Hotel Designs

Distinct golden threads weave through WOW!house 2026, as designers explore ideas that reflect and shift through time: past, present, future. Refracting the past through a new lens, WOW!house 2026 designers maintain a reverence for craft and collaboration with expert artisans and specialists, while embracing media as a form of expression, and technology as both experience and function. With a heightened focus on technology, many designers have deployed lighting systems, audio systems, smart screens…and not just in the Immersive Room.

Fluidity is another of these threads –  look for more curved walls and round spaces as a counterpoint to rooms grounded with classical proportions and straight lines. Interior architecture that contributes to a sense of movement – and potential for change.

Cocooning, with layers of fabric all around, materials chosen to support comfort and a sense of safe haven – and walls designed to embrace. Spaces that reveal themselves slowly offer up surprises – look for hidden doors, special alcoves, little niches, rooms within rooms. Culture, celebrating creativity in a wider societal context, refining ideas and reflecting currents in art, collecting and interiors with refinement, honouring historical precedents and embracing how they move forward.

All these threads and elements come togehter in a collaborative vision of what is WOWing this year!

Arriving in style
Building on last year’s striking sense of welcome, there is a new collaborative vision for arrival, with a designer, an architect and landscape architects working together to create a dialogue between the Entrance Garden, main Facade, and this year’s most exciting addition – the Garden Folly. This charming new feature comprises a facade that Darren Price of Adam Architecture designed to complement his grand WOW!house frontage and a jewel box interior, the Garden Folly Room by Studio Enass.

Garden Folly Facade by Darren Price of Adam Architecture for Hector Finch | Image credit: James McDonald

Atmosphere before architecture. Built to enchant, the Garden Folly offers a new element of surprise in the landscape of WOW!house 2026. In what Price calls a ‘moment of permission,’ it allows him free rein to play with rules of classical architecture, nodding to the fun formality of the 18th-century. Central to the build is the collaboration with lighting designer Hector Finch whose new verdigris finish makes its global debut.

Garden Folly Room by Studio Enass
A precious jewel box, layered with velvet seating, intricate coquillage, a decorative mirrored ceiling and vivid, patterned tiles. Blending her own heritage with Mannerist and Rococo notes, founder Enass Mahmoud brings softness and sensuality to an opulent oasis, part tropical idyll, part North African hotel. Based in London and Dubai, her practice honours individuality, culture and craftsmanship.

Artorius Faber Entrance Garden by The Gardenists
Hay Hwang translates English landscape tradition into something deeply liveable. “The arched loggias, the lion mask fountain, the rhythm of the columns – every element has grammar and precedent,” she says. “It’s classicism, but worn lightly.” British stone by Artorius Faber provides an authentic foundation for the simple, powerful planting and naturalistic luxury that characterise The Gardenists’ style, inspired here by Georgian walled gardens and Capability Brown.

Size Group Facade by Darren Price of Adam Architecture
Scene: London, with the social season in full swing. The city hums with carriage wheels and conversation. Crossing the square, you come to a familiar house, which Darren Price has reimagined with a deft hand and discerning eye, and built with expert craftsmanship by Size Group. He salutes the architects who shaped Georgian London – Sir John Soane, Nicholas Hawksmoor, George Dance the Younger and John Nash – but iterates without imitating. This year, Price thoughtfully reworks elements from his 2025 WOW!house design, and reveals newly built architectural gestures, including a sheltered loggia, with elevated platforms to introduce depth, rhythm and a heightened sense of arrival.

Entrance Hall by Francis Sultana
A refined homage to the great British entrance hall heralds artistry, authority and excellence. Merging English design and Continental flair, Francis Sultana reinvents precedent in collaboration with artisans and craft-based brands. But this is no historical throwback. Filled with contemporary art and collectable design, exquisite elements delight and surprise at every turn. That process is his lifeblood as a designer and as Artistic Director and CEO of David Gill Gallery. An Ambassador of Culture for Malta, Sultana’s influence is far-reaching, with advisory roles at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Serpentine Gallery, the Design Museum, London, PAD London and as a member of the Royal Academy International Circle.

