A feast of ideas

More than 20 rooms and outdoor spaces by leading interior designers will offer depth and breadth of inspiration, with an emphasis on bespoke craftsmanship, at WOW!house, the summer's major interiors event, finds Amelia Thorpe

- Amelia Thorpe

Sims Hilditch courtyard room Emma Sims-Hilditch

THE courtyard room has been conceived as a modern mud room and country-house entrance, practical yet brimming with character,' says interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch, founder and creative director of Sims Hilditch (020-3701 9578; www.simshilditch.com). Two smaller rooms—a boot room and dog-washing station—branch off from the main entrance hall, separated by glazed screens reminiscent of traditional ‘below stairs’ rooms in English country houses. ‘We have affectionately named it the Bow-WOW!house room, in tribute to the dog-washing station,’ she adds.

Inspired by her own home and the Sims Hilditch design studio in the Cotswolds, the courtyard room focuses on timeless functionality and charm. ‘We have blended traditional and contemporary elements throughout,’ she explains. Fitted joinery is painted in uplifting shades of green and yellow, alongside an antique dresser, marble fireplace from Jamb (020-7730 2122; www. jamb.co.uk) and rustic oak flooring. The dog-washing station is clad in bespoke hand-painted Delft tiles, designed by Sims Hilditch in collaboration with Marlborough Tiles (01672 512422; www.marlboroughtiles.com).

A bespoke woven rug by emerging British design studio Pelican House (www.pelican-house.com) and a hand-printed wallpaper by Marthe Armitage (www.marthearmitage. co.uk) add more layers of interest. ‘They bring softness to the space and celebrate the materials and motifs found in the country-side,’ Mrs Sims-Hilditch notes. ‘The room is a fresh, joyful take on the English country house, where the boot room is often the engine of the home. Indeed, it can make or break how the house functions.’

The Adam Architecture façade Darren Price