Walking through the doors of WOW!house at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour—on view from June 2 to July 3—feels like stepping into a richly layered world where every room tells a unique story. With 22 immersive spaces created by a global mix of celebrated designers and fresh new voices, this year’s showhouse offers a dazzling cross-section of the best in design today. ELLE Decor’s own A-List designer Alessandra Branca brings her signature innovative style and polish to a dreamlike Casa Branca bedroom, while Chad Dorsey’s soulful Fromental Drawing Room—an Arts & Crafts–inspired retreat—offers refined, tactile drama. Even US-based Benjamin Moore makes a bold appearance, with Peter Mikic designing a standout dining room bathed in the brand’s saturated ‘Broadway Lights’ yellow. Touring the showhouse in person and speaking with the designers behind each room was pure inspiration—and a reminder that great design always travels well.
Whether you’re planning a full redesign or just craving a small refresh, WOW!house is packed with ideas that translate beautifully to real life. From clever spatial planning to daring color combinations and luxurious-but-livable layering, the showhouse offers inspiration for rooms of every size and style. Read on for the smartest tips and tricks I took away, whether you’re decorating a city apartment, a country retreat, or anything in between.
1. Nature’s Drama
The double-height entry hall sets a theatrical tone, leaving showhouse guests to wonder: Have we just stepped into a glamorous country château, or something even more unexpected?
Step into the Entrance Hall and you’re immediately transported—this isn’t just a grand chateau, it’s a vision of what might happen if Cy Twombly or Jean Cocteau had stumbled upon a forgotten architectural gem and filled it with life, art, and imagination. That’s the story Victoria Davar, founder of London-based Maison Artefact, tells with her layered design. I was struck by the poetic transformation she orchestrated: The ceiling lifted to a dramatic five meters, a floating staircase by Excel Stairs leading to imagined rooms beyond, and an antique stone floor grounding the space in history. Davar’s collector’s eye shines—an 18th-century Norwegian table here, jewel-like Pierre Forsell candleholders there, all set against a backdrop of traditional joinery by Atkey & Co. But it’s the sculptural showstopper by Cox London—a spiraling ‘Oak Leaf’ chandelier—that steals the scene, a reminder to go big on the drama of an entry with a mother nature-inspired piece that will mesmerize your guests.
2. Paper Architecture
Dorsey, known for his signature blend of relaxed luxury, brings together American and British Arts and Crafts influences in a space that feels both storied and refreshingly modern.
Designed by Chad Dorsey in partnership with Fromental, the drawing room pulses with energy: piano notes drift through the air, a bespoke Strike fireplace flickers beneath twin chandeliers, and plush seating invites lingering conversation. Everything here is intentional: from Alexander Lamont’s golden-threaded ‘Kita’ lamp to Kyle Bunting’s custom leather chequerboard rug and the rhythm of Romo’s cinnamon chevron textiles. A handcrafted haven, cinematic in scope, yet intimate in feeling.
Fromental’s hand-painted ‘Kiku’ wallcovering wraps the room in stylized sunflowers and chrysanthemums, spilling with painterly elegance across not just the walls but the ceiling—and, in a bold and beautiful move, even across the door casings. It’s the kind of all-enveloping detail that turns architecture into atmosphere.
3. Dress Your Walls
Further inside, a Venetian reverie imagined by Tommaso Franchi of Tomèf Design, where the primary bedroom and adjacent sitting room (pictured here) become a masterclass in Italian craftsmanship. Inspired by the imagined life of a well-traveled collector, Franchi layers an unexpectedly modern mix of Fortuny’s storied textiles, Bonacina’s handwoven rattan, and Barovier&Toso’s luminous Murano glass into a room that feels both historic and wholly new. Draped fabric panels climb the walls, creating an enfilade of fabric. Even adjoining doors are luxuriously upholstered—part fantasy, part design sleight of hand—offering softness, warmth, and cinematic drama.
4. See-Through Storage
Greco-Gothic influences irreverently dot the unfitted kitchen by Ben Pentreath Studio and Lopen Joinery.
Ben Pentreath Studio’s richly imagined WOW!house unfitted kitchen is part Greco-Gothic fantasy, part my own personal downstairs dream. Designed by studio directors and associates Rupert Cunningham, Leo Kary, and Alice Montgomery, this space rewrites the rules of the English country house kitchen with bold color, eccentric detailing, and a reverence for craft. The delicate wooden storage shelving designed with Somerset-based Lopen Joinery is a particular stroke of genius where open shelf storage feels both practical and poetic. The architectural inspiration and wall color behind comes through to dramatic effect, a design idea certainly worth stealing.
5. Big Beds Are Back
A Branca-designed bedroom offers a masterclass in using fabric in unexpected ways—here, a Hicks-inspired canopy bed is reimagined with layered textiles to create a fresh, soft take on classic stripes.
