Wow!house 2024
WOW!house Master bathroom
Design by Michaelis Boyd interior design
Wow!house, hosted at the Design centre at Chelsea Harbour, London, is a purpose built, fantasy property consisting of 19 rooms. Each of the rooms is given to an international interior designer alongside a brand sponsor. The designer is unburdened by the constraints of a set brief and, it would appear, a budget! It’s very interesting to see what is conjured up when the designers let their imaginations run wild and have the opportunity to design their dream rooms. I see this event is akin to the catwalk for the Fashion industry! So what were the big ‘take-aways’ from my visit:
1. Wall to wall fabric.
Many of the designers had chosen to adorn their walls with fabric- some opting to ‘paper’ the walls with fabric as opposed to wallpaper, adding texture, pattern and a really cosy feeling to their rooms. Other designers, including Benedict Foley, who designed the entrance hall, went a step further with wall drapes to the walls- creating a cocooning room of plush and indulgent opulence. This wouldn’t, I’ll admit, transfer easily into most homes, (or indeed fit with most budgets!) However, a wall with a large window or French doors could be wall to wall, ceiling to floor, curtained instead of just having curtains hanging to either side of the windows to bring much more impact. And if ‘papering’ with fabric instead of doing a whole room a single wall, door or an alcove could be given a fabric layer quite easily as a cost-effective way to add a little something different!
2. Ceilings and floors were centre stage.
Many of the designers opted to make their flooring choices and the ceilings one of their focal points of the design. Patterned carpets, intricate parquets and luxurious rugs were repeated throughout the rooms and ceilings were treated to bold washes of colour, patterned wallpaper or fabric and trimmed with panelling.
3 Trims, Trims and more trims.
Trims were used across everything from lampshades to cocktail chairs. Curtain pelmets were decked up with huge trims that covered the entire pelmets. Tassels & beads adorned upholstery; Cushions & lampshades sported frills; picture rails were finished with scalloped edges- there were details abound! Some of these could easily be added as an instantaneous update to an existing room to give a nod to your new favourite colour or a ‘pop’ of something fun!
4. Kitchens and Bathrooms
The kitchen and bathroom (By Martin Moore and Michaelis Boyd) were stand out spaces for me. Both were dream like rooms that perfectly married function and fantasy. The kitchen, with it’s oak cabinetry with only a pale washed finish meant that the top quality craftmanship was fully on show. Natural materials and curved lines were featured in both spaces and a timeless elegance meant that both rooms would, in my opinion, stand up to the passing of time without showing their age. As with the WOW!house’s fashion equivalent, the catwalk, I feel that the designs that are most inspirational are those that you find a perfect blend of something new and exciting but that, at the same time, have an elegance and ease that could be translated into replicable details. Yes to calming , nature inspired colour palettes, letting natural materials be centre stage in the design and having artwork and favourite objects in all rooms of your home. Take a look at the photo’s from the trip on my Instagram page to see the beautiful spaces for yourself.