The Edge of Calm villa in Dubai Hills Estate offered interior designer D’Ora Tokai the chance to dismantle a structure entirely and rebuild it with more deliberate architectural intention. Working with a family she had already designed for twice before, Tokai received a rare gift in residential practice – complete creative freedom.
The transformation involved three structural extensions that fundamentally altered the villa’s relationship to light and flow. A former courtyard became an enclosed kitchen, collapsing the boundary between service and living spaces. Part of the backyard was absorbed into an expanded living-dining area, while upstairs, the main suite grew to accommodate dual walk-in wardrobes finished in custom microcement.
Tokai’s material palette became a deliberate counterpoint to Dubai’s prevailing taste for high-gloss opulence. Oak herringbone floors established a grounded rhythm throughout the 2,700 square foot interior, while Calacatta Vagli marble appeared not as expansive statement surfaces but as architectural framing in joinery details, surface accents, and bespoke furniture elements. The marble’s gray veining introduced just enough movement to prevent the space from feeling static, while brushed stainless steel and silver oak joinery provide moments of quiet contrast.
The most revealing material choice is the warm-tinted glass deployed for table surfaces, pocket doors, and joinery elements. This detail created subtle shifts in tone and translucency in order to allow for spatial rhythm without relying on color or pattern. Color is used sparingly but purposefully, using eggplant and blush tones in the main bedroom along with soft pinks in the daughter’s room.
Most impressive is the commission of an eight-meter bespoke rug, handwoven in India to specification in a region where rugs often function as decorative afterthoughts, this piece became an anchoring element – its beige, brown, and soft yellow palette warming the living room without competing for attention. The choice to work with Indian artisans for a Dubai interior also quietly challenged the automatic association between luxury residential work and craft traditions.
To learn more about The Edge of Calm Villa by D’Ora Tokai Designs, please visit doratokai.com.
Photography by Mia Interior Photography.