At the beginning of Redeeming Features, Nicky Haslam's memoir, there is a quote from Thomas Traherne, a seventeenth-century poet: 'Then did I dwell in a world of light / Distinct and separate from all men's sight.'

The lines might have been written for Nicky's just-finished project on Park Lane, London. This 5,000sq ft penthouse  is a temple to light, space and luxurious seclusion, with vast windows and an expansive open-plan arrangement.

London's skyline is laid out below - Big Ben here, the BT Tower there, the sun dipping over Hyde Park to the west.

Upstairs are the living areas. Down the double staircase are four bedrooms, each with a bathroom. Aficionados of Nicky's style will recognise the Dorothy Draper-inspired decorative plaster work, the black and white lacquered doors and the fancifully shaped chair backs and headboards. 'I like to combine 1940s New York with a bit of Hollywood glamour and an English sensibility,' he explains.

His team sourced many of the furnishings from Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. 'It's like a house party when I go there,' he says of his visits to the famous domes. 'I go between the showrooms, from one friend to the next.' The importance to Nicky of having such a valuable resource to draw upon is clear. Some of the Design Centre's most renowned names have contributed to the realisation of his vision. There are cushions from Turnell & Gigon and lamps from Brunschwig & Fils and Decorus. Among the other illustrious brands represented are Colefax and Fowler, Celeste Dell'Anna, Fox Linton and Marvic Textiles.

The apartment features innumerable bespoke touches. Sheets of 60mm thick Perspex were cut by pressurised water to form a sculptural balustrade. Mirrors are artfully aged. The entrance hall is papered with Lincruster, which has been given a gilt effect, then distressed by hand. There are outrageous high-tech gestures, too: TVs in the showers and, in the study, a section of ceiling lifts at the turn of a key to allow access to the panoramic roof terrace.

Nicky's description of the scheme is characteristically imaginative. 'This apartment is a butch, sensitive soul with an elegant, humorous spirit. It's a place that says "don't mock me" and "treat me carefully". I've always said that rooms should speak to you.'
That he 'hears' his scheme in this way brings us back to Traherne's verse. The quoted passage ends, 'No ear / But eyes themselves were all the hearers there.' Nicky's visual style speaks with a distinctive voice, it seems, and does not struggle to be heard.

Nicky Haslam's consultancy NH Design (020-7730 0808; www.nh-design.co.uk) is working on projects worldwide, including an apartment in Moscow and a house in New Orleans.

Nicky's book, Redeeming Features is available at the RIBA Bookshop (020-7351 6854), £25.

The devoloper is Charles Street Estates Ltd. and the Architects are Bree Day LLP, based in Twickenham, West London. 020 8744 4440

©House & Garden, The Condé Nast Publications Ltd.