DESIGN FILES :: GUIDED BY LIGHT

Nisrine El Lababidi
Jun 5, 2018
4 min read

While its no secret we love the power of makeovers and seeing a space transform, we also highly enjoy turn key projects. And by turn key I mean we actually received the key from the developer on behalf of our trusting client and fully handled their project from A to Z literally.

Our client approached us after checking other designers in the market but opted to go with us due to our approach of giving a home. Since this was to be their holiday home, they wanted a space that offered the warmth of a home while being practical in the sense that it didn’t need to be over decorated, yet comfortable enough to feel like a second home when they are in Dubai.

The property, a beautiful four bedroom villa in the new community of Arabian Ranches 2, was so well designed there was no guess work as to how the floor plan flowed or where the furniture needed to be placed. It was also very well situated in location, the sun shone through every room flooding it with light from every angle further enhancing its feeling of space, a feature our client wanted to enhance with the selection of colour, hence the beautiful colour scheme of beiges, light blue greens and metals which we applied throughout the house mildly accenting it with other colours only to further strengthen it.

As you enter the house you are welcomed with the living room - the heart of the house - where we opted for a beautiful beige set of two seaters with golden studs from Interiors and complimented it with two armchairs with an arabesque blue green pattern in them. Their textured fabric is so gorgeous we decided to tone down the tables and went for Aura Living Glass and gold coffee tables and matching side tables. We dressed the tables with simple accessories like the elegant side lamps from West Elm, beautiful flowers from Marina Home and Crate & Barrel placed in glass and metal vases from the same shops.

For the middle table, the golden metal sea urchins offered the right amount of artistic contrast to the Homes’r’us beautiful green vase. To finish off the space we chose a lush fabric for the curtains and blinds in matching blue green and elegant sheers to go under them, while dressing the ceiling in gorgeous cascading ceiling lamp from Pan Emirates (you would have never guessed right!), a gorgeous off-white arabesque carpet from carpet centre and a beautiful painting in the same shades.

Moving onto the dining room, we kept the scheme light with the 2XL wooden table with grey blue velvet chairs and a matching buffet. They are probably one of the rare shops that stock 8 and ten seater dining rooms by the way. To contrast the light colours, we went with the blue green Chinese jars, from Dragon Mart (another score find here), and bespoke artwork from our all time favourite Racha Al Abbas, we commissioned her to match the colours perfectly with the space. Her artwork is further illuminated with another gorgeous modern chandlier from 2XL with its glass and gold finish. You will notice we used a beautiful candle holder on the table, well you’d be surprised to know that this is actually a metal art intended to hang on the walls, instead we DIY'd it into a beautiful candle holder perfectly going with the rest of the golden accents in the space.

The two spaces are tied together by the stairs in the middle, and since there is no formal designated entrance, we created this small area with the console where one can drop down their keys and belongings in close proximity to the door. The console, again in toned down gold from The One, was dressed with an oversized vase from 2XL, two oblysiques from Flamant (unfortunately it has now closed shop in Dubai) and a matching bone trinket box to hide the keys in from Pottery Barn.

In the family room, where there was once an open plan to the kitchen, our client wanted closed, so we created interest in the wall by adding a niche for shelving to go in while adding spotlights and a hidden lighting strip on top to create architectural interest. We dressed those walls with more wall art from Racha Al Abbas's Crate & Barrel Ramadan Collaboration. (not featured here).

For furniture, we chose the ultra comfortable Dryden sofa from Crate & Barrel in oat colour (which is sure to withstand the test of time) and IKEA’s equally comfortable Strandmon wing chairs in grey with their matching foot rest.

For the coffee table, again Home’s’Rus had the perfect ottoman in the perfect shade and price (under 250 AED!) while we selected a beautiful grey lacquered desk from Indigo along with an off-white comfy chair to go with it. Perfectly matching it was the IKEA besta tv unit we selected. To add more colour to the room, we decided to go with a green blue carpet from Merinos and added faux greenery in the corner to bring life into the space. Again lighting was key here, so we selected an arabesque metal standing lamp from Robinsons and a white modern glass ceiling lamp from Homes R Us.

Since this is an entire home, I have decided to split the blog into two parts… you can continue on the second floor by clicking here.

Are you ready for making your space look like you? Let us know how we can help! contact us here.