How the firepit became 'common' after appearing on Love Island

05 Nov 2024, 16:48 by Maria Chiorando For Mailonline · Mail Online

Are you a fan of firepits? The outdoor implements, which are popular among influencers and famously featured in reality show Love Island have been branded 'common' by Nicky Haslam.

The 85-year-old socialite, furniture designer, and arbiter of all things posh has released a Christmas tea towel every year since 2018, titled 'The Latest Things Nicky Haslam Finds Common'.

He teamed up with Selfridges to release this year's version, which costs £50, and includes 39 signs you may be 'common' - declaring that his controversial list should be varied enough to upset everyone in some capacity as he took aim at dairy free alternatives, destination weddings and yellow bags (in which the products will be sold by Selfridges).

Among eating unpeeled tomatoes and owning a rescue dog, Haslam added that having a firepit in your garden suggests you may be a commoner.

Firepits - outdoor fire places - have become increasingly popular in recent years, with celebrities like Cindy Crawford and the Kardashians sharing photos of themselves relaxing in front of them.

Model Cindy Crawford is just one of many celebrities who love firepits. She shared this photo of herself relaxing in front of hers

Snoop Dogg teamed up with home and outdoor lifestyle brand Solo Stove to become its official 'smokesman' and promote its smokeless firepit in 2023

In addition, in 2023, Snoop Dogg even teamed up with home and outdoor lifestyle brand Solo Stove to become its official 'smokesman', promoting its smokeless firepit.

And of course the fires have become a focal point of Love Island, with many of the show's dramatic moments taking place while contestants are enjoying the outdoor flames.

As they are so beloved among celebrities and many other people, their inclusion on Haslam's list is sure to ruffle some feathers - so are they really that common?

Interior designer Benji Lewis who has extensive experience in his field, working on homes in the UK and France shared his thoughts on the topic with FEMAIL.

He said: 'As soon as anything gets over exposure it’s in danger of falling into the realms of naffness.'

Among the examples he cited were Hunter wellies, Farrow & Ball paint and Prosecco.

Explaining why they may have been included in Haslam's list, he said: 'I think it’s the cliché that grinds gears – the insinuation that life’s so perfect, the firepit beside the swimming pool and the outdoor bar

'A real bonfire might cut the mustard with Nicky Haslam, but then they’re not as photogenic and a bit pongy - unless you like the smell which I do.'

More celebrity fans of the firepit include the Kardashians - including Kourtney (pictured with husband Travis Barker)

The firepit is an infamous feature of reality TV show Love Island (pictured), and is often the location of dramatic moments

He added: 'I can see what Nicky Haslam means about them being common because they’re for sale in every garden centre up and down the country - the supposition being that in order for you to be seen as having good taste you have to own one which is clearly rubbish.'

So what would he recommend as an alternative?

'Personally, I find something much more authentic about a decent bonfire in a garden incinerator,' Benji told FEMAIL.

'You can still sit around it and burn your garden waste like twigs and branches (as long as they’re dried) while you’re there, enjoying a glass or two of red.'

According to Benji, when he engaged a garden designer to do some designs, she suggested a firepit as the space's focal point - which he declined as that 'wasn't our taste and made no sense anyway because we live in a thatched cottage'.

But, he noted that 'in the right place, of course, a firepit can be lovely, but I’d probably make it less of a focus', adding that he'd prefer to have an outdoor chimney as a feature.

It's not just Nicky Haslam who dislikes firepits - more recently, the outdoor fireplace has started to become more popular, with upmarket boutique hotels like Soho Farmhouse, in Oxfordshire, boasting one.

And numerous home owners eager to maximise their properties appear interested in them - searches for 'outdoor fireplace' have risen by 100 per cent on Pinterest over the past year.

It's not just inanimate objects that have been targeted by Haslam. In his 2023 list; in 2023 Haslam put the Prince and Princess of Wales in the firing line for wearing matching shades of blue, and dressing their three children in the same hues, as they attended Easter Sunday Service that year.

He told the Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden: ‘It’s supposed to suggest a calm upper-classness, which is so dull. If you look at pictures from the old days, the royals had wonderful exotic clothes. But now they look like dummies in Peter Jones's window.’

He added of the couple: ‘They do childish things, like play football and games. They couldn’t be less sophisticated. They don’t go to literary lunches and read extraordinary books or go to the theatre.’

Benji Lewis (pictured) is an interior designer with an extensive portfolio of work, in homes in both the UK and France

Socialite Nicky Haslam (pictured in London in June 2023) has released a tea towel listing things he finds 'common' since 2018

This is in spite of his friendship with Queen Camilla, who he has described as 'magical' on a personal level.

Just like last year, while putting together his list of 'common' things for 2024, Haslam spared no one and nothing; taking aim at people who get married abroad, people who have firepits in their garden, people who drink almond milk and people who hold gender reveal parties.

He even put Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour on the list for her daily routine, which she has shared on a number of occasions and involves her going to the gym and getting her hair done.

Among those considered lower class by Haslam are people who rescue dogs; suggesting an adopted pooch is now akin to a 'Birkin bag'.

He revealed his method for devising the tea towel each year is by jotting down 'common' things throughout the year that have irritated him.

Nicky Haslam's list of common things - but how many are you guilty of?

Do you use books as decoration?
Do you visit luxury cinemas?
Do you use yellow bags?
Have you ever argued to get a discount?
Do you own Clarice Cliff china?
Are you in The Welsh Guards regiment?
Have you ever bought a cuddly toy?
Have you ever ordered proscuitto melone?
Have you ever attempted The Telegraph crossword?
Have you ever leased an SUV car?
Do you dress your child in a leather jacket?
Do you eat unpeeled tomatoes?
Have you ever used the phrase 'in today's money'?
Did you go to St Paul's School?
Have you ever attended a food festival?
Do you eat a first course with lunch?
Do you skip a first course with dinner?
Have you ever used the phrase 'the elephant in the room'?
Do you have a fire pit in your garden?
Did you host a gender reveal while expecting a baby?
Do you have bamboo in your garden?
Do you drink almond milk?
Have you ever taken part in an inquiry?
Do you listen to Bach?
Do you own a rescue dog?
Do you pay attention to detail?
Do you have succulents in your garden?
Have you ever spent time in Primrose Hill?
Do you collect baskets?
Have you ever converted your barn?
Do you watch the Antiques Roadshow?
Have you taken part in an historical reenactment?
Do you enjoy Antony Gormley's sculptures?
Have you worn a kilt at a wedding?
Have you asked 'what does that come with' at a restaurant?
Do you have a 'routine' like Anna Wintour?
Do you have festoon lighting in the garden?
Do you use WhatsApp?
Have you ever said: 'There's nowhere like England when the sun shines?'