“I wanted a space that would feel cozy and tactile, but also a little bold,” says Mohanad AlHattab, the UAE-based Syrian comedian, whose online persona is as colorful as the home he inhabits. The villa, designed by Emirati urban planner-turned-decorator Alamira Noor Bani Hashim, is an ode to balance: a calm, contemporary canvas enlivened with thoughtful color choices and a touch of whimsy.

Mohanad AlHattab on the cover of AD Middle East’s Feb/March 2025 issue.

AlHattab had heard about Bani Hashim through his friend, the singer Dana Hourani. “She was working with Alamira on her own home, and when I saw her work, I thought, ‘this is impeccably done, but it’s not exactly my style.’ Still, something clicked, and I reached out.” His parents purchased the villa in an upscale Dubai neighborhood in 2014, but the interiors remained unfinished. “The space was essentially an empty shell and had a lot of potential,” says AlHattab. “I extended the dining area, added better connections to the garden, and decided to work with Alamira to bring it to life.”

A view of the dining area from the living room. “I love the way the red tiles energize the space,” Bani Hashim says of the design. “The key was balancing that with soft, rounded furniture and natural materials.”

The living room has textured, clay-hued walls and is furnished with a mix of contemporary pieces and custom commissions.

According to Bani Hashim, who is known for her refined, minimalist aesthetic, the design process was deeply collaborative. “Mohanad has great taste, and even though he had a specific vision, he was open to exploring things outside his comfort zone,” she says. “We ended up finding a happy middle ground between his boldness and my restraint.”

“I wanted a space where I could really unwind—it had to feel like home,” says Mohanad AlHattab about his new Dubai villa, that boasts some serious style cred.

Anchored by a clean-lined staircase, the entirely wood-paneled hallway is possibly the most dramatic—and transformed—space in the villa. “It’s the first thing you see when you come into the house, and we felt that it needed to be a statement,” explains Bani Hashim. “I wanted to bring in the wood for a warm, natural element.” And whilst moody browns abound, it is the color’s refinement and maturity that attracted both AlHattab and Bani Hashim to drench this Dubai Villa in chocolate, not a suggestion by Pantone.

Now clad in wood, the staircase previously had a thin metal frame.

The layered design scheme is calibrated to gently stimulate rather than overwhelm the senses. Bani Hashim focused on introducing materials and textures that could coexist harmoniously, but with enough piquancy in the mix to stop it from being seen-it-all-before bland. “I like the idea of discovering a space slowly,” she explains. “I want people to notice more details the longer they spend in a room. Nothing should fight for attention, but it’s also important to have some characterful pause points.”

In the dining room, for example, the walls are lined with deep-red Moroccan Zellige tiles, and the ceiling is painted in the same almost-Gucci-Ancora-red shade. One side of the space is glazed, suffusing it with light and framing a view of the courtyard garden, which has been thoughtfully landscaped to include plants which echo the hue of the tiles. “I wanted the inside to blend seamlessly with the outside,” says AlHattab. “The garden really ties everything together.”

A view from the hallway through the dining area to the courtyard garden. Plants with beet-hued foliage create a visual link with the interior.

There’s a brave wash of color in the kitchen, too, in the form of mustard-yellow cabinetry which glows brighter or recedes as the light shifts throughout the day. “At first, I was worried it might be too much,” admits AlHattab. “I was flipping out because I didn’t consult any of my friends or family members and I thought they might hate it, but I love how it came out in the end.”

“It was important to have the wood grain show through the yellow,” says Bani Hashim of the kitchen cabinets. “Otherwise it would have looked a little cartoonish.”

Vessels in different natural materials lend the living room a wabi-sabi vibe.

“Yellow can be tricky,” says Bani Hashim, “but we made sure it felt sophisticated and balanced by allowing the wood grain to come through and pairing the cabinets with touches of stainless steel to ground things.” The rest of the house echoes this playful yet thoughtful approach to color.

A painting by Cristina Cañamero hangs on the first-floor landing.

The principal bedroom’s en-suite bathroom decorated in pearlescent Zellige tiles.

In the living room, a custom green rug echoes the garden beyond and a coral-red painting complements the adjoining dining area. The furniture is a mix of contemporary purchases and custom commissions, sprinkled with earthy elements such as roughly hewn wooden bowls and antique stone vessels. “Mohanad wanted the space to be comfortable, but also visually engaging,” says Bani Hashim. “Everything in the living room was chosen to enhance a feeling of serenity.” For Mohanad AlHattab, that sense of comfort was paramount. “I wanted a space where I could really unwind—it had to feel like home,” he says. “And the couch? It’s ridiculously comfortable. I spend a lot of time here, especially after a long day of filming.”

The principal bedroom with a sleek stainless steel headboard.

The lighting scheme throughout the villa helps to heighten the calming atmosphere. “I’m allergic to overhead lighting,” Bani Hashim laughs. “We used sconces and soft lighting to create mood without harshness.” It’s particularly evident in the principal bedroom, where a slubby linen bedspread contrasts with the statement brushed-steel headboard. “The goal was to create a sleek, masculine space but it also needed to be inviting,” adds the designer. “It was a challenge, but we made it work.”

A high-gloss folded paravent-style headboard adds drama to a guest bedroom.

As a content creator, AlHattab has cultivated a loyal following with laugh-out-loud-funny videos that satirize social media trends. “This home is a perfect backdrop for what I do: every single design detail is intentional, so, no matter where I place the camera, it’s going to look nice,” he says. “I started making content as a hobby, and now it’s become my life: I just hit a million followers on Instagram this week. I like that it’s such a neat number, and I’m in my neat era—especially in this house.”

“This home is a perfect backdrop for what I do: every single design detail is intentional, so, no matter where I place the camera, it’s going to look nice,” says the Syrian content creator about his cinematic Dubai villa.