Georgian architecture and the design language of the English country house are deeply embedded at WOW!house 2026. From the whimsical Folly that greets visitors to the sumptuous spaces within, these rooms are a history lesson and a tour-de-force of decorating in one
Darren Price of Adam Architecture created WOW!house’s Facade in 2025, and for 2026 he has reworked his restrained, classically inspired design, this time with sponsorship of the Size Group, a collective of construction and craft businesses known for delivering exceptional homes for private clients. As Price’s narrative goes, over the past year, the owners of this townhouse have become patrons of the arts and their home has evolved from private domain into something more civic in spirit.
Many of the elements from last year have been dismantled, adapted and carefully reconstructed, including the central portico, which is now a sheltered loggia. Painted in ‘French Macaroon’ paint by Benjamin Moore, detailed with ironmongery from Pemberton & Sons and with fibrous plaster coving by Locker & Riley, the poise and symmetry of this Facade owes much to the architects who shaped Georgian London. For Price, it demonstrates how “past and present exist in seamless dialogue to reveal how classical architecture can evolve while retaining its integrity.”
The Garden Folly Facade is the baby sibling to the main house’s architectural magnificence. It has the same designer – Adam Architecture’s Darren Price – who has drawn on the great tradition of garden follies as places of imagination and whimsy. “Traditionally, a folly was a destination slightly removed from the main house, where architecture is allowed to be more playful,” he explains. “This one was conceived as a moment of theatre and
discovery; something with charm, depth and a little magic.”
Topped with a tented canopy made from Romo’s cotton-linen ‘Linara’ fabric, the Garden Folly Facade is also a showcase for the work of lighting manufacturer Hector Finch. The corners are hung with one of the brand’s elegant ‘Athena’ lanterns in a highly specialised new verdigris finish making its global debut, with a matching finial on the very top.
Francis Sultana takes the grand entrance hall of the British stately home as a starting point – the rare 18th-century chandelier sets out his intentions – but this is no historical throwback. Filled with contemporary art and collectable design, exquisite elements delight and surprise at every turn. Mattia Bonetti’s bronze pieces subvert tradition: what at first glance looks like an antique candelabra reveals itself to be an organically formed piece of bronze like molten wax; similarly, the oak flooring is turned into something unexpected by being shot through with emerald green.
As with his real-life interiors, Sultana shows his mastery of the mix – classical architecture and antiques sit with cutting-edge collectable design, an envy-inducing art collection and the highest quality fabrics from Loro Piana. “I have created a space that celebrates both the history and my vision of the future of interior design in this country,” he says.
Albion Nord’s Drawing Room for the Turnell & Gigon Group is centred on the harmony of old and new. Its shape is inspired by the octagonal drawing rooms of Georgian times, while a domed rooflight soars overhead; artisans from Barr Build created the room’s bespoke joinery.
The design studio, known for its soulful, grounded spaces, has found a perfect collaborator in Turnell & Gigon Group, and together they have made a space that celebrates the enduring artistry of the human hand. The walls are wrapped in a hand-blocked ‘Titli’ linen by Filling Spaces, while a cornice of bespoke tassel fringe from Les Passementeries de l’Ile de France adorns the ceiling. On the floor is a custom kilim rug created with Tim Page Carpets using a new Afghan weave. Even the cushions are soft works of art, skilfully made from multiple swatches of different Turnell & Gigon Group fabrics.
Find yourself transported to the Primary Bedroom of an 18th-century country house. Classical details (designed by Adam Architecture), including a coffered ceiling, panelling and pronounced cornicing, lend structure but do not overpower; it is a framework for a decorative scheme in which pattern and colour come together joyously.
Designers Mary Graham and Nicole Salvesen, known for personal, timeless interiors, showcase their own line of fabric, wallcovering, lighting and accessories in this room. The flowing botanical motif of ‘Constance’ wallpaper wraps all four walls, tempered by the subtle tonal stripe of ‘Woven Ribbon’ on the pelmet and outward-facing layers of the canopy and curtains enclosing Nicholas Walton’s fabulous four-poster bed. The reclaimed wooden flooring, antique desk and decorative objects all contribute patina and character.
