‘I have a country soul but I’m a city boy at heart’

Spanish artist-designer Jaime Hayón, 34, is at the forefront of a new wave of creators blurring the lines between art, design and decoration. His limited-edition ceramics are becoming highly collectable and he works on production designs (bathrooms, lighting, furniture, ceramics, textiles) for companies such as Artquitect, Baccarat, Bd Barcelona Design, Metalarte, Moooi and Swarovski. His giant chessboard with 2-metre-tall, ceramic pieces in Trafalgar Square is a highlight of the London Design Festival, where ‘American Chateau’, his first show with photographer and sculptor Nienke Klunder, runs until October 22.

You were born in Madrid. Is this where you grew up?
Yes, I was the middle one of three brothers and we lived with my parents in a big apartment in a 1970s building. I studied industrial design at the University of Madrid and continued to live with my family until I moved to Paris to finish my studies at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (Ensad). After that I went to Treviso, Italy, to work in the design department of Fabrica, the Benetton-sponsored design and communication academy, before moving to Povegliano Camalo in the countryside, where I lived and worked in an ex-ski factory warehouse that I still rent as an Italian base. After that I rented an apartment in Barcelona, which I still use as my Spanish office. I also bought an apartment in Valencia around the time that I moved to London in 2006.

That sounds like a wide collection of properties. Which is your main home?
I’m always on the move – between London, Italy and Spain. In London I rent a four-storey, 18th-century house in Soho, where I live and work with my girlfriend, Nienke Klunder. We use the basement and ground floor for our studios and live on the top two levels. What I love about the house is its convenient, central location and that it’s full of light.

Why did you choose to buy a property in Valencia?
Valencia is very social, very Mediterranean. It’s a good place to work because there are lots of workshops and artisans – it’s a production centre for furniture, shoes and ceramics – and I feel very comfortable there. I like the market and the restaurants and bars and one of my favourite places is Malvarrosa, a beach near the port. I find Valencia relaxing and a good contrast to London.

What attracted you to the property and have you remodelled it?
The apartment is on the fourth floor of a 19th-century building with three balconies and lots of light but it was in really bad condition so we had to change everything. We removed all the tiled floors because they were cracked and filthy and laid beautiful, thick, oak wooden flooring throughout. The ceilings had been lowered so we took them back to the original height and added classical plaster mouldings. We removed the windows, which were quite small, and installed big, classic, wood-framed windows with double-glazing and added bronze handles to the windows and doors. I made the doors for the master bedroom and corridor using lacquered wood with diamond-shaped, bevelled glass and designed the bathroom to the same standard as a five-star hotel.

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

Surreal sculpture and a pastel portrait

The Ceccotti chair because it’s so comfortable and I love the shape. Also, it’s very difficult to make – from 22 separate pieces of wood.

I love the shape of Danish designer Piet Hein’s stainless steel salt and pepper shakers – they’re like little round eggs and very much part of our breakfast ceremony.

I love surreal things and the bronze Donut and Madonna sculpture by my girlfriend, Nienke Klunder, is very strange and quite scary.

Beautiful tablecloths made by Georg Jensen Damask. They’re fantastic quality and I have five different designs.

The image of a woman on our living room wall that looks just like a painting by a Dutch master but is, in fact, a photograph taken by Nienke. I love its pastel colours.

My Hästens bed is fantastically comfortable. I could sleep there all day.

Which is your favourite room?
The kitchen/living room, because it allows you to do everything simultaneously – draw, read, cook, have a drink, chat with friends, work, relax.

Do you live with your own designs?
Yes but not too many of them and mostly prototypes – vases, lights and tables that aren’t available to buy. The prototypes are sent to me for checking and I find that living with them gives me an opportunity to assess the designs, so my home is a bit of a laboratory. In Valencia I do have some production pieces – Baccarat vases, the Bubble chandelier for Bosa Ceramiche, my new Ceccotti chair. In London the production pieces include the Josephine lamp for Metalarte, vases for Bosa Ceramiche and the Showtime chair and mirror for Bd Barcelona Design.

What kind of style and ambience do you try and create in a property?
I like minimal, gallery-style spaces with white walls, wooden floors, nice smells and good light. That’s 80 per cent of it. Then I want comfort, interesting angles and the right balance between the things in each room. I like a home to feel human – I hate places that feel like hotel lobbies. So I like to mix quality designs with found objects. In Valencia I put a French cabinet that I found in a warehouse next to a very organic chair, for example. I also like changing things and moving them around. It’s a bit like putting together ingredients for cooking – it’s a living experiment.

Which designers or artists inspire you?
I love surrealism because it transports you to another dimension and Dalí is an incredible inspiration. I find Jean Prouve’s work very interesting – more in terms of solutions and mechanics than aesthetics. I like feminine shapes so I find the dynamics and soft, subtle designs of Oscar Niemeyer very appealing.

Are you a city or country person?
I have a country soul but I’m a city boy at heart.

What do you miss about Spain when you’re in London – and vice versa?
I don’t miss anything about Spain except perhaps the sunshine and my family. But in Spain I miss London’s diversity and confraternity. You can talk to so many interesting people from different walks of life in London. It’s an expensive place to live but very creative.

Are there any facilities you couldn’t live without?
Music and a good kitchen. Entertaining is very important to me. Friends often come round and I cook Mediterranean dishes – tortilla, all kinds of pasta, fish in sauce, tomato and tuna salads – and in London we use a barbecue out in the courtyard.

Do you have a dream home?
I would like to buy some land and build my own house. The landscape doesn’t have to be conventionally pretty but it does need to be characteristic of an area. Then I would integrate the house within the landscape and design everything inside it. It would probably be surrounded by trees and inside it would be simple, with an open feel, and full of light.