Living Room Alt Angle • Ashjar E1, Ashjar, Al Barari, Dubai, UAE
The left wall is now vast rough limestone panels with mirror-polished glass insets. A monumental raw concrete bench anchors the central space. Seating is upholstered in impossibly smooth silk velvet. These elements establish immediate material tension.
Matte slate tiles replace the original flooring. A high-gloss black lacquer media console stands against the raw stone. Drapery combines coarse linen with ultra-fine sheers. Every surface offers a deliberate physical counterpoint.
This room forces a physical engagement with material extremes.
Design Philosophy
The design explores Sensory extremism directly. Raw and refined materials are placed in intense opposition. This creates a hyper-sensory experience for occupants. Contrasting textures push visual and tactile perception to their limits.
Spatial Narrative
Your eye is drawn immediately to the vast limestone wall with its polished glass insets. You walk towards the central concrete bench, its scale grounding the room. You sit on the silk velvet, feeling the extreme contrast of its softness.
Light Study
Morning light streams through the windows, raking intensely across the rough limestone, highlighting its texture. Evening light softly diffuses over the silk velvet, making it shimmer. It also casts deep shadows from the concrete bench.
Living Vignette
A hand slides across the impossibly smooth velvet of the armchair, then brushes the rough concrete bench. The sensation of stark material difference is immediate and physical.
Material Palette
Rough-hewn limestone panels: This stone feels abrasive and cool, revealing its geological history over time.
Raw concrete: Its surface is hard and cool to the touch, showing subtle imperfections and gaining character with age.
Platinum-toned silk velvet: This fabric feels impossibly smooth and shimmers, retaining its luxurious softness for years.
