The first blog….ahhhh! It has been one of those things that I have always said I would do for myself. I have written blogs for my business and for other people but never on things happening in my life, interiors I love and general family life.
So, we moved to the UAE, just before a pandemic shut the world down. I literally felt like I was in a movie trying to get out of the UK before the world ended. It was the strangest feeling! My husband and I came out without the kids, to see the house, buy a few essentials and then I returned back to the UK to pack the house up in Surrey and get the kids ready for the move. All during a pandemic. It was fun (big lie), it was chaos. We had a fantastic company who packed up the furniture we chose to take
PSS Removals and cannot recommend them highly enough.
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| PSS Removal packaging UK side |
The furniture we brought with us:
We made the decision to bring a few key items with us, that would cost us more to replace than it would to ship. We chose to take our beds, all the kids toys so that they had their familiar items with them and our clothes etc. It was enough to start our home in Abs Dabs.
Now the serious stuff; Where to buy:
What we needed to buy: dining table, chairs and a sofa. As I was in the UK it had to be done online and delivered. The amazing thing in the UAE is that delivery often includes assembly and removal of all packaging material. This was a god send for my husband who isn’t the handiest!
Sofa – we went for the
Söderhamn from Ikea. It is modular and they have a new neutral colour way that works well with our colour scheme. The future plan is to get loose fit covers from
Bemz.
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| ©Bemz Design |
Dining Table and our outdoor sofas –
Pan Emirates is a great store. They have a massive selection for every room and are affordable with great style. We chose a garden table for our dining table. It is long, resilient due to being weather proof (you need that with two under 4). The outdoor sofas’ are just stunning. We got them in their sale, they always do great promotions so check them out.
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| Sofa's and chairs - Pan Emirates |
Chairs and other bits and bobs – We got our dining chairs from
Ikea, the store that everyone knows and loves. The best thing…..they have a build it service that is super affordable. No more shouting, storming off or accusing the instructions of being wrong.
West Elm has always been one of my favourite stores since I found it in the USA YEARS AGO! We brought a few items with us from the UK including a bed and bookcase from the
mid-century collection. Here we needed a new long chest of drawers: we went for the
Gemini dresser. They have a few stores in Abu Dhabi, so can see everything, which is great…and often have a
Pottery Barn close by, as they are the same company.
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| Gemini dresser - West Elm |
For affordable interiors then
Home Centre is the place to go. Pots and pans, bedding, to full dining table sets, they have it all. They are a great store if you need random items, but don’t want to look like an Ikea showroom. We got a few lamps, a mid-century style armchair and some other smaller, essential things like plastic storage from there.
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Luna accent chair - Home Centre
Mid-Century bookshelf - West Elm
Cosmo side table - West Elm |
I splurged on a few items from some amazing local stores.
Our youngest daughter’s wicker cabinet is from the gorgeous store
Tribe. They have an amazing selection of boho chic items that are
authentically unique and ethically-sourced.
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| Indah Side board - Tribe |
For the high end designer items – then The Bowery Company is where we got our dining pendant lamp and I splurged on a Ferm Living desert chair (hope the husband isn’t reading this). They stock the most gorgeous collection of Scandi designers, a mix of elegant and raw; a great source for beautiful things.
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| Ferm Living Desert Chair - The Bowery Company |
Urban Nest – these guys are still on my wish list. I have a bag of items saved, but with a two small kids and a global pandemic I haven’t bought anything as yet….but I guarantee you I will. Their selection of vases has me drooling!
Finally, most rental properties do not come with any utility items at all, you have to buy your oven and fridge etc unless you are luckily moving into a brand new flat or villa that has it all built in. The resale market here is huge, people leaving all the time. You can often pick up nearly new items from Facebook Marketplace groups and Dubizzle.com
These are just a small number of places to try when you are relocating to the UAE. My experience has been great with these stores, and the majority have online platforms and deliver with assembly included.
Images from @loveinahome instagram unless otherwise stated ©Lindsay Crafts
