The Palmetto

When we first walked the site with the client, the brief was simple and personal. Give us a compact family home that feels open to the garden, quiet from the street, and shaded from Dubai’s sun. They pictured morning coffee on an upper terrace and easy weekend gatherings by a small lawn. That image became the anchor for the design. We organized the house as a clear stack of volumes around a protected green court. A pale stone bar grounds the entry, a vertical spine sets the rhythm, and a cantilevered terrace with a lightweight pergola creates a deep shade pocket on the first floor. Living and dining open fully to the garden, while the private rooms sit above behind tall, softly screened windows for privacy. The plan keeps services and circulation to the hot west edge, allowing cross ventilation through the main spaces. The client was hands-on with materials and light. Together we tested pergola spacing with full-scale mockups and tracked shadows at different hours to tune the slats. We paired cool limestone with warm travertine and timber accents, added high-performance glazing, and layered drought-tolerant planting that reads lush without heavy water use. At night, discreet lighting washes the reveals and planters so the house glows rather than glares. The result is a calm, modern retreat that lives outside as comfortably as it does within—exactly what the owners asked for. Ask ChatGPT