26 Details You May Have Missed at WOW!house 2026

Joyful red: Designer Enass Mahmoud’s Garden Folly Room is rich in personal storytelling. She chose red as the dominant colour because in Sudan it symbolises joy and strength (it’s frequently worn at weddings).

Front door handle: As part of the Size Group Facade, Darren Price of Adam Architects designed a door handle (made by Pemberton & Sons) cast from the textured detail of Artorius Faber’s stone flooring – providing a clever link between the hard landscaping and the house itself.

Carved date: look up as you stand at the front door and you’ll see ‘2026’ in Roman numerals, perfectly framed by the opening in the portico.

Glass vase: Murano-based glass artist Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, whose vase is on the central table in the Francis Sultana Entrance Hall, uses cotissi (the lumps of glass left over from previous firings) to make his work – part of a wider bid to make glassmaking more sustainable.

Filling Spaces fabric: In the Turnell & Gigon Group Drawing Room by Albion Nord, the walls are wrapped in 110m of fabric by Filling Spaces, all of it hand-blocked in India. It takes a week to print 10m of the fabric.

Handmade passementerie: the Turnell & Gigon Group Drawing Room also features entirely hand-made passementerie (such as the pelmet tassel running around the top of the wall) by Les Passementeries de l’île de France. The 100-year-old company is now the only atelier left in France undertaking this work.

Secret room: Step inside a hidden mirrored chamber in the Shepel’ Library by Róisín Lafferty and you’ll hear Lafferty’s own voice, articulating her inner creative thoughts. Step through the fabric (a metaphor for getting lost in the pages of a book) and write down a wish or a worry to leave in the box.

Crystal panels: Lalique’s esteemed heritage is reflected in the Home Bar by Elicyon. Some of the crystal panels incorporated into the walls are based on originals designed in 1928 by René Lalique for the Venice Simplon-Orient Express.

A smoking tiger: “Back when tigers smoked’ is the Korean equivalent of the fairytale opening line, “Once Upon a Time”. Tapping into the rich storytelling narrative of the Benjamin Moore Minhwa Salon, designer Young Huh depicts a puffing big cat on one of her wallpaper panels, a collaboration with Fromental.

Couture embroidery: The embroidery piece above the fireplace in the Phillip Jeffries Morning Room by Sara Cosgrove is by New York based couture embroiderer Laura Weber. The botanical subject taps into Cosgrove and Weber’s shared heritage, depicting wildflowers from their native Ireland.

Books that speak: Among the carefully curated books in the Salvesen Graham The Collection Primary Bedroom, you’ll find a couple whose spines that look a little different – they cleverly conceal speakers for the room’s sound system.

Paw prints: Two of Salvesen Graham’s fabrics on show in the Primary Bedroom are named after their dogs, Constance and Gussie. Paying further tribute to their four-legged friends, the dogs’ paw prints have also been incorporated into the stone hearth.

Tools become taps: In the Primary Bathroom, Rigby & Rigby’s bespoke brassware draws on details observed at room sponsor Samuel Heath’s Birmingham factory. The tap handles were inspired by hand tools, and feature tactile finger indents as if a piece has been chiselled out.

Secret ice bucket: The Munder Skiles Courtyard’s designer, Richard Miers, created the ‘Whispering Wonder’ water feature with Torc Pots. It holds a secret: a button that cools the water, and a special rack that slides in to store chilled bottles.

Modern muse: Want to know why the photo frames in The Parlour contain images of Grace Jones? Martin Kemp Design thought of her as their muse, intending this to be a grown-up lair for a Bond girl with a layered personality that reveals itself over time (like the room itself).

A collection of memories: Martin Kemp designed The Parlour’s furniture as part of his new brand, From The Avenue. Its details draw on his childhood memories: zig-zag stitching on the ‘Arizona’ armchair leg references his childhood socks falling down.

Immersed in textiles: Designer Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay has incorporated 23 different Misia fabrics into the Misia for Casamance Group Bedroom Suite. They’ve made their way onto the dog bed, luggage and even the robe hanging in the corner.

Crazy flooring: The limestone floor in the Ca’ Pietra bathroom is called ‘pietra pazza’ – Italian for ‘crazy stone’. It takes skill to lay these irregularly shaped slabs in such a pleasing way, and designers De Rosee Sa have added an extra decorative flourish with the inclusion of small chips of darker ‘Kimmeridge’ limestone in the grout lines.

Mirror image: The tapestry on the wall of the Withdrawing Room isn’t a tapestry at all, but a digitally printed facsimile by room sponsor Zardi & Zardi. The brand’s work is so convincing that heritage organisations have its replicas made when precious original pieces need to go away for conservation.

Rethinking everyday rituals: The THG Paris Powder Room is designed around Studio Mark Andrew’s incredible ‘La Fontaine’ tap, which flows along a long, shallow basin, turning washing your hands into a theatrical moment.

Dog days: The rural video playing in the Nucleus Immersive Room depicts designer Russell Sage walking his dog Hugo in the Somerset countryside. A box of Hugo’s dog toys also features in the room – and the idea for the huge daybed was derived from a dog bed.

Cabinet of curiosities: The installation inside the George II bookcase in the Schumacher Dining Room is made by designer Max Rollitt’s artist son. It is made from pieces of Somerset pottery, nestled among discarded pages from Debrett’s.

Hop along: Did you spot the little frog in the Martin Moore Kitchen? They're hidden in the Porta Romana verdigris lighting – helping to tell the story of designer Samantha Bartlett’s idea for a kitchen that brings nature inside.

Mastery of marble: The sculptures in the Perennials and Sutherland Garden Terrace by Fettle Design are by Paul Vanstone. Known for his mastery of stone and marble, he was formerly the assistant to celebrated British sculptor Anish Kapoor.