WOW!house 2024

The Designer Showhouse at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour

From 4th June until 4th July 2024 Design Centre Chelsea Harbour plays host to the designer showhouse that is WOW!house. Now in its third year WOW!house has become a major event on the international interior design calendar bringing together A-list designers from all over the world to create an immersive design experience of nineteen rooms and outside spaces.

Look & Feel

Earthy colours and luxurious eclecticism

The interior designers were given free reign to create their rooms so each one has its own individual style but, with a couple of exceptions, the overall look and feel of the WOW!house was warm, rich and eclectic. Natural wood and stone, fabric clad walls and interesting ceilings were popular and terracotta, blues and greens popular colours.

Yellow sofa behind a turquoise vase on a mabled plinth — Mustard sofa and turquoise vase in the Entrance Hall by Benedict Foley

Doorway with teracotta walls and marble plinth — Looking through from the Home Bar to the Dining Space

Materials

Luxurious silk, velvet and natural stone

Probably my favourite room was the Sitting Room by Sophie Ashby for United in Design -(WOW!house 2024’s charity partner) The room has a luxurious yet relaxed feel with fabric clad walls – moiré silk which also cropped up in the Bedroom Suite by Tolu Adeko – a huge squishy curved sofa and a deep pile contemporary design rug. I particularly liked the suede chess table – a simple design with elegant detailing.

Green velvet curved sofa against plum coloured silk clad walls — Moiré silk clad walls in the Sitting Room

Navy silk walls with a bed in front of a brown curved headboard — Navy moiré silk walls in the Bedroom Suite

Suede was another material that cropped up a couple of times, also featuring in the Home Bar by Oza Design. This was a very modern, sophisticated scheme featuring warm, reddish brown clay walls, marble surface and bronze details.

Cocktail glasses on a tortoise shell tray against a marble background — Suede and marble in the Home Bar

Tan suede chess table with chess pieces — Suede chess table in the Sitting Room

Lighting

Creating atmosphere and drama with a clever use of light

Throughout the WOW!house lighting was used to great effect. Lighting schemes were well considered and ranged from light and airy to dark and moody. Ambience was created with low level table lamps and accent lighting concealed within joinery. Features such as furniture and artworks were highlighted with carefully positioned spotlights. In the Home Bar a stunning feature was created by shining a light on a line of wall mounted wine bottles.

Wine bottles casting shadows on a terracotta wall — Illuminated wine bottle feature

Large abstract painting behind a sofa — Low level lighting creating intimacy in the Drawing Room

History & Heritage

Antique and vintage furniture and handcrafted materials

Many of the spaces at this year’ WOW!house had an eclectic feel mixing the old with the new and celebrating historical designs. The Legend Room by world renowned interior designer Alidad was a perfect example of this layering patterns and textures with antique and heritage prints from the Watts 1874 collection.

Likewise the Rug Company Dining Room by Ken Fulk is a maximalist dream with highly decorated surface and histoical artefacts sitting alongside a contemporary chandelier made from recycled bottles (which I’m pretty sure I saw at the 2022 WOW!house) The beautiful blue and white rug is inspired by the storytelling traditions in Delft and Azulejo tilework dating back to the 14th century.

Decorated ceilings (the fifth wall) were another common theme.

Eclectic room full of antiques and art — An eclectic mix in the Legend Room

Opulent dining room with table laid — Linda Fahey ceramics adorn the table in the Dining Room

Attention to detail

Finishing touches for a luxury experience

Luxury interiors are defined by attention to detail, elevating the space from well designed to exceptional. Every room at WOW!house featured beautiful details such as decorative trims, bespoke furniture hardware and complimentary accessories. One stand-out detail was the floor in the Bedroom Suite which is inlaid with marble and brass. The intricate ‘tennis ball’ macarons in the Courtyard by Catherine Pooley looked picture perfect (as well as tasting delicious!)

Yellow macarons on a silver stand — Yellow tennis ball macarons

Black wood floor inlaid with white marble and brass

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