Betterliving March 2019

Home renovation | INSPIRATION
THE LEATHER WALL
CLADDING GIVES
THE SPACE AN
ELEGANT FEEL
Previously dark, with lots of wooden
features, black-painted doors and heavy
curtains that blocked out a lot of the
light, Ellen Søhoel and the team at
interior design and architecture consultants
XBD Collective were tasked with transforming
this 1,208 sq. m. Emirates Hills villa into a light,
open and luxuriously glamorous space.
With painstaking attention to detail, Ellen
and the team ensured the entrance flowed
into the connecting living space, with a design
that included demolishing the original ceiling,
replacing the bulky doors with pocket doors,
relocating the A/C grill, and putting a lighting
plan in place that incorporated a stunning
crystal glass chandelier, and highlighted the
room’s beautiful features.
The dark wood wall paneling on the main
living space wall was replaced with tactile
leather cladding, plus metal dividing lines
to create a softer effect and enhance the
luxuriousness of the overall design in the
room. Similarly, the pocket doors were covered
in mirrors and backlit to elevate the overall
effect. The Fendi piano, which also serves as a
champagne bar, is a statement piece, with its
glossy ivory lacquered wood interspersed with
crocodile leather. The wall surrounding it,
with its backlit angled dark grey mirror, clear
glass mirror, satin mirror and backlit crushed
glass creates a magical illusion. What’s more,
the linear elements of all the walls align the
space with perfect symmetry, framing the soft
furnishings and accessories in the space. The
existing elegant furniture was swapped around
and added to, ensuring it didn’t block the view
of the swimming pool outside and to create a
sense of symmetry and balance.
Before
TIME
TAKEN:
6 months
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