Material Matters: Inside the WOW!house 2026 Bathroom

Seven Ca' Pietra materials. One Mediterranean reverie. A closer look at the stone, tile and terracotta giving De Rosee Sa's bathroom its quiet drama and the workshop behind them.

For our first year as a named room sponsor, we have collaborated with London and Portugal-based architecture and interior design studio De Rosee Sa (below) on a bathroom shaped by natural stone and tile. The brief from Max de Rosée and Claire Sá was unhurried and atmospheric. A room overlooking the sea, where early summer light washes across warm stone floors and the boundaries between inside and outside begin to blur. Mediterranean seaside hotel, faded glamour, cinematic. Seven of our materials carry it.

The WOW!house bathroom by De Rosee Sa, with a red marble washstand and bath beneath glazed doors to the sea, over a Buscot Limestone Pietra Pazza floor — Credit: Milo Brown

Claire Sá and Max de Rosée of De Rosee Sa standing in their WOW!house bathroom, with the crazy-paved limestone floor underfoot

The Floor

The main bathroom floor is laid in Buscot Limestone, our most popular limestone, here in a Pietra Pazza format. Italian for crazy stone, it is the same warm, creamy-beige Buscot we have known for years, cut into irregular shapes with a gently tumbled edge. Every piece is different, so no two floors look the same. It is not a material for a rushed install. It rewards a skilled hand, which is exactly the point. Included as small chips, Kimmeridge Limestone provides contrast to the creamy base. Small moments. Important ones.

The Bespoke

Around the bath skirting, porthole window and shower tray, Fusion Wow does what the room asks of it. A super hard Brazilian quartzite, it is the showstopper of the scheme. The selected slabs run with teals, rust, orange and gold, beautiful in their variation and depth. Working alongside it, on the bath top and vanity, is Versailles Rouge Marble, one of our more recent marble launches, carrying rust-orange and vermilion hues with delicate white veins moving across the surface. Together, the two bring most of the warmth and movement to what is otherwise a neutral, grounded scheme.

Close-up of Buscot Limestone in Pietra Pazza format, its irregular creamy-beige pieces set with fine joints

Bathroom with a dark green vanity and brass-framed shower screen, over a richly veined red and grey stone floor

Close-up of a grey-green marble slab with dramatic pale veining

BUSCOT PIETRA PAZZA

Our most popular limestone now comes in a 'Pietra Pazza' format Italian for 'crazy stone'. With a gently eased tumbled edge, this warm cream-beige stone suits a new generation of interiors that is rejecting hard lines and embracing more flowing, limitless styles.

VERSAILLES ROUGE

The Versailles Rouge Marble Slab brings a rich tapestry of colour to any interior space. Its rust-orange and vermilion hues are imbued with a warmth that feels both vibrant and refined. Delicate white veins dance across the surface.

FUSION WOW

A richly expressive natural quartzite, its surface is alive with movement. A soft green grey backdrop is swept through with painterly veining in cream, mossy green, warm brown, inky blue, flashes of white and the occasional flicker of red.

The Shower

The shower walls are clad in Foundry Novo Navy, a porcelain tile in a brick format with a glossy, iridescent finish, laid in a one-third horizontal stagger. De Rosee Sa chose the Navy colourway specifically. The deep navy and the subtle sheen are what give the shower its moment of drama. It complements the Fusion WOW quartzite used for the shower tray, porthole and shelving niche.

The Outside

Step out, and the patio is paved in Antwerp Granite Cobbleheads. Reclaimed from streets across Western Europe and cut down from traditional full cobble depth into a shallower cobblehead format, they bring a palette of warm greige, soft grey and green-grey, with the occasional blush of pink. Centuries of history, in the surface.

And behind them, the patio walls are clad in Marlborough Terracotta Brick, our flagship handmade terracotta, here taken a stage further with trimmed-down baton details within the layout. It is the same family of material we began with in 1989, still made by hand, still carrying the same warmth and individuality that taught us to see materials in a new way.

Wall of glossy teal glazed brick tiles behind a polished metal basin, with foliage alongside

Courtyard garden laid in granite setts with built-in seating, olive trees and planted pots against rendered walls

Terracotta brick wall detail with hanging foliage and three small terracotta bowls mounted on the surface

FOUNDRY NOVO - NAVY

Foundry Novo Porcelain Navy tiles capture the essence of Victorian-era glazed bricks with a modern twist. Their iridescent sheen adds another dimension to a bathroom - tactile and impactful.

ANTWERP COBBLEHEADS

Reclaimed from streets across Western Europe, these granite cobbles have been shaped by time. Their surfaces are gently worn, edges softened by years of footsteps, creating character that cannot be replicated.

MARLBOROUGH TERRACOTTA BRICK

The handmade finish of these terracotta tiles showcases subtle variations, adding depth and character to walls and floors. Their brick shape offers a classic aesthetic, while the rich red tones enhance their natural appeal.