Park Avenue meets English country manor in this transatlantic Withdrawing Room. The exquisite wall-hung tapestry that’s the hero of the room is the work of the room’s sponsor, Zardi & Zardi, the fabric and wallcovering house celebrated for breathing life into historic designs.
“Layered, almost jewel-box in mood, our Withdrawing Room is designed for entertaining and long evenings that gently unfold,” says interior designer Sean Symington. The loose flowers of Zardi & Zardi’s ‘Primavera’ flow over the walls, and across the ceiling; transferred onto cotton, they swathe the doors. Into this comes a cornucopia of collectables, each one chosen for its character and story: these include antique bergère chairs reupholstered in Colefax and Fowler’s fresh ‘Eaton Check’; a bespoke sofa newly made by Lorfords Contemporary using traditional English techniques; and a sculptural ‘Compton’ chandelier in white Jesmonite by Porta Romana.
The idea of slowing down is a recurring one at WOW!house. Whether you are cooking, bathing, or whiling away a morning engrossed in your own pursuits, these rooms invite you to take your time and resist the fast pace of the outside world
In the Morning Room, the ambience is calm, enveloping and subtly sensual. Designer Sara Cosgrove’s scheme is anchored by room sponsor Phillip Jeffries’ ‘Aura’ mural, its layers of glaze catching the light, creating shadow, movement and a sense of understated drama. Cosgrove describes her concept as “a quiet, uplifting analogue sanctuary; a room that resists the velocity of modern life – a fantasy really.” This nostalgia for slower rituals makes this a place ideal for reading and long conversations, with a design that supports that: bespoke pieces include upholstered seating by Kassavell, and a grounding rug by Topfloor by Esti with subtle texture and washed colour.
Cosgrove has also used further Phillip Jeffries wallcoverings to complement the gentleness of ‘Aura’: ‘Sutton Weave’ lines the ceiling coffers; a cosy pet bed features the geometric ‘Cameron’; and ‘Fable’, a magical landscape of birds and botanicals, covers a screen.
In the Primary Bathroom, the design influences are ‘Japandi’, blending Scandinavian and Japanese ideas: a round wooden ofuro tub sits at the centre of the room, while the vertical timber panels on the walls have Scandinavian roots. Design studio Rigby & Rigby has created a calm, pared-back showcase for Samuel Heath’s bathroom fittings and architectural hardware. A floor-mounted single lever bath/shower mixer in anthracite and brushed nickel graces the bath, while Lapicida’s onyx basins are finished with a three-hole wall-mounted basin filler.
Some may think that, for a space to encourage relaxation, it needs to be analogue, but this Primary Bathroom challenges that, harnessing technology to transport you to a more Zen world. Here, touch screens instantly transport you to faraway environments, each with its own soundscape, allowing your imagination to take flight. “We want to appeal to guests through sight, smell, touch and sound, and provide a moment of calm as they travel through the WOW!house experience,” says Rigby & Rigby’s creative director Jason Stewart.
“This is a room rooted in the poetry of nature,” says interior designer Samantha Bartlett of the Kitchen she has created with Martin Moore. It is intended as a place that can elevate everyday rituals, from slow contemplative mornings to evening gatherings. It is also inherently sensual and tactile, with materials chosen not only for their integrity and durability, but for the way they patinate and evolve over time.
Martin Moore’s Legacy kitchen is the hero of the room, in a quietly glamorous combination of grained fumed oak teamed with tactile bronze handles and exquisitely veined Verde Natura quartzite. Grounded in a palette of muted greens, the space is animated by repeated botanical motifs. An intricately embroidered climbing vine makes its way along the selvedge of de Le Cuona’s ‘Tanglewood’ linen, and a magical ‘Ivy Shadow’ chandelier, designed by Tord Boontje for Porta Romana, hangs from the ceiling.
As WOW!house has evolved in the past five years, it has added more outdoor spaces, balancing the interiors with all the possibilities of creating a ‘room’ outdoors. This year, the Entrance Garden, Courtyard and Garden Terrace explore how nature and great design can make the happiest pairing
The Entrance Garden’s designers, Hay Hwang and Simon Kitchin of The Gardenists, took the architecture of the Facade as their starting point. “The arched colonnades demanded a planting response with vertical authority,” explains Hwang, “which is why we used columnar evergreens to echo the pillar rhythm.” Clipped bay laurel trees and the elegant white spires of digitalis rise from a landscape of the finest stone sourced from the Entrance Garden’s sponsor, Artorius Faber.
