polymath lay his head and with what does he surround himself?

His small country house, the ravishing, triple-gabled Hunting Lodge that once belonged to John Fowler, has been well documented, but this west-London flat is a new acquisition, and it's as multifaceted and surprising as its owner. An estate agent's particulars for the property would not sound promising. The apartment is a ground-floor conversion on the Cromwell Road, a ceaselessly busy thoroughfare feeding traffic in and out of the city. There is but the one modest yet lofty bedroom, albeit served by two bathrooms and a galley kitchen. Likewise, a description of the decoration might raise an eyebrow because most of the pieces of furniture are old friends and the rest are fakes, frolics and jokes.

But herein lies the genius of Nicholas Haslam; he can bring forth the silkiest purse from a sow's ear, and conjure rooms of elegance, comfort and wit from ingredients that others might overlook. He knew that the Cromwell Road isn't just a route through London, but a road that is lined with huge houses that were once grand private homes with high ceilings and good plasterwork. And as for the interior, this decorator sees no virtue in buying something new when something old can be adapted or re-covered; he can make a virtue of a necessity and has the élan and self-confidence to hang his walls with fakes and faux marble.

Step into the hall of this flat and the adventure begins. The walls are lined with green bamboo canes and the floor is carpeted with a 'stretch cloth' strewn with Dalí-esque motifs. But the canes are an illusion because they're printed on wallpaper and the floor is a painted trompe l'oeil. From the hall, double doors lead into a remarkable room that combines elements of a gracious salon with a set for Alice in Wonderland. It's huge and is dominated by a vast Giacometti-inspired lantern (made from gessoed and bandaged plumbing pipes) and two great Swedish stoves on plinths. But, of course, they aren't stoves at all; one hides Victorian pipes and electric cables, and the other houses a drinks cabinet and hi-fi equipment. Opposite the 'stoves' is a perfectly genuine, amber-coloured marble chimneypiece, but on the chimney breast is a panel painted in faux marble to match it. On this is hung an architectural print in a Jean Cocteau-like gilded frame. Above and below this artwork perch two porcelain falcons on plinths, which turn out to be a couple of plastic bird scarers sprayed glossy white.

The north-facing bay window is curtained with a silvery voile; a strip of halogen lights set into the floor makes this opaque at night and the oak parquet floor has been glazed white, which Nicky says has increased the light by almost 100 per cent.

In complete contrast, the walls of the library/dining end of the room are covered in grasscloth in a bespoke shade of deep blue taken from a portrait of a beloved friend. Trellis panels in the corners of the room are lined with white trompe l'oeil book wallpaper and conceal a muddle of real books. Nicky considers an octagonal dining table to be superior to a round one and has had 12 guests seated at his - 'no side plates' is the secret.

Of his new abode, Nicky says, 'The decorative threads of a lifetime are finally drawn together. I've found the living space I've always desired - one huge ground-floor room, the ideal bones on which to put decorative flesh. I wanted the whole place to look light-hearted, almost transient, with nothing precious but rather frankly, fake.' It takes genuine talent to pull that off - and he has.