The Sculpted Abode, Part 9: Joinery as Architecture | Dubai Villa Renovation Week 6
- Dora Tokai
- Sep 15
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 16
The Sculpted Abode, Part 9: Joinery as Architecture | Dubai Villa Renovation Week 6
By Week 5, progress spread across the house.
By Week 6, the house is changing character. Wardrobes, cabinetry, and doors are being installed, marble slabs are measured after tiling, and ceilings are closing for good. The rooms no longer feel like construction zones; they are beginning to read as finished spaces. Each detail takes its place, and for the first time, daily life feels close enough to picture.
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Joinery as Architecture
This week my son said something I’ll never forget:
“Mommy, you and Daddy are always working on the house. I don’t want a house. Take a hammer and just break the house. I just want you to remember me.”
It was his way of saying what we all feel, that the pace of this renovation has stretched us thin. I push hard to keep our own project from slowing down others on the studio’s plate, but that means the toll falls on family life instead. Ten weeks for a home with extensions, layout changes, and full MEP and HVAC from scratch is a big audacious goal. Every day demands fast, decisive choices; it’s intense, but standing on site now, the results are visible.
Joinery is now being delivered and installed in the rooms. Wardrobes line the walls, internal doors are fitted, and cabinetry begins to take its final shape. These are the elements we’ve been working on since day one. Designed, detailed, and prepared to slide into place as soon as conditions allowed.
Getting here has taken dedication and alignment. Drawings had to be updated after demolition, measurements re-checked once finishes were in, and safe margins built in where needed. That precision only holds because every partner is committed: our joiners, Daman Interiors, have shown up week after week, and suppliers like Teka delivered appliances on day one so cabinetry could begin without delay. It’s the kind of teamwork that makes a challenging ten-week renovation possible.
Site Progress Snapshot
All bathrooms are now fully tiled, including the powder and nanny’s bathrooms.
Ceilings have closed, and downlights are being installed.
The staircase continues to take shape: the concrete balustrade is being poured,
Carrara marble is cut for the steps, and the landings will be set in rotated herringbone next week.
Calacatta Paonazzo Verde marble is being cut for bathroom niches and shelves.
Joinery installation has begun on site, with wardrobes, internal doors, and cabinetry moving in.
Corniches and ceiling medallions are in progress
Rooms are getting painted
Cost & Precision Before Fabrication
Joinery is one of the most underestimated costs in a home, often imagined as a finishing touch when in fact it can equal the cost of construction. Kitchens, wardrobes, vanities, internal doors, front and back doors, even storage walls and built-in shelving — together they form the backbone of how a home functions. Done poorly, joinery is the first thing to fail. Done well, it becomes invisible in its ease, seamlessly supporting life.
Every piece of joinery in this house has been through rounds of drawings, checks, and measurements long before it took shape on site. We began with the existing conditions, detailing out wardrobes, vanities, doors, and cabinetry so that materials and technical needs were clear enough for proper quotations. This was the groundwork.
After demolition, the real picture emerged: walls stripped back, electrical lines and pipes exposed. Only then could the joiners return to take their next measurements, working those discoveries into the design so nothing would be left to chance.
When walls were finally finished — plastered in the rooms, tiled in the bathrooms — another round followed. Drawings were updated again, and every line was checked against reality. The joiners verified each dimension on site, because in the end, they carry the responsibility of a great fit. Some elements allow safe margins, covered neatly later by architraves, but wall-to-wall vanities and pieces tied to MEP demand absolute precision.
Joinery requires a layered rhythm: measure, design, demolish, measure again, build, measure once more. Each step protects the next, so when joinery arrives, it does not feel forced, but as though it has always belonged. That’s how precision is built, not in one moment, but through patience, timing, and trust.
Joinery Across Projects
In the dining area, joinery is part of the architecture, the concealed storage blends into full-height panels. The living room TV wall is wrapped in marble and silver oak, balanced by hidden cabinetry and lighting. In the master bathroom, a floating vanity aligns with integrated mirrors and brushed steel details.
Custom wardrobes curve around corners and doorways, echoing the home’s soft geometry.
The kitchen joinery conceals a pocket coffee station and wraps around into arched shelving zones. Throughout, closed storage dominates — open niches are few, intentional, and always aligned.
Joinery in Detail
Our wardrobes are finished in greige PU paint with laser-cut curved groove lines. This is a visual language carried through the house: the same curves soften the edges of wardrobe fronts and internal doors, echo the geometry of the AC grilles, and align with the radii of the staircase. The intent isn’t ornamental but architectural. The lines ease hard transitions, catch light softly, and tie separate elements into one coherent whole.
Closed storage is our default, because I don’t like clutter. Open shelving appears only where it has a purpose:
In the kitchen, one long shelf will hold plants, chopping boards, and candles; practical items chosen for the life and warmth they bring to this space.
In the living room, two large recessed arches with layered shelves will carry the books I love, along with collected objects. I often picture myself here, curled up on the new sofa with a cup of matcha, pulling a book from the shelf, watching how the light shifts across objects as the day moves. It’s a space designed to relax and recharge.
In my walk-in wardrobe, stainless steel and marble shelves frame a vanity space. This isn't storage but a quiet, secluded place where I can work, pause, and think creatively.
At D'Ora Tokai Designs, we believe every detail should carry intention; whether it’s a line cut into a wardrobe door, a recessed shelf for books, or a marble edge in a vanity.
This is the point of architectural joinery: storage that belongs to the space, reads as part of its structure, and lets large, composed surfaces do the visual work while the details whisper the continuity of the house.
Do’s & Don’ts
Do
Re-measure after demolition and after finishes; drawings alone aren’t enough.
Build in margins deliberately; cover tolerances with architraves and details.
Sequence carefully: niches → shower panels → final grouting → vanities.
Plan joinery as a major cost from day one; kitchens, wardrobes, vanities, and doors can equal the construction budget.
Don’t
Treat joinery as filler. When designed as architecture, it transforms space.
Overload shelves; leave room for light and shadow.
Rush production before conditions are ready; patience prevents costly remakes.
Closing Week 6
We’re entering the fit-out phase where drawings become lived-in reality.
This past week, cabinetry arrived not just as furniture, but as the backbone of the home — shaping how we move, store, and inhabit each room. Every groove, hinge, and shadowline has been anticipated for months. And now, piece by piece, it all clicks into place.
But alongside that visible progress, I’m reminded that building a home is never just physical. It’s emotional. It takes from you — time, attention, softness — and it gives something back only slowly. My son’s words were not just heartbreakingly honest, they were right. The home will be beautiful, but what matters most are the moments we share within it.
As we move into the final stretch, I’m holding both truths: that good design is worth the effort, and that presence — not perfection — is the real foundation of any home.
Looking Ahead to Week 7
Next week, marble arrives. Carrara will anchor the staircase, while Calacatta wraps bathroom niches in sculptural quiet. Light fixtures begin to appear too, their materiality echoing the stone, wood, and metal already defining the home.
Joinery continues to grow room by room. From here, finishing takes over — each layer adding depth, until our dream becomes reality.
Experience the process. Watch how a vision becomes a home, week by week.
This article has great insights for homeowners thinking about a remodel. Vulcan Hats Constructions is a trusted kitchen renovation contractor in Toronto, known for creating beautiful and functional kitchen spaces.