How WOW!house showcases the best in contemporary interior design
We take a look at five standout rooms from among the 19 that have been put together for the annual interiors event in London, featuring some of the world’s foremost interior designers
Colefax and Fowler Morning Room by Lucy Hammond Giles. Among the Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler pieces is an early-19th-century drop-front mahogany secretaire topped with a 20th-century painted wooden birdcage and flanked by a pair of faux-bamboo elbow chairs, probably early 20th century, and two ‘Convex’ wall lanterns. In front of the secretaire is one of a pair of small Regency painted side chairs. The door curtain and tablecloth are ‘Kyoto’ fabric in marine by Larsen. The Delft vase on the secretaire is from Christopher Butterworth; the artworks, by Breon O’Casey, Stephen Bone and (partially visible) Barbara Hepworth, are from Jenna Burlingham. Photo: James McDonald
Now in its third year, WOW!house is an annual interiors showcase held at London’s Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, which spotlights some of the most exciting designers working today.
For the 2024 edition, 19 rooms and outdoor spaces covering more than 500 square metres have been conjured up by a mix of leading names and rising stars — such as Ken Fulk, Alidad and Tolù Adèkó — each paying attention to every detail, from soft furnishings to scents.
‘Our goal is to amaze and inspire by showing the world what extraordinary achievements can result when our talented industry comes together in such an ambitious and exceptional way,’ says Claire German, CEO of the Design Centre.
Below are five standout rooms from this year’s WOW!house, which runs until 4 July 2024.
Schumacher Courtyard Bedroom by Veere Grenney Associates
‘I love a beautiful “one” room — somewhere to write, somewhere to sit. An open fire is my idea of heaven,’ says interior design doyen Veere Grenney. ‘All that’s missing is a dog.’
Grenney’s room is a homage to the late American designer Billy Baldwin, who famously applied his clean-cut, hard-edged and pared-down aesthetic to John F. Kennedy’s White House. Grenney has also used it to launch his latest collection of fabric designs for Schumacher, suppliers of exquisite materials to clients including Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Elsa Schiaparelli since 1889.
Schumacher Courtyard Bedroom by Veere Grenney Associates. Fabrics by Veere Grenney for Schumacher include ‘Suffolk Damask’ in chocolate brown on the four-poster bed and ‘Woodman Check’ in Berber brown on the walls, curtains and draped table. Flanking the four-poster bed are two ‘Paris’ tables in brass and Perspex; the ‘Patricia With Lions’ lamps are from Christopher Spitzmiller. The artwork on the right wall is by William Scott, and the ‘Versailles’ parquet floor panels are from Hitt Oak. Photo: James McDonald
With a refined sense of restraint, the walls have been covered in a subtle ‘Woodman Check’ window-pane pattern, while a four-poster bed — the only type acceptable, says the designer — has pelmets and swags in a brown printed ‘Suffolk Damask’. Personal touches include framed photos and a glass vase of peonies on the night stand, and selection of coffee-table books laid out here and there.
Grenney adds, ‘When I’ve spoken to people who have been through WOW!house, they’ve said, “We’ve come into your room, Veere, and we know it’s your room, because it’s clean, it’s contemporary, it’s ordered, it’s precise, but it’s still incredibly comfortable and inviting.”’
Zoffany Entrance Hall by Benedict Foley
Taking cues from Luchino Visconti’s 1963 movie epic Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), the erudite designer Benedict Foley has created a room that marries Italian bravado with English charm.
‘If you’ve ever wanted to imagine taking a spin around a Sicilian palazzo with Alain Delon or Claudia Cardinale on your dance card, the time is now,’ says the designer.
Zoffany Entrance Hall by Benedict Foley. Zoffany fabrics include ‘Long Gallery’ in quartz grey and rose on the draped wall and far banquette, and ‘Wool Satin’ in tiger’s eye and Venetian red on the near banquette and the stools. On the plinths is Zoffany ‘French Marble’ wallcovering. The antique Chinese export lacquer box is from Daniel Slowik, and the two ceramic shell urns are from A. Prin antiques. Photo: James McDonald
Fabrics and wall coverings are by Zoffany, a manufacturer that prides itself on historical research and the preservation of craft. For WOW!house, it has supplied swathes of louche silks in ruby and caramel, as well as ‘Wool Satin’ and ‘Long Gallery’ brocades featuring designs discovered at Temple Newsam, a Tudor estate in West Yorkshire. Underfoot is an earth-toned, checkerboard carpet made from British wool, handcrafted by one of England’s last surviving highly skilled weavers.
‘This room places Zoffany’s product front and centre, highlighting its contributions to UK manufacturing, while celebrating the craftsmanship of the fabric mills,’ says Foley. ‘My work draws inspiration from various visual references, weaving them together with a touch a humour.’ The result is a riotous mix of pattern, colour and texture.
Colefax and Fowler Morning Room by Lucy Hammond Giles
Voted ‘Interior Designer of the Year’ by House & Garden in 2023, Lucy Hammond Giles is an associate director of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler — the oldest interior decorating business in Britain and a pillar of classic English country-house style for nearly 100 years.
Giles has created a cosy morning room adorned with blue-and-white ceramics and ivory scalloped lanterns that contrast with walls in mustard-yellow Larsen linen. A pair of matching linen curtains are finished with Colefax and Fowler’s signature block-printed ‘Gothic Stripe’ silk in a bespoke chocolate colourway, which has been hand-cut and stitched along the edges.
