NCI Interiors is redesigning the master bedroom suite of a private residence in Al Khawaneej, Dubai, for Mr Mohammad Omar Bin Haider. The brief was a luxury classic French interior — drawn from the palace architecture of 17th and 18th century France — reworked for the way a family in the UAE actually uses a master suite. The project is a design commission and is ongoing.
The brief
The existing suite was a traditional Dubai villa interior: tall arched windows with swagged pelmets, cut-glass chandeliers, beige walls and heavy soft furnishings that had aged out of the client’s taste. It worked, but it did not feel considered, and the rooms leading off the bedroom — the lobby, the dressing room and the washroom — read as separate leftovers rather than one suite.
The client asked for something closer to a French palace. Our concept takes its cue from Versailles-era interiors and then does two things to keep it liveable: it adds contemporary detailing so the rooms do not read as pastiche, and it reworks the seating around the traditional UAE arrangement, using continuous sitting sofas rather than discrete armchairs so the space can welcome a larger group.
The design
The scheme runs on an ivory-and-gold shell with blue as the accent that carries through every room, so the four spaces read as one suite.
Master bedroom
Full-height boiserie panelling in ivory with hand-carved gilded ornament frames the bed wall, the window reveals and the seating bay. The ceiling is coffered and moulded, with two crystal chandeliers on the main axis. Arched niches hold a toile-style panel behind the bed and a mirrored panel opposite. Curtains, upholstery and the patterned rug are worked in a muted French blue against gold and cream, with a carved and gilded bed, a chaise at the foot and a sofa-and-armchair grouping under the window.
Master lobby
The lobby acts as the threshold to the suite. Ivory panelling with carved cartouches runs the full length, lit by a two-tier crystal chandelier and paired wall sconces. The end wall is an arched niche with a book-matched green marble panel behind a carved and gilded console — the one strong colour moment before the bedroom opens up.
Master dressing
A fitted dressing room in ivory and gold: floor-to-ceiling joinery with moulded door fronts, fluted pilasters with gilded capitals, an integrated dressing table under a carved mirror, and open display niches lit from within for accessories and framed photographs. Lighting is a mix of a central crystal fitting and internal joinery lighting so the wardrobes work at night.
Master washroom
The washroom is the most material-led room in the suite. Book-matched white marble with grey veining forms the wall panels, framed by a contrasting blue-veined stone banding and a carved gilded cornice. A crystal chandelier sits over a patterned stone floor inlay; the vanity is a classic French carved unit in white and gold under a large gilded mirror. Brassware, mirror frames and cornice detail are all specified in the same gold finish to keep the room reading as one piece.
Before and after
Every room in the suite has been documented as a before-and-after pair — the existing condition photographed on site, and the proposed design rendered from the same camera position. That is how we present concept work: the client can see exactly what changes, from the same viewpoint, rather than comparing a photograph to an idealised visual.
Scope
- Concept design for the master bedroom, master lobby, master dressing room and master washroom
- Space planning and revised seating layout for majlis-style use
- Material and finishes boards — marble, joinery, gilding, textiles
- 3D visualisation from matched before-and-after camera positions
- Lighting design and decorative lighting selection
- Bespoke joinery and furniture design
Why classic French works in a Dubai villa
Classic French interiors and Emirati residential life share more than they appear to. Both are built around receiving people: generous circulation, a clear sequence from threshold to room, and seating arranged so a group can face each other. The adjustment we make is scale and seating. Continuous sofas replace the tight French seating groups, so the room can hold a majlis-sized gathering without adding furniture. Proportions on panelling and cornices are set against the actual ceiling height of the villa rather than lifted from a European reference — which is what usually goes wrong when this style is copied rather than designed.
Talk to us about your villa
NCI Interiors has delivered interior design and fit-out across Dubai and the UAE for more than 25 years, covering interior design, turnkey fit out and project management and authority approvals. If you are planning a villa, a majlis or a master suite, call +971 50 564 2209 or send us the details of your project.
See more of our work on the projects page.