After completing our Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, we carried forward our passion into starting The Design Lab. Our goal is to make people aware that good looking spaces are not restricted to budgets or areas outside their home. 🏠 We want to make design more approachable and achievable for the society. Our consultation fees start at ~AED2000 per area. We do not compromise on quality under any circumstance and try our best to achieve the vision put together by us with our clients’ choices in mind. 😍 – Payal & Richa
So my room had looked the same since a while, and it was in desperate need of a fresh makeover! I am so lucky to have found these amazing freelancers, The Design Lab, and oh boy – makeover they did! 😭❤️
The process:
- First, they met me at home to discuss the theme I wanted, what my aesthetic is, etc. It is important to tell them what you’re looking to get from the room. For eg: If you want an environment which helps you study better you can request to incorporate yellow 💛 into your room, a relaxing environment would dominantly be blue 💙, an energetic and stimulating space would have hues of red ❤️; I strongly do suggest you tap into colour psychology. I wanted something energetic and stimulating, so I opted for pink 💖 since red was a wee bit harsh. Also, one wall of my room used to be red and I wanted a change.
- They then examined the room, took measurements and guided me on what items or furniture can be repurposed/discarded/re-designed/purchased in another look. A few items were repurposed, but a new study table had to be purchased since my older white study table with green drawers did not resonate with the new theme I was going for 🙄. I also had a wooden bed (dominantly brown) that had to be replaced with a white (or neutral toned) bed instead. Thankfully, my sister, Jade D’Souza, had a white bed so I just took hers. 😉
- They even gave me some great advice: I wanted a bigger whiteboard for my notes but they recommended getting a glass wall instead, and I LOVE IT! It’s efficient and looks x100 better than a whiteboard! 😍 Additionally, I had tube lights before, and their recommendation on the same is below.
- I was extremely picky (and busy), so concluding on the *new* elements in the room took about a month. They don’t start the actual makeover until everything is decided and then purchased (unless you proly insist 🤷). They bring in all the stuff together, and mine, in particular, was a 12-hour transformation. The 12 hours included re-painting of my walls, fixating the lights and rearranging the furniture + items. They started at 10 AM and by 10 PM on the same day, I had a brand new room! 🤩
My thoughts & experience:
- One of the best things about The Design Lab, is that they work around YOUR budget. If your budget is around AED 3000 – AED 5000 (like mine), they’ll only shop from affordable places like IKEA and Dragon Mart. But, if you have a higher budget, your options from them would be from higher-end stores like Zara Home, Versace, Ethan Allen, etc. 👌
- Painting my walls was a bit more expensive than usual. This was because my walls were red, and they needed to apply 6 coats of white paint to get the colour off. 🤦♀️
- Their attention to detail is phenomenal! My walls aren’t an ordinary white. They chose a cotton cloud white for my room to complement the pink.
- They gave me several re-arrangement and design options in 2 days time, followed by visiting my room. They suggest what they think will work best, and ask you for your opinions as well. 🤗
- The below was what they recommended. However, I did not choose it because I wanted bright pastel vs. sober and dusky shades. And boy did they deliver exactly that! 😻
- They really know how to pick out some great furniture. Everything I got was listed in the invoice against the store names 👌. The purchased lights are not only super gorgeous, but it even comes with 3 settings – yellow, off-white and white! I opted out of the bedside lamps in the end, because my room already had great lighting. A lot of people wanted to know where I got my photo frames from as well; they’re all from IKEA, and I printed out the pictures myself according to the frame sizes 😊. The only thing pending from this list is the bean bag.
- I didn’t want to blow a fortune on just bedside tables. So Payal & Richa bought some plain white bedside tables and painted the drawers pink and gold themselves! 😲 The knob on the drawer was something they purchased separately. Something as stunning as this, ready-made, would’ve easily cost a huge amount. But the way they ‘DIY’ affordable items into high-end looking ones is incredible 🤯
- I used to have red marquee lights before, which The Design Lab painted gold to match the vibe of my room. In fact, it’s the same gold that they used for the foot of my bedside tables 🖌
- Another item that I received a LOT of enquires about on Instagram is this bear pillow. 🐻 I sleep on my arm at times, so my mom got me this We Bare Bears Pillow [Grizzly] from Miniso, Dubai Mall for my birthday. I just have to put my hand in it, and then I can rest my head comfortably against it. Not only is it incredibly soft and efficient, but Miniso also makes sure that their products are comfortable and skin-friendly. 😍 They don’t use any shoddy cotton, and insist on using a high-quality cotton filling only!
Conclusion:
I am honestly in love with my room, it legit looks like it’s come out of Pinterest! 😭❤️ The colours, the furniture, the decor – everything feel 100% me and everyone who’s seen it so far have given me nothing but compliments. The entire process was smooth, hassle-free and I ended up with my dream room. I would definitely recommend The Design Lab to anyone who is looking to get a fresh new look for their space! 👍
