24k gold ceilings, Barbie G-Wagon and Shah Rukh Khan as neighbour - most outlandish home on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah?

Dubai: The first thing that hits you outside UAE interior designer and entrepreneur Anita Surani Khoja's sprawling sea-facing Palm Jumeirah mansion isn’t the heat — it’s the Barbie-pink Mercedes G-Wagon gleaming in the driveway, a bold birthday gift for her teenage daughter by her doting tech retail tycoon husband.

Parked near it? A Tiffany blue Lamborghini, a murder-black Rolls-Royce, and a muscle-packed grey Tesla Cybertruck. But that isn't the ostentatious and decadent bit.

Want to take a look inside the mansion? Here are some exclusive pictures

Step inside their sea-facing 8000-square foot, Dh70 million mansion, and the real flex begins: false ceilings laced with real 24-karat gold.

“It felt right,” Anita shrugs with a smile. “Gold is so Dubai ... It's pure gold because I was particular about the right shade of Gold.”

There are no light switches in Anita's sprawling mansion either. Not one. Instead, everything — from the blinds to the massive TV that rises silently from the floor — is controlled by her phone.

Welcome to a home where high-tech minimalism meets unapologetic maximalism.

Think sleek shining surfaces, hidden appliances, zero clutter… and then look up: the ceilings are literally gilded in 24-karat gold.

“I always wanted to incorporate modernisation with technology and luxury, everything integrated together,” said Surani. “I think I was able to achieve that.”

Every light, appliance, blind, and even the TV is controlled via smartphone. “Everything is concealed,” she explained. “Even the hot plate, the water filters, the storage spaces — all hidden through wall cladding or artistic textures. I wanted everything to look clean, spacious and aesthetically appealing.”

But it's tough to look past the gleaming crown jewel. The ceilings — gilded with 24-karat gold, we zero back to it.

“Gold is synonymous with Dubai,” said Surani.

“I started with a little, but then I incorporated a lot more. I felt like there was a need for gold in this house to make it feel more luxurious and opulent. I think it reflects my personality a little too.”

The interior designer, originally from Dallas, didn’t stop at gold. Her aesthetic is sleek, ultra-modern and distinctly Dubai.

Her business tycoon husband Moiz Khoja's only design request? No direct lights.

“So I worked around that,” she said. “I designed false ceilings where the lighting is soft and indirect. The idea was to avoid glare, but still have a glamorous touch. That’s how the idea of gold-lined geometrical ceilings came in.”

It took Surani, who runs an interior designing company, three years and Dh15 million to remodel the inside of the Mediterranean-style home into the tech-savvy oasis it is today. Did we tell you that the floor-to-ceiling windows made from a single window glass slides up in this smart-home paradise?

“Initially, we planned a year and a half, but COVID-19 slowed things down. We broke a lot of walls. It was a full gut job ... We just had the shell and worked from that point on,” she explained. Anita, who's the epitome of fabulously graceful, said she took her own home as a creative challenge to transform it into a tech haven.

Even the TV disappears when not in use.

“All our TVs are hidden, either in the ceiling or in the floor,” she said. “I like keeping things clean. It should be useful when needed, but hidden otherwise.”

And if that’s not futuristic enough, the pillars inside the home change colour depending on the mood — or the match.

“During a Pakistan match, they turn green,” she said with a smile. “Now they’re a blush pink. Lighting helps set the entire mood of the home.”

Despite the drama and dazzle, Anita insists the home is deeply functional. “Everything here is purposeful,” she said. “It’s not just glamorous, it works for our family’s needs. My daughter’s room was the starting point of the renovation — she wanted her dream space first.”

Her daughter's room has a circular bed with giant rose-studded headboard.

The closet is her sanctuary. Did we tell you that she's a proud shopaholic and loves to indulge in retail therapy at the Dubai Mall.

“My day starts and ends there. I feel gratitude when I’m in that space. It’s my retreat,” she said.

Even the car collection speaks volumes. “Yes, the pink G-Wagon was a gift for my daughter from my lovely and doting husband when she turned 16,” she said.

“She can’t drive yet, so I drive it. Or sometimes, we pick her up in it with a female driver. I love it because it's such a safe vehicle.”

And while her husband was involved, he mostly got to design his own bathroom with an in-house gym and closet. As expected, it's like man-cave with black, grey, and white.

“That’s all he got,” she laughed. “He trusted me with the rest."

So what would Surani say to aspiring home designers?

"Plan your layout first, fix your budget, and decide your vibe," she said. "Don’t mix too many styles. Stick to one clear idea — traditional, modern, transitional — and let that guide your choices."

As far as the price tag? “We started with a Dh1 million renovation budget,” she said. “It ended up costing about Dh15 million. But honestly, who's counting after the tenth million?”

The mansion, in the neighbourhood boasting villas owned by Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen, goes at around Dh70 million and more.

"We love living in the Palm. If I go to Dallas and tell anyone that we live in the Palm, you can see an instant connect. We have created our home in all these years and wouldn't swap it for any other home."