Colefax and Fowler Morning Room by Lucy Hammond Giles. The bespoke chaise longue, by Kingcome, is covered in Colefax and Fowler ‘Honeysuckle’ fabric in yellow and orange. Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler pieces include a mid-19th-century bobbin armchair, a ‘Billy Baldwin’ standard lamp, an early-to-mid-20th-century octagonal side table, a Regency-style waterfall bookcase, a 20th-century round convex giltwood mirror and a ‘Northampton’ rug. Colefax and Fowler ‘Sound’ fabric in saffron by Larsen is used in the curtains and wall covering. The brass fireplace is by Gibilaro. The polychrome Delftware vases above are from Christopher Butterworth, and the assorted handmade white ones from Max Rollitt. Artworks are from Jenna Burlingham and Anthony Outred. Photo: James McDonald
‘The preserve of grand English houses, my morning room is a practical daytime room, less formal than a drawing room — somewhere I’d want to sit on a Saturday with a cup of coffee and a newspaper,’ explains the designer.
Giles also mined Colefax and Fowler’s archive for sofa designs, settling on an elegantly curved model originally made for an apartment belonging to the company’s former designer Tom Parr and his partner, the Italian jeweller Fulco di Verdura. ‘The thing that I really wanted was to have something that was big enough to sleep on,’ she explains. Recreated in a cream-coloured fabric, it’s been given a modern twist with orange ribbon trim. ‘The perfect refuge… elegant, warm and comfortable,’ says Giles.
Jamb London Primary Bedroom by Charlotte Freemantle and Will Fisher
Jamb, one of the UK’s leading purveyors of antique and reproduction 18th- and 19th-century furniture, lighting and fireplaces, started life more than 20 years ago as a stall in south London. Fast-forward to 2024 and its founders, Will Fisher and Charlotte Freemantle, have grown it into a thriving business with a flagship store on the capital’s design high street, Pimlico Road, as well as several showrooms across the USA.
For WOW!house, Fisher and Fremantle have created a sumptuous bedroom wrapped in blushing pink silk. The focal point is a Chippendale-style four-poster bed, upholstered in antique paisley shawls. It’s flanked by lozenge-shaped mirrors and a pair of mahogany pot cupboards recreated from a design by the celebrated 18th-century cabinetmaker Gillows of Lancaster.
Jamb London Primary Bedroom by Charlotte Fremantle and Will Fisher. The ‘Palmira’ four-poster bed, ‘Algernon’ chimneypiece and ‘Batsford’ dish light are from Jamb. The Art Deco window seat in calamander wood, the pair of 19th-century Japanese rice paper screens depicting hunting hawks, the painting of a sleeping lion by Newbold Hough Trotter and the late-19th-century Ziegler carpet are from Hawker Trading/Jamb. Photo: James McDonald
The room also includes a reproduction Georgian armchair with faux bamboo legs that finish in brass castors, and an original 18th-century Anglo-Chinese coromandel cabinet, which is decorated with figurative scenes that highlight England’s historical fascination with the Far East.
To complete Jamb’s Romantic vision, the duo have hung a late-19th-century painting of a resting lion by the American artist Newbold Hough Trotter above one of their signature chimneypieces carved from Grigio Carnico, a richly grained marble of pumice black and dove grey.
Sitting Room by Sophie Ashby for United in Design
Ranked one of the ‘Top 100’ interior designers by House & Garden, Sophie Ashby, along with fellow designer Alexandria Dauley, co-founded the charity United in Design in 2020. Its mission is to help people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds to gain recognition in their industry. It’s this year’s WOW!house charity partner, and a portion of ticket sales will fund a range of inclusivity initiatives that will continue throughout 2025 at the Design Centre.
Sitting Room by Sophie Ashby for United in Design. The record-player console on the left is by Smith and Brown. On shelves in the left and right corners are two glass vessels, ‘Axle’ and ‘Biome’, by Jahday Ford. The ‘Rhino’ chair is from Sister by Studio Ashby, as is the ‘Sculpted Arc’ sofa. The ‘Quoise’ chair, in Congolese sapele with Mahwi sheepskin upholstery, is by Don Heston Studio. The ‘Jade’ coffee tables, by Draga & Aurel, are from Artemest. On the back wall is Rejina Pyo, Untitled, and on the right is Nicky Lodge, Leg Glance (2023), from Francis Gallery. The fireplace sculpture is by Victoria Stone. Bespoke cushion fabrics are by Dalia James, and the ‘Amoir Libre Wall’ fabric on the walls is from Dedar. The ‘Priya’ rug is by Priya Ahluwalia x Shame Studios. Photo: James McDonald
Ashby’s mission was the starting point for her eclectic room. ‘We wanted to work with people who would inspire the aspiring designers we seek to offer opportunities to,’ she explains. It features furniture, fabrics and art by Black, Asian and ethnically diverse talent, including designer B.C. Joshua, photographer Sridhar Balasubramaniyam and textile artist Dalia James.
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Among the highlights are images shot by Lily Bertrand-Webb, a deaf Dominican-English photographer. On a coffee table is a copy of Ashby’s first book, Studio Ashby: Home Art Soul, published by Rizzoli in March 2024, which documents a decade of the tastemaker’s work.
WOW!house runs until 4 July 2024 at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London