The cosmopolitan “maximum” city of Dubai is one where luxurious beachside villas, compact 800-square feet apartments, and smaller nano-homes co-exist in style. They are known to make the best use of their limited square footage.
Dubai loves their dose of contemporary interior design, artwork, vintage, and chic elements. At the same time, they want their homes to reflect their lifestyle and personal stories.
Here, HomeLane’s experienced designers share some favorite interior design trends in Dubai.
Space-Saving Interior Design
With sky-high real estate prices in the city, Dubai loves smart, space-saving interior design tips and tricks to make the best use of every square inch in their homes. No space goes wasted, including under the stairs, below the bed, or even a coffee table.
Coffee tables with nested stools and storage, sofas with storage, and retractable wall beds and tables are quite popular in their living rooms. In dining rooms, extendable dining tables and folding ones are all the rage.
In the kitchen, a wall-mounted table or two, and a roll-out table under the kitchen island adds some extra counter space when needed. Vertical shelving adds more storage space to store cutlery, groceries, and the like.
Multi-Purpose Furniture
Dubai loves furniture that can do double-duty. It could be a coffee table cum laptop table, sofa cum bed, and so on. You can even see very innovative ideas like bamboo folding room dividers with removable shelves, sofa end tables that double up as laptop tables, dressing room mirrors that hide make-up cabinets behind, and so on. You’ll also see the use of ottomans and footstools that can be used as seating options when there are many guests
Bolder Living Wall Colours
Whites and beiges are as popular as before, but UAE homes do seem to love darker, brighter shades on their walls as well. Grey, deep blue, olive green, and even black walls with various moody undertones are a new favorite here. Some homes don’t shy away from sporting accent walls in crimson, rani pink, or sunshine yellow hues. Wallpapers — both ethnic and modern patterns — are another popular element in Dubai homes.
Bolder Kitchen Interior Colours
Black kitchens are in, and so are the ones with bright colored cabinets. Even a pop of bright shade in a neutral or steel kitchen has been making an appearance in Dubai homes. Colorful backsplash tiles and bold patterned flooring are also quite popular.
Clean, Contemporary Home Décor
Most newer Dubai homes sport contemporary décor with clean lines — but not always minimalistic. They tend to strike a balance between minimalist and maximalist decorating. There is ample use of textures and patterns which stick to a tight color palette of three to four shades.
Not Wasting Any Space
The space under the stairs is often converted into an organized storage area or a craft corner. You will also often see an open balcony getting enclosed to make a small home office or an extended living room. A narrow foyer will fit in a narrow shoe rack. And some walls may be converted to floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
A Combination of Ethnic and Contemporary Accents
The eclectic Dubai loves to mix it up. They prefer modern accents but also love showing off their travel treasures, vintage memorabilia, and heritage pieces. So don’t be surprised if you find a modern geometric sculpture in one room and a couple of traditional puppets hanging on the wall in another room. You would find a mix of eclectic artwork, vintage, and sleek mirrors and ornate clocks as well.
In that sense, Dubai homes don’t shy away from expressing their story through their homes, keeping it restrained at the same time — in true contemporary style!