A tour of a serene Palm Jumeirah villa

"This is the fourth country we’ve lived in and we rebuild and renovate everywhere we go,” Alain Goetz tells InsideOut from the living room of his home on the Palm. “When we bought the house we were planning to redecorate and make some minor changes, but over time it evolved to a complete overhaul,” he continues, laughing.

The Goetz family – Alain, his wife Sandra and their two sons – enlisted Julie Doran of Elemento Design to help them realise their vision. “Alain and Sandra wanted a calm house with a luxurious hotel-like feeling, but they still wanted it to feel like a home,” says Julie. Alain adds, “We were looking to have a mix between a European style, where we come from, and an Arabic style, where we live.” And so the process, which took more than a year, began.

From the elevated TV lounge the formal living room is accessed by a set of two stairs that double as bookshelves, but there is also a gentle ramp that leads to the space. The home was designed to be fully accessible for Alain and Sandra’s eldest son, who has a physical disability. Even the extensive outdoor patio features small ramps that look like design elements as opposed to functional necessities. The home is also fitted with a sleek glass lift.

The wallpaper on the staircase leading to the first floor is dotted with mother of pearl – “an incredibly luxurious and exquisite detail,” says Julie. At the top of the stairs is a round sitting-room-style hall, which leads to the bedrooms. The otherwise-neutral palette is accented with rich purple textiles and bordered by Julie’s mashrabiya design. In an interesting twist on the ordinary, three of the four bedrooms are adjoining. “The family requested this because they thought it added flow and created a sense of seamless, easy living,” explains Julie.