Turnell & Gigon Group Drawing Room by Albion Nord | Image credit: James McDonald

Turnell & Gigon Group Drawing Room by Albion Nord
After a rollicking dinner, no one wants the evening to end. Guests retreat to this octagonal drawing room where formality and invitation go hand in glove. While the architecture skews Georgian, layered with hand-blocked Filling Spaces walling fabric and bespoke trimmings made by Les Passementeries de l’Ile de France, both from Turnell & Gigon Group, and Tim Page rugs, together with soulful antiques, this room feels like a home for bright young things who believe in craftmanship, artistry and the idea that “there is no beauty without character.” As a studio with a penchant for breathing new life into period homes – and the Britannic Explorer train cars – Albion Nord creates “places that demand not only to be admired but to be engaged with, enjoyed. Lived in.”

Shepel’ Library by Roisin Lafferty | Image credit: James McDonald

Shepel’ Library by Róisín Lafferty
“Libraries represent something profoundly resonant to me. They are places of introspection, imagination and cultural memory,” Lafferty commented. “They hold stillness, but also possibility.” She conjures a world where tempo softens, everything outside fades and discovery takes over. With hidden alcoves and concealed doors (exquisite joinery is the work of Shepel’), the space has an uninterrupted flow shaped by discipline and restraint, hallmarks of this Irish designer’s practice. Reimagining Art Deco’s architectural grandeur and precise craftsmanship, she creates a seamless cocoon with sweeping curves of bespoke joinery, a dark and moody palette, intricate marquetry and high-gloss lacquer. A tucked-away sensory installation allows guests to enter her creative psyche.

Lalique Home Bar by Elicyon | Image credit: James McDonald

Lalique Home Bar by Elicyon
Seductive. Shimmering. Just 20 square metres, the Home Bar offers a journey for the curious, celebrating Lalique’s unmistakable artistic identity and its century-long mastery of crystal. Here, the material is fundamental, not just ornament – integral in lighting, objects, furniture and architectural panels. The result is serene yet spirited, a cabinet of curiosities that balances ethereal drama and playful touches: backlit alcoves, hidden compartments, mirrored planes and unexpected niches. Elicyon’s founder Charu Gandhi’s international upbringing, formal architectural training and enquiring intellect all inform her considered approach to this intimate space for extraordinary entertaining – complete with champagne fridge and a hint of goddess worship.

Benjamin Moore Minhwa Salon by Young Huh | Image credit: James McDonald

Benjamin Moore Minhwa Salon by Young Huh
Unapologetic maximalism celebrating Korean folk art and personal heritage – that’s how this New York-based designer creates a vivid, modern interior, as vibrant in narrative as it is in hue. Inspired by the Millions Room at Schönbrunn Palace with its Indian miniature paintings set inside baroque panelling, Huh insets lacquered walls with minhwa panels, hand-painted by Fromental using an array of Benjamin Moore paints. The result is immersive and joyful – an imaginative room where craft and cultural memory unfold in harmony.

Phillip Jeffries Morning Room by Sara Cosgrove
A quiet, analogue sanctuary, this morning room resists the velocity of modern life, a fantasy really! Informed by nostalgia for slower rituals – reading print magazines, long conversations, uninterrupted time and drawing boards, it is enveloped in Phillip Jeffries’ ethereal ‘Aura’ wallpaper, whose textures evoke the lightness of a couture gown with layers of the finest silk, floating on air. With a background as Head of Interior Design at Harrods, it’s no surprise Cosgrove draws on fashion to inform her aesthetic. Here, celadon, cream and lavender tones create a diaphanous sense of calm. This is a contemplative space shaped by poetry, clarity and quiet confidence, expressing this Dublin-based designer’s mantra: Design that elevates.

Salvesen Graham The Collection Primary Bedroom by Salvesen Graham
We’re here for the frill of it. Dusty pink, rhubarb and roses. Block print and flamestitch. A soaring four-poster bed and an elegant Regency fireplace. Channelling the spirit of a historic American home – loved and lived in by Brits, this transatlantic dreamscape offers a poised dialogue between architecture and decoration. Coffered ceilings, cornicing and panelled walls provide gravitas, softened with fabrics from Salvesen Graham’s latest collection. A literary spirit unfolds through books, antiques and firelit corners, creating a mindful retreat – a restorative vision of modern life.

