Elevate Your Living Space: Design Trends for Breathtaking High-Rise Living
With almost 400 skyscrapers, including the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, Dubai is ranked fourth for buildings over 300 meters high. One of Dubai's luxury high-rises offers residents stunning views, modern amenities, and a vibrant lifestyle.
Living the high life in a sleek high-rise apartment comes with some unique design challenges. With the right design touches, your high-rise home can feel welcoming and stylish.
These tips will help you transform small spaces into modern oases with breathtaking views.
Capitalize on Cityscapes and Skylines
The views from Dubai's skyscrapers are iconic. Residents can gaze at the city's futuristic skyline, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, and palm-shaped Palm Jumeirah island. Right design choices can enhance the visual connection to create an immersive living experience:
Open floor plans allow sightlines to extend across multiple rooms, maximizing views from the living area, kitchen, and dining area;
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the main living spaces provide panoramic vistas. Carefully position furniture like sofas and tables to avoid blocking lines of sight;
Balcony design is critical for enjoying the outdoors while being surrounded by sky and sea. Include comfortable, weather-resistant seating and strategic lighting to extend the living area;
While harsh sunlight can sometimes pose design challenges, solutions like UV-protective window films, automated shading, and blackout curtains allow you to manage glare and darkness as needed.
By implementing design solutions that capitalize on the breathtaking views, high-rise living in Dubai properties is an unparalleled experience. The glittering cityscapes and golden skylines at elevating heights create a lifestyle that is a cut above the rest.
Embrace Dubai's Natural Light
Dubai gets an average of 8 to 10 hours of sunshine a day year-round. Letting that sunshine in can do wonders for your mood and energy levels, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day. With strategic design, you can bathe your home in natural light and manage glare and heat gain.
Light and Airy Color Palettes
Choose a color palette of light, reflective colors that complement Dubai's desert surroundings. White, beige, and sand tones will make your space feel open and airy while reflecting the natural light. These light colors also prevent harsh shadows in the strong sunlight.
Strategic Use of Glass
Incorporate glass materials like glass tables, partitions, or shelves. The transparent and reflective surface helps diffuse the light, creating an open feeling. Glass coffee tables, dining tables, and shelves can add a touch of elegance to your high-rise apartment.
Sheer Curtains
Install sheer, gauzy curtains that filter the intense sunlight while allowing most light to pass through. Sheer curtains also maintain your connection to the vibrant city outside while preventing glare. Choose curtains that extend from ceiling to floor for the most dramatic effect.
By embracing Dubai's abundant natural light through design, you can create an apartment filled with style, openness, and city views.
Create Functional Comfort in Open Spaces
Open floor plans can present challenges when creating defined spaces within your Dubai high-rise apartment. With some clever design solutions, you can enjoy the airy feel of an open layout and the comfort of having designated areas for living, dining, and sleeping.
One easy way to define zones is through area rugs. Choose rugs with bold patterns or textures to help distinguish where one space ends and another begins. For example, place a vibrant Turkish rug under your living room furniture, then transition to a fluffy sheepskin rug beside the bed to create a soft footing.
Multi-functional furnishings are another space-saving trick. Look for sofas with pull-out beds, stools that double as storage, and coffee tables with built-in trays. This furniture lets you get more use out of every inch.
A floor-to-ceiling bookcase can separate the dining area from the living room without blocking light and views. Hang a decorative wood, rattan, or fabric screen to divide the sleeping area. The result is subtle separation without sacrificing your airy open layout.
Bring the Desert Charm Indoors
As Dubai continues to reach new heights architecturally, residents are seeking ways to infuse their high-rise homes with warmth and personality.
Warm, earthy tones reminiscent of the sandy dunes and mountains bring nature inside. Wood, whether in furniture, floors, or decorative accents, provides warmth and beauty.
Stone surfaces and tiles reference the rugged yet luxurious aesthetic of the desert. Terracotta, ochre, burnt orange, and other sun-baked shades add cozy texture when used on furnishings, rugs, linens, and artwork.
Classic Arabic geometric designs and calligraphy add graphic pop when incorporated into artwork, textiles, or accent pieces. Displaying traditional handicrafts like woven baskets, pottery, or antiques also brings old-world charm.
To Sum Up
Taking advantage of Dubai sunshine and using the various rugs, furniture, and desert inspiration with the height of modern luxury creates a unique living space. Make the most of high-rise living and bring the magic of the desert into your home.
Jenny Kakoudakis likes to blog about interiors and lifestyle. She launched award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2014. When she is not chasing criminals out of the financial system (her day job), she gets creative by redecorating her own home.
Download her free bathroom renovation guide here.
