BUILD Q4 2026 Recognised this year as Emerging Interior Design Studio of the Year 2026 (UAE), Studio SA Designs is shaping a reputation for refined interiors designed around the way people truly live. We spoke to the founder Samreen Ahmed about where it began and where she is heading next. For Samreen Ahmed, aesthetics and function are never designed apart. Every plan starts with how a space will be used and every material, proportion and detail is shaped around the people who will live there. She believes a home’s character is shaped by the people it belongs to, by their routines, their stories and the way they move through each room. A home finds its expression through light, colour and texture and its depth through personal pieces gathered over time. Her color palettes are built in layers: a grounded base of warm, natural tones with colour introduced confidently where the home and its owners call for it. Materials and finishes are then layered until every room feels complete. Her path into design is far from conventional. Raised in the UAE, Samreen built her early career in technology, earning an honours degree in computer science before teaching in the field. It was in Dublin, designing her own home and later those of friends, that a lasting interest became a calling. “I have always been drawn to learning something new and I believed this creative journey would one day grow into a career of shaping homes with purpose” she says. I have always been drawn to learning something new and I knew this creative journey would one day become a career, one devoted to shaping homes with purpose.” She pursued her postgraduate diploma in interior design with distinction at the British Academy of Interior Design in London and in 2023, she founded her design practice, Studio SA Designs. Today Studio SA Designs is a full-service residential interior design practice, working on villas and apartments in Dubai and throughout the UAE, guiding each project from first concepts to final styling. The work spans space planning, lighting and electrical design, renovations, new builds and interior styling. “Clients come to me for a refined eye and a process that feels personal from start to finish,” says Samreen. Layered interiors and a refined approach to material and colour define work. Every project is founder-led, so I am personally involved from the first conversation to the final detail.” Alongside full projects,Studio SA offers more flexible services. Design consultations, on site or virtual, range from soft furnishings curation to full home colour schemes, while the interior styling service transforms a space without the need for major civil works. More often than not, what begins as a conversation about a palette, drapery or a single room frequently grows into a full project, as clients ask Samreen to take the lead on their entire home. Her philosophy rests on a simple idea: refinement should never come at the expense of everyday living. Before a single finish is chosen, Samreen spends time with her clients, learning their routines and where design can genuinely make daily life easier. “From there, I set a clear design direction that brings beauty, function and the essence of liveable luxury together, creating refined homes that outlasts any trend ” she says. Her clients remain part of every key stage, yet the complexity of the process rests entirely with her. “My clients should experience the considered side of design: Choosing materials and seeing their vision come to life. Everything that sits behind the process is taken care of by my practice.” FROM THE GROUND UP Her current work shows the depth behind that approach: a custom new-build villa she has been part of the early stages. “I’ve been collaborating with the architect’s firm since before the initial drawings began, conveying concepts through hand sketches,” she explains. “As the spatial layouts evolved around the client’s vision, I had to redo the lighting, electrical and space planning around the refined interior concepts that are now used for the implementation of the entire design”. It is the kind of technical work most clients never see, yet it shapes how a home feels long after the builders have left: where the light falls in the evening, how a room shifts from morning to night. BEYOND THE UAE With an emerging design studio award behind her, Samreen is spending the final months of 2026 developing her residential work and sharing more of the process behind each design. She is also looking further afield. “Having spent many years in Ireland and travelled widely across the UK and beyond, I’m fascinated by how different places and ways of living influence a home,” she says. “I’d further welcome hospitality projects and am keen to build relationships with developers and real estate partners abroad, offering thoughtful and a personalised boutique practice.” For a design studio built on the belief that luxury should be lived in, it feels like a natural next chapter. Contact: Samreen Ahmed Company: Studio SA Designs Website: https://studiosadesigns.com/ Where considered design meets everyday living.
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