Samuel Heath Primary Bathroom by Rigby & Rigby | Image credit: James McDonald

Samuel Heath Primary Bathroom by Rigby & Rigby
Shaped by Scandinavian and Japanese bathing rituals, this timeless space for wellness balances authentic materials and technological innovation. Refined aesthetics set a meditative tone, centred on a sculptural ofuru bathtub. In contrast, immersive digital landscapes evolve on large-scale screens, ‘transporting’ guests anywhere in the world. Layered Japanese textiles harmonise with bespoke artwork and Samuel Heath’s exceptional fittings that testify to British craftsmanship. The result is elegant, sensory and captivating. The bathroom’s rich combinations present a starting point for a wider product range, launching a collaboration between Rigby & Rigby and Samuel Heath.

Munder Skiles Courtyard by Richard Miers
Aged walls with gentle patina frame a serene, enduring retreat – an outdoor room where classical structure meets contemporary craftsmanship. Bespoke pieces from Munder Skiles gather around a central fountain, with cream limestone underfoot and layered plantings that complete the composition. Generous enough to hold mature trees, sculptural willow planters add rhythm and texture. Here, nature and design find balance. The result is a contemplative space for gathering and reflection, where people feel connected to each other and the natural environment.

Black Edition at Romo Speakeasy Salon by Studio Duggan
Draw back the curtains. Step inside. It’s like living nestled in a box of chocolates. At once intimate, theatrical and decadent, this is a salon for a modern-day torch singer – a stylish woman building an empire all her own. The room takes its cues from Black Edition fabrics. Walls wrapped in lustrous, dark brown linen have the sheen of softened lacquer. A bespoke plaster frieze anchors the tented ceiling. Generous curtains, loosely pinned back, heighten the sense of enclosure. The hidden bar is playfully concealed within ‘Imani’ wallcovering. Wall-to-wall carpet grounds the room with freshness and flourish. “Visitors will encounter moments of delight and intrigue, reinforcing the room’s central narrative: a meeting of tradition and contemporary expression,” Duggan explains.

The Parlour by Martin Kemp Design
When Grace Jones is the muse, expect the unexpected. Is it a Bond girl’s private domain? “Over the years, we have focused quietly on designing and building a strong client roster and body of work, much of which remains private,” Kemp said. “There is a natural sense of intrigue around what we do, and this room seeks to express that spirit.” Circular in plan, the Parlour encourages conversation and the free exchange of ideas in a discreet hideaway. Ethereal and voluminous drapery creates depth and movement, controlling sightlines and the flow of experience. The atmosphere of enveloping comfort is charged with an awareness that the room is like a treasured moment, one off and never to be repeated.  In its inimitable fashion, the studio is launching a furniture collection in this space, each piece encountered slowly on its own terms.

Misia for Casamance Group Bedroom Suite by Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay
This room has all the alluring glamour and optimism of Art Deco, yet it’s hard to place in any one era, rich in inspiration from travel through different times and places. The heady mix of Casamance fabrics, geometric plasterwork, carved wood, verdigris detailing, wall-to-wall carpet and modernist furniture celebrates the centenary of the Paris expo that gave the movement its name. However, this former fashion stylist avoids pastiche, reinterpreting rather than just recreating the Deco style. She leans into the movement’s utopian aspect, its spirit of experimentation and internationalism with nods to Brazilian and Nigerian modernism, and a hint of Brutalist style. There is a real sense of expansion to the room. Escapism in its purest form – you could be anywhere, at any time.

Ca’ Pietra Bathroom by De Rosee Sa
Early summer light. The promise of warmth on sun-baked stone. Nostalgia soaking into your bones. Step into this Mediterranean idyll, the kind of bathroom you’d find in a perfectly aged hotel, firmly grounded with crafted architectural stonework from Ca’ Pietra, overlooking a garden, with the sea just beyond. You can almost hear the crickets, sense citrus in the air, perhaps catch the distant sound of a motorboat on the sea. Cinematic and slightly faded from time, the sun – and memory – it’s atmospheric and transportive, like so much of the work this London- and Lisbon-based husband-and-wife team bring to life, with an affinity for place, the past – and people.

