DESIGN FILES :: MARINA'S BACHELOR PAD

Nisrine El Lababidi
Oct 30, 2017
3 min read

Now who wouldn't work on a project where you are challenged to finish a space yesterday? Especially if the brief says modern with an twist of Palestenian?!

Our client, a bachelor living in the most amazing light drenched two bedroom apartment with magnificent views overlooking the entire Dubai Marina, had just finished revamping the bathrooms, entire house floors and kitchen (he has culinary talents we are yet to put to the test!) and furnished the major part of his apartment. He had been travelling for most of his career and finally felt like he needed to own his space... literally! With that in mind he listened to some of his close friends and reached out to help him make his home feel warmer and personal, while remaining within budget.

We jumped right in, the space already had amazing pieces and we knew just how to bring in the colours of the Marina waters of blues and blue greens into the house warming them up with tones of yellow, metals and wooden textures all subtly infused with reminders of Palestine.

Entrance

Starting with the entrance, we warmed up the walls by painting them in Jotun's Masala 10428, we also added some beautiful mirrors from THE DEN and a foliage artwork we had picked, printed and framed. Finishing off the console we picked some West Elm Lava Rock on a stand sculptures and a round sculpture to finish the styled book on the lower shelf. We also added a small handmade bowl to hold keys and cards which we sourced from the Nook Concept.

Before// Entrance

Living Room & Dining Space

In the living Room the furniture was sourced from a couple of stores including ID Design, Crate & Barrel & IKEA for the tv Stand. Carefully picking a tray to hold all the remotes and gadgets while adding a few bit and pieces to give it that lived in look.

In the dining area, we added a coat of paint in Jotun's in St. Paul 5030 which allowed everything to pop against it. Namely the mid century style shelving we picked for the Dining room and styled with his books and carefully selected accessories from Maison Du Monde, Zara Home, The Nook and West Elm. We also collaborated with Racha El Abbas Studio to create a beautiful kufik artwork from a poem on Palestine he had selected. The canvas beautifully finish off the entire space making it feel homely.

The sheer curtains dressed up the room and softened the light coming in while we also loaded on the greenery, especially the beautiful olive tree in the corner.

Before// Dining & Living

Balcony

For the outdoor space, which was completely bare, we kept the blue theme going. Offering plenty of seating space with the wooden seating from Ace Hardware and the outdoor cushions from Pottery Barn. We also added a four seat table in the corner from Pan Emirates, perfect for a coffee or breakfast overlooking the amazing views.

Master Bedroom

In the master bedroom, The furniture was selected from West Elm and went with beautiful textured curtains in a dark navy colour that complimented our choice of Jotun's Arctic Grey 5249 wall. We also added a nice super comfortable arm chair in light grey from Home Centre with a Zara Home woollen throw. For artwork we went with another Home centre piece and accessorised the room with selections from Zara Home candles, frames and side lamps.

Before// Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

The guest bedroom was meant to feel a bit cozier with the selection of wooden furniture from West Elm and the bedding from Matalan and throw pillows from Crate & Barrel, H&M Home and a palestenian handmade cross stitch pillow to relate it back to home.

For the dresser we went with some green coloured hand made pots in wood and ceramics again from The Nook & Homes R Us.

Jotun Sea Emerald 6084 was our selection for the walls here, along with a round metallic leaves sculpture from Pan Emirates and beautiful curtains to finish it all off.

Before// Guest Bedroom

The entire project took three weeks with careful planning and plenty of trust on taking the right decisions on his behalf. The result a happy client, especially that we remained within budget, and gave him the space he deserved.

What do you think? Did you enjoy the transformation? Let us know below..

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Happy Styling!