Double-height living room of a contemporary Dubai villa with travertine floor, low sofas and tall windows onto a garden

Interior design · Dubai and the UAE

Premium interiors, planned properly

Portland Premium is an independent guide for villa and apartment owners in Dubai. We explain how a good interior comes together: the brief, the budget, the materials that cope with the Gulf climate, and the furniture that will still look right in ten years.

Start with the villa guide

The guides

All guides

Sunlit double-height villa living room in Dubai with a neutral interior scheme

Guide 01

Planning a Villa Interior in Dubai, From Brief to Handover

A stage-by-stage route through a villa interior, written for owners who want to stay in control of decisions.

Italian-style sofa and armchairs in a bright Dubai apartment living room

Guide 02

How to Buy Italian Furniture in Dubai

What to check before you pay a deposit, from swatches and measurements to the day the sofa arrives.

Villa living room with sheer curtains filtering strong Gulf sunlight onto a stone floor

Guide 03

Choosing Interior Materials That Cope With the Gulf Climate

Heat, sun, salt air and constant cooling each damage materials differently; here is what to ask before you specify.

Contemporary majlis with perimeter seating and a clear open centre

Guide 04

Designing a Modern Majlis for Hosting at Home

A majlis is judged by how well it receives guests, so plan for the hosting day first and the décor second.

Living room lit in layers with cove light, table lamps and lit shelving at dusk

Guide 05

How to Light a Dubai Home in Layers

Good lighting is planned as layers with simple controls, and it starts well before the fittings are chosen.

Open show kitchen with island, timber cabinetry and a view into the dining area

Guide 06

Designing Kitchens for Gulf Villas: Show Kitchen and Back Kitchen

A two-kitchen layout works when each space has a clear job, strong extraction and its own route in and out.

Material samples of stone, oak veneer, bronze and linen laid out on a table beside architectural drawings

From the editors

A premium interior is mostly decisions made in the right order.

Guides can take you a long way, but most villa projects reach a point where one team has to own the drawings, the joinery and the site. Antonovich Design is an interior design company Dubai homeowners bring in for luxury interiors, custom joinery and turnkey fit-out.

The same care for materials runs through good furniture. Solomia Home, the top showroom for homeowners seeking luxury furniture Dubai, carries Italian makers such as B&B Italia, Flexform and Versace Home.

How we write the guides

Order before objects
We start with the decisions that are expensive to change later: layout, services, lighting and storage. Furniture and styling come after.
Written for the climate
Heat, strong sun, coastal humidity, dust and constant air-conditioning shape which materials last. Every guide takes that into account.
No invented numbers
Where prices, lead times or approvals depend on the project, we say so and tell you what to ask instead of quoting a figure.

Contact

Questions or corrections for the editors: [email protected]