In the main entrance, ‘Regency Drab’ English limestone is inset with ‘Cavendish’ cabochons; in the centre of the paving, anchoring the space geometrically, is an inlaid stone medallion of Artorius Faber’s new ‘Kittlebed English Limestone’ encircled by ‘Chewton’ pitchlings. At the end of the space, a magnificent English lead lion mask from Garden Art Plus is set into a limestone fountain, creating, Hwang says, a ”classical punctuation mark”.
Relaxed outdoor living is the vision here. “The concept centres around a timeless stone courtyard where past and present exist in quiet harmony,” says garden designer Richard Miers, who has created this space for US outdoor furniture brand Munder Skiles. Three London plane trees create dappled shade; framing stone walls are textured with the patina of age; and the well-worn floor, formed from Ca’ Pietra’s ‘Cote Bourgogne’ and ‘Lacock’ limestone tiles, suggests generations of use.
Munder Skiles’ natural teak ‘Rain’ bench and sinuous ‘Swan’ metal lounge chairs not only create inviting places to rest but also inform the sculptural form of the bespoke willow bases, woven by Brampton Willows. These generous structures introduce an appealing layer of natural texture that resonates with the all-weather wicker ‘Belmont’ dining armchairs and indoor/outdoor fabrics by Winch Design for Threads at GP & J Baker. At the centre of the Courtyard is Torc Pots’ showstopping ‘Whispering Water’ fountain.
Find yourself in the middle of a sun-soaked holiday afternoon at Fettle Design’s Garden Terrace for Perennials and Sutherland. The designers have conjured a romantic Italian terrace filled with the joyful spirit of relaxed Mediterranean living, inspired by Perennials’ La Dolce Vita collection and incorporating Sutherland’s beautifully crafted performance furniture.
The space is enclosed within clay plaster walls, inset with architectural niches that frame moments of greenery and sculpture; beneath your feet is a pattern of twisting red and white encaustic cement tiles from The Mosaic Factory. Above you, lengths of La Dolce Vita ‘Nonna’ check in cheery limoncello make their rippling way across the room, punctuated by pendant lights. Invitingly grouped Sutherland furniture – including the ‘Franck’ sofa and the Japanese-inspired teak ‘Arlette’ dining armchair – allows ample space to sit and unwind.
Art deco’s centenary brought the style to the forefront of designers’ imaginations. Don’t think pastiche: this is about mirroring the glamour, sumptuous materials and tailored craftsmanship of the period
Dublin-based designer Róisín Lafferty says that this room is “for inhabiting a world where the tempo softens, the outside world blurs and discovery quietly takes over”. Her palette of materials, expertly made into exquisite joinery by room sponsor Shepel’, includes burl timber, parchment and ebony – all associated with the luxury and sophistication of the art deco period. The glamour and geometry of the Library’s cocktail table also speak of the optimism of art deco and the Machine Age.
Look out for the room’s pendant, totem and wall light, all designed by Lafferty and made for the space by Atelier 001; and the inviting sofa, upholstered in a plush mohair velvet from Dedar’s new Atlas Novus collection.
With esteemed French fabric and wallcovering brand Misia (part of the Casamance Group) as her room sponsor, it’s no surprise that Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay has looked in part to the deco period for inspiration. Fitzwilliam-Lay is using Misia’s ‘Riviera du Levant’ fabric for the curtains, which, with its cut-fringe and loosely rhythmic geometric repeat, has a Jazz Age-feel, while trunks and suitcases incorporate more lively fabrics. A Jean-Michel Frank ‘Elephant’ armchair from the late-1930s adds more dynamic movement; and above the Vispring bed, the wall-mounted headboard, hand carved by Joss Stoddart, is ornamented with charred details that nod to art deco ebonised wood treatments.