Ca’ Pietra Bathroom by De Rosee Sa | Image credit: James McDonald

Zardi and Zardi Withdrawing Room by Sean Symington Design
Park Avenue meets English country manor. This is a room for a woman who lives with her best pieces every day. The champagne coupes may be slightly chipped, the seating gracefully worn, but this diva knows just who she is and what she wants, which is to be surrounded by friends and family, music, fun – and bubbles. Long evenings would unfold gently in Symington’s take on a Georgian withdrawing room, with a bespoke games table almost always at play. The scheme centres on Zardi & Zardi’s ‘Primavera’ print, based on an archival design at Sir John Soane’s Museum, and its striking tapestry ‘La Belle Vie – The Dance’. Antiques, traditional upholstery, decorative details and contemporary art balance formality, frivolity and plenty of flair!

Zardi and Zardi Withdrawing Room by Sean Symington Design | Image credit: James McDonaldAndrew

THG Paris Powder Room by Studio Mark Andrew | Image credit: James McDonald

THG Paris Powder Room by Studio Mark Andrew
New York by day, Paris by night. The world’s your oyster. Imagined for a globetrotting client who feels at home anywhere around the world, the sophisticated Powder Room is a world unto itself. “Bathrooms used to be where we unplugged – a zen space – now we’re designing technology quietly within bathrooms to make everyday rituals feel like five-star experience,” designer Mark Partner discussed. “We want everything to glow, warm, or respond to your mood and voice effortlessly.” Their starting point: a sculptural tap custom made by THG Paris, innovative, eye-catching and fit for WOW!house.

Nucleus Immersive Room by Russell Sage Studio | Image credit: James McDonald

Nucleus Immersive Room by Russell Sage Studio
Known for blending functionality and opulent, heritage-inspired aesthetics, this studio’s astounding range of work includes five-star hotels, exclusive members’ clubs, restaurants and private houses. Some favourites: Glenmorangie House, the Fife Arms – and now, Lilibet’s Mayfair. Here, Sage reimagines home entertainment in what he calls ‘the Momentarium’ which combines luxury hand-craftsmanship with state-of-the-art audio-visual and lighting technology. Sage’s goal: to make memories tangible through a nuanced exchange between design, engineering – and human emotion. Integrated from the outset, systems disappear visually but elevate the experience, with ceiling- and wall- mounted screens creating atmosphere. “What inspires me about Nucleus is their ability to translate complex technology into something elegant and intuitive,” he explained. Nucleus Founding Director Durgesh Sinh agrees: “The most powerful rooms are not driven by equipment; they are shaped by intention.”

Schumacher Dining Room by Max Rollitt
Specificity is key for this interior designer, furniture maker and antiques dealer who imagines a room from the 18th century “at late afternoon, with the low sun coming in through the windows and the candles lit ready for guests.” His aim: to infuse the reference-rich room with warmth and joy – and make it work for today. No wonder we’re angling for an invitation to that 12-seat table. Every detail is meticulous, which is why he’s tapping into Schumacher’s archive for a luxurious terracotta damask to cover the walls, a lush silk and wool tablecloth and weighty, textural curtains. And although he’s looking backward, don’t be fooled – Rollitt’s got technical tricks up his sleeve to achieve the “proper drama” he’s after, especially when it comes to lighting.

Martin Moore Kitchen with Samantha Bartlett
Rooted in the poetry of nature, the kitchen is conceived as a living environment that reflects the arc of a day. As the heart of the house, its atmosphere transitions and welcomes everyday rituals, supporting convivial evening gatherings, slow mornings and precious family time. Bartlett contemporises heritage references in a refined composition that brings together materials that will continue to patinate and evolve – tactile bronze handles, Martin Moore’s linear grained fumed oak cabinets and exquisitely veined stone to complement soft green walls. In a graceful embrace of time passing, this is designed to be a lovely place where memories are made.

Perennials and Sutherland Garden Terrace by Fettle Design | Image credit: James McDonald

Perennials and Sutherland Garden Terrace by Fettle Design
Inspired by Perennials’ latest collection, La Dolce Vita, Fettle Design embraces the joyful spirit of relaxed Mediterranean living, where colour, texture and craft come together in a celebration of outdoor revelry, peaceful moments and simple luxuries. Curved architectural niches create a gentle rhythm along the walls, framing moments of greenery and sculpture. Bold pattern, striking marbles and Sutherland’s outdoor furniture layer together to evoke the warmth of the seaside towns where life is for living. Lush, inviting and alive with colour, the garden terrace feels like stepping into a warm holiday afternoon. Rosé all day – and a swan dive into clear turquoise water.

WOW!house 2026 The Parlour by Martin Kemp Design Design | Main image credit: James McDonald