Nicky Haslam redesigns Laura Ashley estate

Interior designer to the stars and party organiser Nicky Haslam is to oversee design of a home once owned by fellow British designer Laura Ashley in the south of France.

Haslam has been appointed by hotelier John Spence, the chairman and chief executive of Karma Royal Group who bought Le Preverger at the end of last year.

Laura Ashley had a passion for Provence, but only got to enjoy her house there for three years before her death in 1985. Her son Nick put the house on the market in 2010 for £8.9 million.

The estate is in the medieval village of Le Garde-Frenet, 13 miles from St Tropez and has its own private helicopter and pilot.

The estate maintains a connection with the nearby Cannes Film Festival and Jude Law and Richard E Grant shot scenes for their Dom Hemingway - due to be released next year - at Le Preverger.

It has 18 bedrooms, eight reception rooms and 11 bathrooms and Haslam has initially completed the four-bedroom main chateau, which includes a new library overseen by Ultimate Library, the bespoke library service founded by entrepreneur and ttgluxury Seminar speaker Philip Blackwell.

Haslam - who said his design inspiration for the chateau was “a sophisticated cave” - will now work on a five-bedroom guest villa, four-bedroom coach house and two-bedroom pool house within the grounds, which also include olive groves and a vineyard.

His previous projects included the homes of Bryan Ferry, Ringo Starr, Rupert Everett, Roman Abramovich, and Mick Jagger, as well as organising parties for The Prince of Wales, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild.

“Nicky has known the house over the years and, indeed, many of the people who have stayed here,” said Spence. “We were extremely keen to maintain its provenance and history whilst modernising it and making it an outstanding example of interior design.”

Dating back to pre-Napoleonic times, Le Preverger was bought by the Ashleys in 1983 from French actress Jeanne Moreau, who had entertained Orson Welles, Brigitte Bardot and Pablo Picasso.

Guests of the Ashleys are said to have included Diana, Princess of Wales and Margaret Thatcher.

The estate will be made available to VIP guests and Karma Royal Group Members.

Karma Royal Group includes Royal Resorts, Karma Resorts, Karma Estates, Chakra Resorts, Beach Club International and Karma Spa and further expansion is planned for Cuba, Brazil, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Europe, north America and the Caribbean.