It’s been three years since WOW!house first opened its proverbial doors within London’s Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. In that short time, the showcase has become one of our most-anticipated events of the year, drawing big-name talent and emerging designers alike to create jaw-dropping rooms from scratch (quite literally—unlike traditional show houses, the WOW!house isn’t an actual house at all, but a series of interconnected rooms constructed anew each year within the Design Centre’s airy atrium). This year’s edition takes things to a whole new level, with a brand-new Georgian-style facade by Darren Price of Adam Architecture and verdant entrance courtyard by plantsman and garden designer Alexander Hoyle setting the tone for the 20 rooms and outdoor spaces beyond.
The show house's new facade, by Adam Architecture design director Darren Price, evokes a 19th-century London townhouse.
James McDonald
Alexander Hoyle collaborated with British stone company Artorius Faber to create the first-ever WOW!house courtyard garden.
Chris HorwoodWOW!house 2025 is open to the public through July 3 (you can find more information here). Can’t make it to London? We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite design ideas, from brilliant lighting tricks to smart storage solutions to bathroom inspiration that will have you ready to embark on your own WOW!house-worthy makeover.
Let Lighting Take Center Stage
Victoria Davar, founder of design studio and antiques dealer Maison Artefact, chose a Cox London chandelier and lion-leg table as the centerpieces for her grand entrance hall.
James McDonald“I was inspired by the idea of an artist finding a charming historical building and turning it into a place of optimism and creativity,” says Maison Artefact founder Victoria Davar, whose soaring entrance hall is an ode to craftsmanship. The focal point is a dramatic-yet-delicate Cox London oak leaf chandelier hanging from the 16-and-a-half-foot ceiling; Davar kept the wall behind it intentionally blank, allowing the fixture to take the spotlight as its own work of art by visually filling the empty space.
Elevate Hardworking Spaces
Emma Sims-Hilditch embraced a verdant palette, using Marthe Armitage's Blackberry wallpaper as the backdrop for a colorful Charles Edwards lantern and Titchmarsh & Goodwin draper's table.
James McDonald
Delft tiles (from Sims-Hilditch's own collaboration with Marlborough Tiles) and painted millwork (in Benjamin Moore's Buena Vista Gold) elevate the doggie den.
Chris HorwoodEmma Sims-Hilditch’s multipurpose Courtyard Room isn’t just a masterclass in English country charm—it also offers plenty of inspiration for making the most of oft-overlooked functional spaces. A pair of windowed nooks was carved out to create a dog room (complete with custom Delft tiles, shower, and feeding station) and boot room (featuring cabinets with hand-painted motifs by Tess Newall), while an antique cabinet in the main room was transformed into a potting station. A colorful paint palette and plenty of pattern (including Marthe Armitage botanical wallpaper, Zuni Stripe by Schumacher on the upholstered fireplace fender, and Schumacher’s Marquet Ticking Stripe on the curtains, dog bed, and fabric-covered hallway walls), make these hardworking spots feel as considered as any living or dining room.
Mix Old and New
Alessandra Branca wrapped the bedroom in Casa Branca's Srinagar fabric; the custom E. Braun & Co. bed linens feature a matching embroidered border.
James McDonaldFor her Wow!house bedroom, Alessandra Branca chose an iconic muse: the paisley-covered drawing room that Renzo Mongiardino designed for Lee Radziwill’s London home in the mid-1960s. Like Mongiardino’s oft-referenced masterpiece, Branca’s space is wrapped entirely in Ottoman-inspired fabric panels (specifically her own Srinagar for Casa Branca), as is the canopied bed, a nod to another ’60s design icon, David Hicks. What makes Branca’s interpretation feel fresh is the quiet palette and time-hopping mix of furnishings, ranging from a contemporary sculptural cast-bronze bench by Timothy Schreiber to a 17th-century Italian commode from Rose Uniacke.
Create a Room With a “View”
A custom wallpaper border based on the work of late 19th-century decorative artist Lewis Foreman Day surrounds Fromental's Kiku panels in Chad Dorsey's Arts and Crafts–inspired drawing room.
James McDonald
Daniel Slowik filled his trellis-wrapped Morning Room with antiques from several of the 70–plus dealers that participate in Treasure House Fair, the annual summer art fair at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London.
James McDonaldLacking in natural light? Take a cue from the WOW!house designers who installed mirrors to create the illusion of windows in their rooms. In the antiques-filled Morning Room, Daniel Slowik used mirrored door panels to play up the garden-room appeal of the Nuthall Temple trellis fabrics that cover the walls and furnishings. Chad Dorsey went a step further in his Arts and Crafts–inspired Drawing Room, decking his mirrored “windows” out with proper curtains to further trick the eye.
Think Beyond Basic Built-Ins
In the covetable kitchen, a collaboration between Ben Pentreath Studio and Lopen Joinery, traditional matching cabinets were eschewed in favor of a mix of colors and finishes; curved profiles and antique brass drawer pulls unify the scheme.
James McDonald“The ultimate unfitted kitchen” is how Ben Pentreath Studio designers Rupert Cunningham and Leo Kary describe their vision for the WOW!house kitchen. The team worked with cabinetmakers Lopen Joinery to create custom case goods—including an oak prep table, glazed storage cabinet, and an enormous dresser that holds the sink—that feel more like antiques collected from country house sculleries than newly installed built-ins. Even the fitted cabinets around the vintage Aga have furniture-like appeal, with curved profiles and 19th century–style drawer pulls.
Bathe in Beauty
Curves abound in 1508 London designer Alisa Connery's primary bath, from the circular House of Rohl shower to the organic shapes of the Anka Bespoke vanities and Mia Jung mirrors.
James McDonald
A faucet created by Laura Hammett for bath hardware manufacturer Samuel Heath kicked off the Art Deco theme of her glamorous marble- and mirror-filled bathroom.
James McDonaldReady to slip out of the all-white spa bathroom and into something a little (or a lot) more glamorous? Take a cue from designers Ailsa Connery and Laura Hammett, who embraced high-wattage schemes for their respective spaces. Connery, principal at design studio 1508 London, embraced curves, working with House of Rohl to create a showstopping shower flanked by sculptural vanity basins and Mia Jung “cloud” mirrors. In contrast, Hammett leaned into Art Deco geometry, with octagonal mirrors and a monumental Calacatta-clad vanity against églomisé-tiled walls trimmed in deep green marble.
WOW!house is open from June 3 – July 3, 2025. Get your tickets here!
