TABLCHEF’SCHEF’STABLE
How Nathalie from The Cozy Interiors crafted a stylish home for one of Dubai’s culinary creatives
Situated in the Sidra Community of Dubai Hills Estate is the family home of one of Dubai’s young and talented chefs. Upon purchasing the threebedroom house, he and his wife (with newborn baby in tow) sought a way to combine their style preferences. With her having a penchant for all things industrial, and him into transitional design, the job of marrying the two into a cohesive look was handed to Nathalie Khouri from The Cozy Interiors (thecozyinteriors.com). “The couple wanted their tastes to be combined and to make sure that the house had a warm, modern and charming feel,” explains Nathalie. “I practically lived with the couple in order to really understand their tastes,” the interior designer joke s.
First on the list of priorities was the f looring. “They knew from the beginning that swapping out the common UAE tile in favour of wood f looring was a must. And, rightfully so, they were not willing to compromise on the quality,” she explains. After much deliberation between styles and colours, they decided on a parquet from Swiss Oak Herringbone. Then in the kitchen, “to complement the wood, and add character, we installed ornate mosaic ti le s.”
Naturally, the kitchen was the most important room of the entire house, so there was to be no expense spared here. “We opted for a Hacker kitchen, which is the best in the industry for their unique and state-of-the-art appliances.” Using black cabinets, the overall look is both
sleek and striking - perfect for when the home-owner is cooking up a storm for guests or trailing new recipes on the family.
With a large portion of the budget going on the parquet f loors and kitchen, Nathalie made smart choices in other areas of the home. “In the guest bathroom we used trendy wallpaper from PaperPop and added a cool mirror from ebarza Furniture.” Using her in-house carpenter, Nathalie made practical upgrades that would work for the busy family and add value. Under-stair storage and shelves in the kitchen are ideal for essential items.
For the finishing touches, the interior designer kept it simple, achieving a clean and fresh finish.
“In the kitchen, the bar stools from Marina Home and light fixtures from Luxxe Lighting added character, while the chalk board is the perfect place for the chef to write his menu!” she animates. As the couple already had a solid collection of beautiful art from their years of travel, Nathalie was able to incorporate them into the design, adding a personal stamp. “The final look personifies the couple’s personalitie s,” she says, “it’s