The Sculpted Abode, Part 7: Spa-like Bathroom Design | Dubai Villa Renovation Week 4
- Dora Tokai
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The Sculpted Abode, Part 7: Spa-like Bathroom Design | Dubai Villa Renovation Week 4
Week 3 focused on design, the open-plan kitchen, its materials, and the way daily life would flow through the ground floor. It marked the shift from hidden systems to visible choices.
By Week 4, that vision began to take physical form. Bathroom tiling started in the main spaces, custom drains and waterproofing were signed off, and HVAC and electrical reached completion. For the first time, the finishes began to rise — spaces that had lived on drawings now started to carry the calm, spa-like bathroom design, atmosphere we imagined.
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The Promise of a Spa at Home
Bathrooms are where rituals begin and end the day — the quiet moments before the world starts moving, and the sanctuary where it slows again at night. They are spaces for renewal, for calm, for transition, and for peace. That was the mood we began shaping this week. We deliberately avoided the glossiness and grandeur of hotels and the sterility of all-white interiors. The goal was warm and enduring, airy yet grounded, elegant and understated, minimalist yet layered with detail — in sum, a design that allows you to live in the moment.
Site reality stayed raw: 46-degree days, no AC running yet, dust in the air and crews moving with purpose. But the work itself shifted into a different gear. With the problem-solving of demolition and early services behind us, Week 4 was about spaces finally shaping up, crossing over from plans to reality: bathroom tiling began in the main spaces; HVAC and electrical reached their final stages in bedrooms and public areas; and joinery advanced off-site, aligned with the programme we’ve been driving since day one.
Before Tiling: Precision that Lasts
No tile is ever laid until the groundwork is exact. All built-in fixtures were set, waterproofing completed and flood-tested, ventilation confirmed, and levels marked with laser levellers.
In the master, where the bathtub and shower share one zone, we designed a wall-to-wall custom tile-insert SS316 linear drain at the shower entrance. This allows the bathtub to remain perfectly level while water flows neatly toward the opening, keeping the floor as a single plane rather than sloping awkwardly to a corner. These are the kinds of details you rarely see on Instagram — but you feel them every day you live in the space.
The Bathroom Language
We designed the bathrooms around larger, 120 × 60cm Spanish porcelain tiles, their limestone-like relief giving the walls and floors a calm, natural tactility. A matte surface was essential: glossy finishes bounce light too sharply, creating visual noise in a space that should restore. With colour-matched epoxy grout, the tiles form a continuous surface, non-slip and reassuringly safe for children, guests, and the rhythm of daily life.
We layered details onto this calm foundation. Calacatta Paonazzo Verde marble forms niches that project a centimetre from the wall, their chamfered edges giving them the presence of architectural elements rather than afterthoughts. Vanities in pale silver oak pick up the warm beige of the stone’s veins, grounding the palette in natural warmth. Reeded glass shower panels sink seamlessly into the floor, wall, and ceiling, with no visible channels; they read as floating planes of texture. Achieving that effect demands investment — premium materials, meticulous fabrication, and a contractor who understands how to make every junction disappear.
Fixtures with Heritage and Warmth from Ramon Soler
Across the master, children’s baths, and powder room, we opted for a brushed nickel finish for bathroom fixtures: warm in tone, soft in reflection, and timeless in proportion and form. Every fixture is designed by Ramon Soler, a Barcelona-based heritage brand with over 130 years of engineering expertise. Their products carry weight in hand: solid brass bodies, copper interiors, dependable cartridges, and geometry that resonates with our minimalist language.
For me, this choice was both professional and personal. I studied and lived in Spain, so working with a Spanish brand feels like bringing part of that history into our home. Sourcing came through Amisa on Sheikh Zayed Road, where Alaa managed the process with exceptional care — even arranging urgent shipments from Barcelona before the summer factory closure, so that our programme never slipped.
Light, Set Softly
We layered light to shape the atmosphere:
Frameless recessed downlights for clarity.
Concealed LEDs to wash the long niche over the bathtub, float the mirrors, and glow beneath vanities on motion sensors at night.
Alabaster fixtures as the crafted note.
Alabaster is a naturally translucent stone; when lit, its glow is soft, diffuse, and calming. In the master bathroom, we’re installing pendant lamps; in the children’s bathrooms, we keep to safer wall lights. Every bathroom has natural light, and mirrors are taken wall-to-wall and to the ceiling to carry that daylight through the space.
How We Live and How It Reflects In The Design
Minimalism, for us, is both a lifestyle and a design language. We keep only what we use, resisting the pull to accumulate products that add nothing but clutter. Too many bottles and containers create not just visual noise but emotional weight — distractions we’d rather live without. Built-in drawers beneath each vanity hold the daily essentials, so counters remain clear and the atmosphere composed.
That same ethos guides how we care for our home. We use eco-friendly, plant-based cleaning products in biodegradable packaging — choices that protect our stone and metal finishes, safeguard our family’s health, and support a more sustainable future. For us, design, lifestyle, and responsibility are inseparable; a minimalist space only fulfils its purpose when it’s lived with the same clarity and discipline that shaped it.
Minimalist Details
Custom drainage, engineered with precision: the master bath combines a tub and shower, with a wall-to-wall linear drain that keeps the floor perfectly level and the look seamless.
Reeded glass panels: sunk into floor, wall, and ceiling so they appear to float, with orientations carefully considered against joinery.
Niches and shelves: Paonazzo Verde marble projects slightly from the wall, its chamfered edges giving architectural clarity. Where niches weren’t possible, floating marble shelves were engineered with hidden brackets.
Ventilation, integrated: separate exhausts for WC and shower where possible, with circular terminals kept discreet to preserve the calm geometry of the rooms.
Do’s & Don’ts
Do
Approve final set-outs on site — drains, niche heights, and glass lines — once, with precision, and then let the team build.
Keep the bathroom palette coherent across the house; it elevates the daily experience and protects resale value.
Choose crews for skill, not price alone. Tiling is a craft: flawless alignment is what you notice every single day.
Don’t
Cut costs on drains, glass, or waterproofing. They’re invisible once finished, but the first places where problems appear.
Treat “secondary” bathrooms as afterthoughts. Consistency across all spaces elevates the whole house.
Ask for storage you don’t need. Simplicity is part of the calm you’re investing in.
Closing Week 4
The master bathroom was the first to take shape and be tiled, and with it came a shift: the works no longer felt like preparation but like creation. Finished walls began to rise, and the house started to show its character. From this point onward, progress will be visible every few days. After weeks of groundwork hidden beneath the surface, the design is stepping into sight. Each layer now adds atmosphere, and every day brings us closer to the sanctuary we envisioned.
Looking Ahead to Week 5
Week 5 will see ceilings close as MEP systems are concealed, bathroom tiling continue across all four rooms, and the staircase demolition begin alongside marble works. Joinery progresses off-site, aligned with finishes. It’s a week where invisible systems lock into place while visible beauty continues to rise.
Experience the process. Watch how a vision becomes a home, week by week.
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