This is far from a one-note pastiche, however: Fitzwilliam Lay’s eye has travelled further than the deco period for this scheme. “We’ve opted to try and create sort of a time capsule, somewhere that feels like it is the result of travel through different destinations and places,” she says. “We wanted the room to feel layered and collected, slightly nostalgic yet simultaneously forward-looking.”
René Lalique was one of the driving forces of the art deco movement, so it would be hard for Elicyon’s Charu Gandhi not to include its design references in her Lalique Home Bar. It starts with the interior architecture and joinery, with its arches and curves, and this acts as a supporting structure for a tour-de-force of sparkling French crystal, which is not an afterthought, but something integrated within the room. This includes decorative panels such as ‘Merles et Raisins’ and ‘Joueur De Pipeau’ – designs that have their roots in René Lalique’s 1928 work for the Orient Express.
Charu Gandhi says that this room was conceived as “a journey of unveiling for the curious. It presents a highly executed exterior, yet through mirrored planes and unexpected niches, it unfolds into a playful, immersive environment that rewards curiosity.” Don’t forget to look up, to the James Hare silk fabric ceiling; and down, to the Edition 1.6.9 bamboo silk, jute and wool rug underfoot, both of which add to the sense of being cocooned in luxury.
Of course, every room at WOW!house has the ability to take you to another time and place – but for these rooms, that sense is particularly strong. From New York City to the Mediterranean, get ready to take a magical journey when you step over the threshold…
Designer Enass Mahmoud taps in to her North African/Arab heritage for this room – a standalone folly that sits at the entrance, a WOW!house first. Imagined as a room on an island hideaway, it is layered, textural and saturated in gemstone shades; the mood here is sensuous, opulent and deeply indulgent.
“Here, I am the client, envisioning a tranquil yet indulgent retreat designed for intimate, joyful moments – sharing laughter over tea or mojitos with close friends,” says Mahmoud. Look out for the antique bronze mirrored ceiling by Sterling Studios; tiles from Ca’ Pietra; GP & J Baker fabrics amping up the pattern play; and Samuel & Sons’ extravagant tassels adding a flourish to crystal wall lights.
It’s June on the Mediterranean coast: you’ve just checked into your hotel, and travelled back in time to the 1970s. This is the mood that Max de Rosée and Claire Sá of design studio De Rosee Sa are trying to evoke in the Bathroom, created in collaboration with room sponsor Ca’ Pietra.
Long admirers of the brand’s mastery of stone, the designers have used this project as an opportunity to push the limits of what can be achieved. Architectural elements such as the window surround and profiled stone cornice lay the foundations for the space; rose-tinted ‘Versailles Rouge’ marble envelops the double basin and bath; and a dramatic quartzite, aptly named ‘Fusion Wow’, adorns the skirting, architraves and shower tray.
Bathed in this warm colour palette, this is a Bathroom that celebrates the spirit of summer. Listen carefully and you might hear the crickets and the distant sound of a Riva cruising across the bay.
New York-based designer Young Huh is embracing her Korean heritage here, incorporating her interpretation of minhwa (a form of Korean folk art) within the room. In terms of the presentation, however, the reference is more unexpected: the designer has been inspired by the miniature paintings depicting the lives of Mughal rulers that adorn the opulent Millions Room at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace.
What hangs these references together is colour: the room sponsor is premium paint brand Benjamin Moore, and the Salon’s lacquered walls are inset with 55 boxes painted in a joyful range of contrasting Advanced High Gloss colours, from zesty ‘Citron’ to jewel-like ‘Jade Garden’. Nestled invitingly into the corner is a smile-raising multicoloured banquette, made by Robert Langford in ‘Rivoli’ fabric by Manuel Canovas.
As WOW!house’s wider paint partner, you can also see how Benjamin Moore’s colour transforms the other rooms in the house.
While other designers might transport you to another place with a feeling or an atmosphere, Studio Mark Andrew is much more explicit in its Powder Room for THG Paris. A media wall provides a cinematic backdrop that takes you from the skyscrapers of New York to the rooftops of Paris, a changing backdrop that taps into WOW!house’s ability to enter the realm of fantasy.
