Villa Kaluela

Villa Kaluela showcases a striking modern rustic brutalist design, centred around a central living space, with every room offering a view of the inviting pool and beautiful garden. The walls boast a clean white finish, while the warm wooden accents and sleek black window frames add a touch of elegance.

Deep, splayed window surrounds cut into white cubes give Villa Kaluela its street face, throwing each opening into shade. The five-bedroom house is designed for Dubai in a modern rustic brutalist style, with heavy white massing outside and warm timber and rattan detail within. Between the two main volumes, a recessed glazed centre sits darker, topped by a band of vertical louvres. A double carport is tucked under a dark timber-slat fascia, and a long pale boundary wall, slotted with narrow vertical openings, is planted with low palms, a date palm and saguaro cacti.

The plan centres on the living room, which is sunk a few steps below the dining area and wrapped in a U-shaped sofa. Behind the dining table, three tall slot windows let in narrow strips of daylight, and a timber-tread stair rises at the side. One wall is a full-height run of dark cabinetry with a lit bar niche and wine fridge. The kitchen island has a marble top on a dark base under rattan drum pendants, and a double-height void with a glass-balustraded gallery opens the centre of the house to the floor above.

Bedrooms have wide wardrobes, timber floors, rattan-blade ceiling fans and tall, narrow windows that echo the slots downstairs. A night render shows the facade lit from below along the boundary wall.

• White cubic volumes with deep splayed window reveals
• Sunken U-shaped lounge below the dining area
• Three tall slot windows behind the dining table
• Full-height dark cabinetry with a lit bar niche
• Double-height void with a glass-balustraded gallery
• Double carport under a timber-slat fascia