If you know me, you know I delight in a good canopy bed and Alessandra Branca’s, wrapped entirely in Casa Branca’s richly patterned linens, does not disappoint. Branca has artfully crafted a space to dream, to work, to retreat. Inspired by the opulent fantasy of Mongiardino and the graphic precision of David Hicks, she unexpectedly layers classical references with sculptural pieces by Timothy Schreiber and Francis Sultana. ‘Paisley’ walls, striped drapery, pieced together to create a bespoke bed, anchor the room in softness, while antiques from Rose Uniacke and Hawker Antiques add gravitas. This is hospitality at its chicest.
6. Fully Upholstered, Fully Obsessed
This Media Room is a velvet-wrapped escape, with hidden Nucleus speakers and a custom built-in Julian Chichester sofa made for lounging with your favorite people.
Alex Dauley’s media room—designed with Nucleus—is a warm, cocoon-like escape. Draped in rich shades of amber and walnut, the space is fully upholstered—walls, ceiling, and even a fitted custom rug—creating an enveloping atmosphere of softness and calm, perfect for those binge-worthy television nights. Hidden smart sound and lighting technology by Nucleus adds seamless sophistication and ease, while handcrafted walnut and bronze shelving, oak beams, and sculptural lighting bring quiet drama. The room is filled with pieces by Black artisans, from Darren Appiagyei’s raw wood vessels to Danielle McKinney’s soulful giclée print.
7. The New Must-Have? A Dog Snug
A working, back-of-house space isn’t really complete without this season’s new, must-have home feature, a dog snug.
Emma Sims-Hilditch’s courtyard room proves that even the most functional spaces can steal the spotlight—especially when they’re designed with four-legged family members in mind. This refined-yet-whimsical boot room and dog snug offers a fresh twist on classic British country house style, complete with a marble sink for muddy veggies and an elegant dog shower for equally muddy paws. Thoughtfully layered with antiques, bespoke craft, and custom hand-painted Delft tiles by Marlborough Tiles, it’s both charming and clever. The idea of dedicating a space to canine comfort feels entirely modern—a little indulgent, yes, but irresistibly joyful.
8. Prints, Chintz, and Pillows, Please
The walls are dressed in hand screen-printed cotton poplin, with a pared down trompe-l’œil pattern that nods to 20th-century garden treillage.
Set against classical treillage prints and museum-worthy antiques, Daniel Slowik’s chartreuse morning room with Treasure House Fair is a masterclass in romantic restraint. One particular element that caught my eye straight away was the delightfully irreverent blousy, XL frilled cushions. These ruffled beauties, made from Nuthall Temple fabrics, a collection Slowick launched with his partner, designer Benedict Foley, offer a fresh contrast that feels both witty and wonderfully indulgent. In Slowik’s world, perhaps the boldest move in a room filled with unique antiques and art is simply adding a frill.
9. When In Doubt, Tent It Out
“This is a small space,” says the interior designer Nicola Harding, “and because you’re not spending lots of time here, you can be more dramatic.”
Nicola Harding‘s powder room created with Drummonds is a jewel box anchored by the most unexpected delight: a tented aubergine silk ceiling that turns the space into something more magical than a practical washroom. Wrapped in layers of patterned fabric, glossy tiles, and a medley of brass and mirrored finishes, it’s a sensory retreat with theatrical flair. Harding’s bespoke rug-covered cabinetry and playful furnishings bring charm, while Drummonds’ beautifully crafted fittings lend timeless English elegance. At its heart, this tented bath is proof that the smallest spaces can create the biggest drama of all.
11. Silk Upholstered Bookcases
“Our creative process begins with in-depth research to uncover the story of each space,” Clémence Pirajean and James Michael Lees explain. “We discovered we shared with Dedar a passion for music, particularly jazz, and that inspired our narrative.”
Sensory design has never sounded (or looked) so good—Pirajean Lees’ circular sanctuary where music, tactility, and mood coalesce was inspired by the stillness and sound of anticipation before a concert’s first note. The room is wrapped in Dedar’s lush fabrics, from wool satin curtains to wild silk and velvet mohair covering the custom designed bookcases and desk. Each case’s design is inspired by musical instrument trunks. Every detail, from the curving bespoke sofa to the custom Jennifer Manners rug to the sculptural “Record” chair, invites pause and deep listening.
12. Walls That Wow
Peter Mikic’s bold dining room with a glamorous, Seventies-inspired mood and high-gloss color and hand-painted details take center stage.
Peter Mikic’s dining room is a glowing, groove-infused celebration of color, where Benjamin Moore’s ‘Broadway Lights’ yellow sets the tone: bold, fresh, and utterly delicious. The room hums with energy—from the atomic chandelier above to the bespoke dining table below, created by British studio Kaizen and inlaid with semi-precious stones. Mikic’s painterly approach extends to every surface, including the hand-painted trompe l’oeil panels and Billy Metcalfe’s bold abstract mural, which electrifies the back wall in sweeping strokes of green, blue, and red. It’s a full-color feast you’ll never want to leave.
