Casual Elegance

Interior designer Preston O’Brien showcases a sophisticated style through considered design and custom pieces, at her family home in Jumeirah Golf Estates

- Eleanor Joslin

While some expats new to Dubai out for an easy cookie-cutter approach when furnishing their home, American interior designer Preston O’Brien drew upon her expertise to design outside of the box. Every room in her spacious family home in Dubai’s leafy Jumeirah Golf Estates is like a portfolio piece showcasing a distinct design aesthetic, from colonial to Hamptons to artfully sensory, all tied together with her trademark “fancy casual” approach.

With certain styles in mind, ones that she couldn’t readily accessorise and furnish from Dubai’s retail offerings, she custom-designed and made key accent pieces to create the looks she wanted to achieve.

‘I like casual elegance, sophisticated but also down to earth,’ says Preston, who finished her professional training in New York four years ago. ‘I don’t want anything to feel unattainable, however, I also want it to feel well put together and thought out. I like to use colour but to use it sparingly, so as not to be overloaded by it.’

Preston and her husband Greg, CFO for Shelf Drilling, are expecting their second child, sibling to 15-month-old Winston, who influenced a switch of some of the rooms as they needed a dedicated space for him to play downstairs. Once their home office (now situated in a statement pink and cream room across the hall), the playroom also doubles up as a family room and mixes a mature adult palette with sensory accents for the toddler.