WOW!house 2026 Design Threads

Every year, WOW!house encourages you to look up, as there are always some innovative approaches to ceilings – but in 2026 there was an additional focus on the decorative possibilities of that space where the wall meets the ceiling.

Friezes add structure, balance proportions and provide an extra canvas for surface detail. Most importantly, they can extend the narrative of a room – for example, in the Lalique Home Bar by Elicyon, Shamsian’s abstract floral marquetry border helped to tell the story of a luxurious, deco-inspired space (and the marquetry was also picked up on the inside leg of Elicyon’s bespoke bar stools). In the Turnell & Gigon Group Drawing Room, designers Albion Nord added another layer of decorative detail in the most luxurious way, finishing off the top of the walls with a tassel trim by Les Passementeries de l’Île de France.

In the Black Edition at Romo Speakeasy Salon, Studio Duggan took one of Black Edition’s fabrics (‘Chimera’) and turned to Atelier Blundell & Therrien to reimagine it as a relief plaster frieze, with the mythological beasts dancing around the top of the walls. Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay’s abstract geometric plaster frieze amplified her story of a bedroom inspired by art deco’s worldly influences, from African carving to Ancient Egypt, a complement to room sponsor Misia’s deco-inspired fabrics.

In trend-speak, you’d call it ‘joymaxxing’ – savouring small everyday moments, relishing down-time and doing something purely for enjoyment, in a mindful way: the antithesis to the pressure to always be productive. “My concept is a quiet, uplifting analogue sanctuary – a room that resists the velocity of modern life,” said designer Sara Cosgrove about the Phillip Jeffries Morning Room. There were books, a desk to write at, a sofa to sink into, and Phillip Jeffries’ ‘Aura’ wallcovering providing a rhythmic calm. The Nucleus Immersive Room took a different, technology-led route to the same end goal – a space to capture joyful moments. Or perhaps a lazy read in the bath with a book is more your thing? De Rosee Sa’s pink-marble-clad bath in the Ca’Pietra Bathroom was complemented by a bespoke side table for a book, cup of tea or cocktail.

Spending time in nature is an important part of the trend, too: in the Munder Skiles Courtyard, WOW!house guests were invited to sit under the dappled shade of London plane trees, and enjoy the gentle burble of a bespoke water feature. Darren Price of Adam Architects added seating to his Facade this year (sponsored by Size Group), so that visitors could linger and enjoy the Artorius Faber Entrance Garden, with planting by The Gardenists.

Not forgetting WOW!house’s many built-in bars, for mixing a drink for yourself or with company. Studio Duggan created a secret speakeasy; the Salvesen Graham Primary Bedroom had a hidden bar (and a supremely comfortable chair and footstool from where to enjoy a drink); and Fettle’s Mediterranean Garden Terrace had a full standalone bar.

Thanks to this year’s partnership with CEDIA (the industry body for smart home professionals), designers completely embraced the power of technology to set – and change – the mood. Sometimes it was a key part of the story, such as in the Samuel Heath Primary Bathroom, where designer Rigby & Rigby worked with Powerplant to create changing scenes played out on big screens, accompanied by a cycle of lighting appropriate to each scene. It showcased Lutron’s Ketra technology, so new that it had never been seen before, and also debuted in two other rooms of the house. Powerplant’s Xavier Wilcox says that Ketra can take you from “candlelight to Antarctic sunshine, and everything in between. And if you can produce daylight, then you can follow our natural circadian rhythms. Lighting is so powerful in framing our emotions.”

In the Nucleus Immersive Room, Russell Sage imagined a ‘momentarium’ – a space where he could relive precious memories. Nucleus installed hidden speakers all around the room (including the ceiling) and used a HYRISS system, creating an immersive ‘auditory landscape’ that could pivot between cinema, music, a live concert – and a video of Sage walking his dog in the Somerset countryside.

The hidden tech that delighted visitors the most? The would be the speakers hidden behind two of the books in the Salvesen Graham The Collection Primary Bedroom, the work of the designers’ collaborator Equippd, which also installed intelligent lighting control in the room.

English country house style is alive and well, judging by WOW!house 2026, and particularly the Georgian era – although everything had an exciting twist on the theme. Adam Architecture’s Darren Price reworked the house’s classical Facade for sponsor Size Group, and designed a mini-me Garden Folly that was the first space that guests entered. He also had a hand in the interior architecture of the Salvesen Graham The Collection Primary Bedroom, designing the room’s cornice, coffered ceiling and panelling to evoke not an English country house, but a historic American home. “This is not a replica,” said the designers. “It is a reimagining, shaped by our own sensibility and designed to feel relevant for contemporary life.”

The Zardi & Zardi Withdrawing Room also had that transatlantic touch: designer Sean Symington described the room as “Park Avenue meets English country manor”, a space belonging to a modern collector who moves effortlessly between her homes around the globe.

In the Schumacher dining room, designer Max Rollitt was very specific about dating the bones of the room – the second quarter of the 18th century – and introduced antique (and antique-inspired) furniture. But he wanted to give it “the depth and brightness of colour the room would have had at the time, rather than the faded feel we often get from historic houses,” so the walls were wrapped in a glowingly warm orange damask, and a plum-coloured linen was used on the dining chairs.

As befits these historically inspired schemes, there were also some wonderful period fireplaces, including Jamb’s ‘Blessington’ grate in the Schumacher Dining Room and an 18th-century chimneypiece from Westland in the Salvesen Graham The Collection Primary Bedroom. Fenders featured in many rooms, too – and this time, the twist was that they were upholstered in patterned fabrics rather than the usual sombre leather.

Celadon, eau-de-nil, matcha… whatever you call it, one colour that ran through WOW!house 2026 is a soft green. It was a prominent shade in the Morning Room, where designer Sara Cosgrove anchored her calming scheme with room sponsor Phillip Jeffries’ ‘Aura’ wallcovering, with a bespoke Topfloor by Esti rug underfoot that brought together the room’s palette of blues and greens, shot through with contrasting purple.

In the Martin Moore Kitchen, designer Samantha Bartlett chose a striking ‘Verde Natura’ quartzite for the worktops, and brought in tonal shades in the ‘Ondas’ dining chairs by Alexander Lamont, the matcha-coloured cooker hood and oven, and the verdigris lighting by Porta Romana.

Verdigris stood out as the house’s recurring finish. On arrival, took in Hector Finch’s verdigris lanterns on the Garden Folly (the lighting brand used WOW!house 2026 as a platform to launch this new finish across all its collections); from there, Frances Sultana introduced furniture and lighting in the same finish in the Entrance Hall; and from then on, it popped up again and again. “Verdigris feels organic and unique, providing a texture that celebrates natural ageing and craftsmanship,” said design editor Robert Rufino. “I find it brings a sense of history and grandeur and paired particularly well with high-contrast, warm colours like rusty oranges or corals.”