Villa Interior Design in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi

Renovating an established villa

An older villa tends to show its priorities quickly. Kitchens were frequently planned as closed service rooms, bathrooms carry dated fittings and tired waterproofing, wardrobes fall short of what a family now owns, and lighting may depend on a single ceiling point in each room. None of this calls for a new house. It calls for a clear plan for which rooms change and by how much.

We begin with a measured survey and a conversation about routines: who cooks, where the children study, how often you entertain, and which rooms sit empty. The answers shape a scope that can run from a focused refresh to a full rethink of the ground floor. Typical changes in a villa of this age include:

• Opening the kitchen towards the family and dining areas where the structure allows it
• Stripping out bathrooms back to the shell, with new waterproofing, fittings and ventilation
• Built-in wardrobes, a dressing room and proper utility storage
• Layered lighting with dimming, so each room has more than one mood
• A majlis or formal sitting room planned around the way you receive guests

Three levels of scope for a villa

Every villa commission we accept falls into one of three broad levels, and knowing which one you are in keeps the budget honest from the first meeting. Our villa renovation page explains how each level is run in practice.

• Renovation: chosen rooms refreshed with new surfaces, joinery and lighting, while the plan largely stays as it is.
• Full Turnkey: the whole villa carried from design to handover, with MEP, fit-out, joinery and furnishing under one contract.
• Bespoke: structural alteration, custom fabrication and imported materials for owners who want something singular.

Design only or design and build from a Dubai studio

If you already trust a contractor in Abu Dhabi, our design-only route gives them what they need to price and build: working drawings, the finishes and fittings schedule, detailed 3D renders and the concept behind it all. If you would prefer to deal with one team from start to finish, design and build adds procurement, fit-out, site supervision and handover.

Because the studio is in Dubai rather than Abu Dhabi, we schedule site visits around the moments that matter most, such as the opening survey, setting out, inspections before walls are closed, and snagging. Between visits you receive written progress notes, so you always know where the project stands and what is waiting on a decision from you.

Gardens, terraces and the outside of the house

Villa owners often want the garden to earn its space: shaded seating, an outdoor kitchen, lighting for warm evenings, or a pool area that is actually used. We can bring the outside into the same design so materials, colours and lighting carry through from the living room to the terrace. Our exterior and landscape design service covers that side of the work.

Strong sun and summer heat are hard on outdoor fabrics, timber and some stones, so exterior finishes are specified for how they will age as well as how they look on handover.

Approvals for villa work in Khalifa City

An interior refresh that leaves walls and services untouched is usually simple to clear. Structural changes, extensions and major MEP work involve more parties and more paperwork. Depending on the villa, approvals may involve community management, a master developer where one is responsible for the area, and the relevant authority. Because Abu Dhabi keeps approval bodies and procedures of its own, distinct from those in Dubai, we confirm the correct route for your particular villa at the outset.

We produce the drawings and make the submissions inside our programme. We will not promise approval timescales, since those sit with the reviewing bodies, but the approvals stage is built into the plan as soon as design begins.

Budget, living at home and handover

Villa renovations start from AED 750,000. Above that, cost follows scope: the size of the villa, the proportion of joinery made to order, the quality of finishes, and whether MEP or structural work is needed. Give us a realistic figure early on, and the scheme will be drawn to fit it rather than cut back once priced.

Plenty of families remain at home through a renovation. We can sequence the project floor by floor or room by room, close off working areas behind dust screens and agree working hours with you, so bedrooms and a usable kitchen remain available for as long as practical. Where the scope rules that out, you will hear it from us before work is booked.

Before anything is ordered, you see the finished rooms in 3D and settle layouts, materials and lighting on screen. We inspect and snag room by room before handing back the keys. Any defect in our work after that falls under the terms set by a 12-month defects liability period set out in your contract.

Nearby Abu Dhabi districts we cover

Khalifa City sits among several of the Abu Dhabi districts on our list, including Masdar City and Al Raha Beach. When you are ready to talk about your own villa, our estimate request is the quickest way in.