Life & Style | Home & Interiors
Living on the fronds of the Palm Jumeirah
Interior designer Hanna Karonen gives us an exclusive guided tour of her stylish four-bedroom villa on Palm Jumeirah
- Words and styling: Naheed Akram, InsideOut
- Published: 00:00 January 15, 2012
- Image Credit: Svend Dyrvig/ANM
- The living room has a relaxed and stylish ambience created by the arrangement of oversized sofas and splashes of vibrant silk accessories.
Moving to a four-bedroom villa on the Fronds, Palm Jumeirah, from a town house in the Marina, was a big step for Hanna Karonen and her husband Mikko Lahtonen. "It took some time to get used to the idea of living here," says Hanna. "But we are happier than expected especially since we now have a baby, it makes a great family home. Privacy is very important, which this area provides. You feel you are far away from the city, yet you can still enjoy magnificent views of its skyline." The vista of the metropolis from the terrace and living room is one of the highlights of this property and the couple enjoy hosting outdoor parties and gatherings for family and friends.
The home is full of personal touches and beautiful accessories that have a contemporary twist. One of Hanna's favourite lifestyle brands is Balmuir from Finland; her office space and living room are filled with handmade Balmuir brown leather accessories, which she says "look better over time. I have always had an eye when it comes to visualising things. It comes naturally and I feel privileged to be able to express and share my creativity."
Hanna's dream of having her own interior design company came true three years ago when she opened her office ‘Simply Design' in Dubai. She says, "My business partner is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, so we provide our services in Europe too."
The entire interior of the home has a minimal contemporary finish, with the majority of the furniture in base colours of grey, white, black and brown. "I have a tendency to stick to these shades because I deal with a lot of colour on a day-to-day basis, so for my own home I prefer to have neutral tones," Hanna says. "I'm not fond of curves, I like everything to have a solid shape. I love mixing styles from traditional Arabic to classic and contemporary and I encourage people to take risks, but also be true to what they really like and my goal is to combine all that."
As you enter the villa there is a relaxed and elegant seating area created in the hallway with pink and white floral cushions neatly placed alongside the huge mirror on the wall, while on the floor lies a black custom-made sisal rug from the USA. To the right, the couple's office comes with a large white desk, designed by Hanna. She uses chocolate brown accessories to contrast with white furniture, brought to life with accents of vibrant hot pink, turquoise and mustard.
The living room boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, offering striking views of the private beach and introducing plenty of natural light into the home. Hanna has made good use of the space by placing lots of large contemporary interior accessories, beautiful lighting fixtures and statement furniture pieces to achieve the right balance and harmony in the room. She considers this to be one of the most important elements of her family home.
The dining room has a thoughtful mix of vintage and contemporary furniture, including a custom-made wooden slatted partition that Hanna designed herself. Standing from floor to ceiling, this panel complements the interiors and divides the living and dining spaces.
A keen furniture designer, Hanna has been on a continual quest to find a carpenter to bring her designs to life, working with 15 craftsmen over the past three years and she has finally found the one she's happy with. "The large coffee table, small side tables, large side table, TV panel and unit and wood panel wall in the living room are my own designs and are made to order from local carpenters."
Her other designs include the large white lounge bench and side table in the entrance, the night tables and side tables in the master bedroom, the table and bookshelves in the office and the pergola seating area on the outside terrace.
All of the lighting fixtures and fittings for the living and dining room are from Italy and were selected from Huda Lighting in Dubai. Hanna has used various accessories around the home from Flamant, Artikel, Bloomingdale's Home, Harvey Nichols, Pottery Barn, Irony Home, Marina Home Interiors, Zara Home, Crate and Barrel, Singways and Villeroy and Boch.
The couple's busy work schedule means family time is precious. The master bedroom was designed to be a sanctuary from the hectic pace of family life, "It's like a huge studio where we've created a cosy and warm atmosphere," says Hanna. The couple recently purchased a custom-made Hastens bed, which ironically is one of the few pieces of Scandinavian furniture they have in their home. "A good bed is always a good investment. We didn't bring anything with us from Finland when we moved five years ago, but we have brought lots of smaller glass items from Finnish designers such as Iittala and Marimekko," Hanna explains.
Moving into the nursery, a black and white theme with hints of blue, white and brown is not your typical colour palette for a child's bedroom but Hanna wanted to try something different. "Choosing a pale blue shade for his room was too obvious that's why I opted to take a different approach." This is an ethos that reverberates around the couple's entire home.
Steal the Style
Simply Design Interiors/ Hanna Karonen, for more information visit www.simplydesignuae.com or call 050 154 7043
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