The studio’s creative director and founder, Mark Partner, has worked with THG Paris to create the ‘La Fontaine’ tap for the room, showcasing the French brand’s bespoke capabilities and craftsmanship. “We set out to create something innovative and eye-catching, beginning with a fountain-like spout,” says Partner. “From there, we explored texture and illumination, developing a fluted detail that offers a tactile quality while subtly diffusing light.”
The Powder Room also showcases exceptional materiality – from the timber veneer panelling with inlaid marble to THG Paris’ bronze basin and flower-like glass lights by San Souci. An elegantly curved sofa provides a spot from which to take it all in.
From a tech-filled Immersive Room to experience light, sound and vision, to a cocooning Parlour – these rooms were made to bring people together
Martin Kemp Design is a studio known for creating spaces that unfold in layers, where refined detailing and subtle flights of fancy reveal themselves over time. That skill is given full rein in the Parlour, resulting in a room “designed to entice before it reveals,” says Kemp. “Circular in plan and layered in form, its comforts are discovered slowly.”
Intrigue is the narrative here: cascading drapery and curved architecture create depth and movement, with lighting that is “soft and deliberate, allowing shadow to carry equal weight to light,” continues Kemp. The cocooning architecture (a theme that you’ll see in other WOW!house rooms, too) is of course perfect for conversation, with a pair of curving ‘LaBrea’ sofas (from Kemp’s new furniture brand) inviting comfortable group gatherings. The room features many other pieces created by the designer, alongside vintage finds and an exuberant silver wall light from Nick Jones. As Kemp eloquently puts it: “Luxury isn’t declared. It is felt.”
Ever heard of a HYRISS system? L-Acoustics’ Hyperreal Immersive Sound Space is bringing state-of-the-art technology to Nucleus’ room, designed by Russell Sage Studio. From Sony display screens to a Crestron system that unifies light, sound and image, prepare to be blown away not just by the AV, but the skilled way in which it has been integrated into the room.
Best-known for his high-end hospitality interiors, Russell Sage calls this room ‘The Momentarium’. For him, it’s “a new kind of environment in which sight, sound, touch and scent all manoeuvre around us to redefine our most meaningful moments.” The centrepiece is an almost-360-degree sofa (made by George Smith) where people can collectively experience those moments. There are low, curved wooden cabinets with integrated benches and a rice-straw rug by Sacco Carpet underfoot, while the room is draped in layers of transparent acoustic fabric that make you feel like you have completely stepped away from the noise of the outside world.
Interior designer, furniture maker and antique dealer Max Rollitt plays with past and present with the Schumacher Dining Room. The past is represented by the 18th-century-inspired architecture, the antiques and pieces from Rollitt’s own furniture collection. However, “we have tried to ornament it in a way that reflects today’s dining experience,” says the designer. “The interesting thing is that it has the depth and brightness of colour the room would have had at the time.”
Visitors step through a doorway draped with Schumacher’s ‘Atlas’ fabric, while the table is dressed in ‘Otti’, a textural silk mohair and wool fabric, and the walls wear a luxurious terracotta damask, ‘Gavotte Brocatelle’. Rollitt has complemented those hero fabrics with custom-made elements crafted by exceptional artisans, including a textured abaca rug by Patterson Flynn, and of course the dining table itself, a fit-for-a-party 12-seater adapted from an antique base by Max Rollitt Bespoke.
This richly layered space is at once intimate and theatrical. Its designer, Tiffany Duggan of Studio Duggan, envisioned as its inhabitant a woman of discernment and style, who uses it not just as a place to entertain, but to work and relax, too: Duggan thus set herself the challenge to make the room practical and multifunctional as well as beautiful.
The scheme takes its cue from fabrics by the room’s sponsor, Black Edition for Romo. Their depth and decadence set the tone, with walls wrapped in ‘Miri’, a lustrous, dark brown linen blend; luxurious ‘Myriis’ velvet is used to upholster the furniture. The colour scheme is rich and embracing, offset by the freshness of Jennifer Manners’ wall-to-wall green carpet with its lilac border. Duggan has made the room work hard with dual-purpose pieces, from the ottoman that can provide an additional place to sit to the kidney-shaped table that could equally serve as a desk or a place from which to sip cocktails.
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