In celebration of our 150th anniversary, we collaborated with award winning interior designer, Alidad, to curate the most talked about room of WOW!house in 2024 - The Legend Room.
“Like Romeo and Juliet, Alidad & Watts 1874 are a devoted duo. ‘Whenever I have a new project I go to Watts first,’ says he.”
David Lipton, The World Of Interiors
Originally a fifteenth-century Flemish textile, it was redrawn by Watts 1874 founder, G.F. Bodley in 1889, and recoloured specifically for WOW!house 2024.
Originally a Portuguese lacquered leather screen found in the Great Hall at Eastnor Castle, the screen was digitally transcribed by Watts onto an entirely new substrate; cork.
Luxurious, luscious, lustrous, Dauphine shimmers in the light and invites you to delve into its soft 100% silk pile - perfect for upholstery.
True to its namesake, Constantinople is a luxurious fabric which bridges eastern influence and western design.
Originally painted on a robe in "The Presentation in the Temple" (1485) by Michael Pacher. Watts's co-founder G. F. Bodley adapted the elegant design, establishing the design as a Watts favourite.
"I took inspiration from Watts' heritage, picturing a room that one of MS’s ancestor’s might have lived in" - Alidad
For Alidad, every room begins with a client. It’s the heartbeat of the design process, where the story truly comes to life. As WOW!house itself offered no direct client, he turned to our own history for inspiration, choosing to design a space for George Gilbert Scott the Younger, affectionately known as ‘Middle Scott’, the son of the great Victorian architect and co-founder of Watts 1874.
Alidad imagined Middle Scott as a well-travelled gentleman, steeped in culture and intellect, who would have curated a central room in his home to house his books, models, and collected treasures to create a richly layered interior that felt not just designed, but deeply lived in.
In true Watts style, we couldn't simply use standard fabrics and wallpapers. Five months prior to the grand opening, near-daily meetings between Alidad and the Watts 1874 team began. Special pains were taken not only to select the historical designs we wished to revive, but also to carefully reimagine their colouring in harmony with the room’s atmosphere. One of the first decisions was to feature a design deeply rooted in our archive: Malvern. Originally a fifteenth-century Flemish textile, it was redrawn by G.F. Bodley in 1889 for Holy Trinity Church and remains one of our most treasured patterns.
“I decided to use this for the walling as I wanted a big design that had movement in it and to appear to be growing up to the ceiling. It was initially very monochrome, and then we added a bit of colour to it as it wouldn’t be an Alidad and Watts room without some colour,” explains Alidad.
From there, every detail became an exercise in collaborative refinement; from adjusting the scale of the motifs to selecting the precise tones that would bring the imagined world of ‘Middle Scott’ to life.
Likewise to Alidad, we are equally as particular when selecting the sources of inspiration for our Murals collection. In the spirit of only the best, we collaborated with the renowned tapestry museum, Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie, Aubusson, to bring a 17th-century work by Claude Vignon (1593–1670) out from their archive. A specialised colourway was developed exclusively to complement the scheme of the room. The design is part of a series illustrating the story of Ariane, drawn from the novel by Jean Desmaret de Saint-Sorlin - a tale rich in drama, romance, and classical grandeur.
“I have used Watts’ Ariane tapestry from their Murals collection as curtains,” Alidad notes. “And if I had used a huge 17th-century tapestry in the room, they could have gone very well together — that’s an enormous compliment!”
Arguably the highlight of the room was our recreation of the Trastámara screen, originally found in the Great Hall at Eastnor Castle. This remarkable piece, originally a Portuguese lacquered leather screen, was digitally transcribed by Watts onto an entirely new substrate: cork. Chosen not only for its sustainability, cork also offered a surface texture uncannily close to the original, allowing us to preserve the tactile depth and aged character that defines the screen’s historic charm.
We adapted both the scale and colour to suit the room’s palette, recreating four grand panels. These were mounted onto a bespoke wooden frame and fixed directly to the wall, transforming what was once a folding screen into a commanding centrepiece. The result was something closer to a mural or a sculptural artwork, its presence grounding the room in a sense of timeless drama.
You can't be a legend if the next generation isn't there to remember you. That’s why we committed to a noble mission: to create the world’s first zero carbon footprint sofa.
In collaboration with Philippeau Tappissier, every element of the sofa was crafted entirely by hand. Not a single manufactured nail was used, as Philippeau’s team employed only the most traditional techniques; from hand-carved wooden joints for the frame to sustainably sourced horsehair for the padding. No electrical machinery was involved at any stage of the process.
The piece was upholstered in our luxurious Dauphine silk pile velvet and finished with hand-made, hand-dyed passementerie. The result was not just a sofa, but a symbol. A vessel that embodies our commitment to innovation through heritage, and a statement of the path we hope future generations will continue to follow.
To further mark our 150th anniversary, we partnered with local decorative artists Croxford & Saunders, renowned for their mastery of 19th-century hand-painting techniques. Together, we set out to create a series of nine heraldic shields, each capturing a defining chapter in Watts 1874’s storied history. These shields were thoughtfully positioned throughout the WOW!house room, forming a visual narrative that anchored the space in the companies history.
The shield pictured is a faithful recreation of an original Watts design, once used on the hood of a cope, and first sketched in the immediate aftermath of World War II. At a time when much of the artistic output reflected the sombre mood of the nation, Watts chose a different path... introducing a bold, luminous emblem as a symbol of resilience and renewal. It was a moment that exemplified our spirit: honouring tradition while daring to defy expectation.
Alidad
Click and drag your mouse to look around the Legend Room in 3D
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