Wowed at WOW!House

Corner of the Phillip Jeffries Morning Room at this years' WOW!house at The Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. 

Once again our industry is buzzing with talk about WOW!house at The Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, now in its fifth year.  Not just a showhouse or showcase, it is a place to get lost and to dream. Each room is executed perfectly, there are no rough edges to be seen which is quite remarkable since it all goes up in 5 days, although is a year in the planning. This is is not the stuff of glue and staple guns, but the work of leading designers, suppliers and makers. As well as the incredible detail, each room is perfumed with scent that evokes places you might have been to and scenes you might have witnessed, if only in your dreams. 

We visit not to copy but to be inspired. We store away ideas for the future which will evolve and be reinvented for a different context and in a way that is relevant to our clients. Often it's just a small detail that leads to a big idea. 

Here are just a few such details that caught my eye:  

A mid-century Parisian ironwork chair.

 Red lacquer is applied to a timber floor, set out in segments of a circle. 

A soft, feminine pallet of turquoise, lilac and jade makes for a very restful morning room. 

While elsewhere a simple paper lantern hangs below a decorative ceiling. 

I recommend a visit to WOW!House, which is on until 2nd July. Immerse yourself. Look up, look down, look everywhere. No surface is unadorned and nothing is bland or boring, even if it is not to your taste, you can't help but be impressed by the ambition and craftsmanship.