How to furnish your home in Dubai

To furnish a home in Dubai, find out what your flat already has, measure every room and the way in, then buy in order: a bed and mattress first, then seating, then storage and a table. Plan where each item goes before you pay for it, and sort out your building’s move in rules before anything arrives. Leave decor until last, because it’s easier to choose once you’re living there.

Most of the work is deciding things in the right order, so that’s how this guide goes.

What comes with your flat, and what doesn’t

Start with your tenancy contract, because "unfurnished" means different things in different buildings. Many unfurnished flats have built in wardrobes and kitchen cabinets. Appliances vary: some flats have a hob, an oven or a fridge, and some have none. Curtains are often not included, so check the inventory before you plan to buy them.

A furnished flat usually comes with a bed, wardrobe or drawers, a fridge and a washing machine, and sometimes curtains or blinds. That’s useful as a comparison, so you know what you’d be buying yourself. The main question between the two is how long you expect to stay: the longer it is, the more sense it makes to buy things you’ll keep.

Ask for a list of what’s included and check it against what’s there. On move in day, photograph every room, note the condition of what you find and keep a signed inventory.

How to measure your rooms and the way in

Measure each room’s walls, the ceiling height, the doors, the windows and anything you can’t move. Then measure the way in: the lift, the corridors, the corners and your front door. A sofa that fits the room can still fail at the lift. Our guide on how to measure a room covers each measurement. Keep the numbers on your phone, so you have them when you’re looking at a listing.

What to buy first, and what can wait

Most advice agrees on roughly this order:

1. A bed and mattress. Sleep comes before everything else.
2. Seating. A sofa or a couple of good chairs.
3. Storage and a table. Wardrobes if you need them, shelves, a dining table, a desk.
4. Decor. Rugs, lamps, art, cushions and plants.

Made to order sofas often set the pace, because lead times can run from weeks to months. If you want one, order it early and fill the gap with something simple. Set your budget before you start, so the first big purchase doesn’t decide the rest.

New or secondhand: what suits each

Many people furnish a home in Dubai with secondhand items. It suits solid things that age well, like wooden tables, shelves, chests of drawers, dining chairs and wardrobes. New suits things you’d rather know the whole history of, such as a mattress. Look at any secondhand item carefully before you pay: what to check before buying secondhand furniture lists what to look for.

Plan the layout before you buy

Draw each room on paper or your phone, then add the doors, windows and fixed things. Mark the swing of every door and wardrobe. Then try the big items on the plan at their real size. It’s far easier to find out on a drawing that a sofa blocks a door. There are rules of thumb for how much room people need to walk past furniture, and spacing rules for a small room has them. Treat them as a starting point.

Furniture Lab, an app in testing now, is built for this step. You scan your room or upload a floor plan and describe the look, and the designer plans the room with secondhand items at their true size, shown in 3D.

Furnish each room

Living room. Put the seating where you’ll naturally face, add a low table within reach, then a rug to tie it together. Keep a sofa or wooden table out of direct sun from a window, and keep one clear path through. If the flat came with a sofa you don’t love, see what to do with your landlord’s grey sofa.

Bedroom. Place the bed first and build around it, leaving space to open the wardrobe and drawers. If the room is small, our guide to a small bedroom that doesn’t feel like a hotel shows how to keep it warm without crowding it.

Dining. Choose a table for how many people sit at it most days, not the biggest dinner you might host, and check the chairs can pull out and still leave a way past.

A balcony or a majlis. A balcony needs furniture that copes with sun, dust and humidity, and buildings have their own rules, so read how to furnish a Dubai balcony first. For a majlis in a flat, see how to set up a majlis.

Protect it from the sun and the damp

Strong sun fades coloured fabrics, bleaches wood finishes and yellows whites, and the damage builds up over time. Lined, thermal or blackout curtains are widely recommended for sun and heat, so fit them soon after the bed rather than leaving them with the decor. If you’d like screens or window film as well, check your tenancy contract and your building first, because some don’t allow changes to windows. Humidity matters too: keep the air conditioning running, because mould can form on leather, wood and cloth when the air stays damp.

Moving in: permits, lifts and connections

Some buildings and communities need a move in permit before furniture or movers can come in. It may ask for your tenancy contract, your Ejari registration (Ejari is Dubai’s tenancy registration system), and passport and visa copies, and some buildings want it about a week ahead. Requirements vary, so ask your building what it needs. Ask about the service lift too: whether it has to be booked, how much notice it needs and whether there’s a deposit. Contact licensed movers about two weeks before the day, and reconfirm a few days before.

If you rent, once your tenancy contract is registered through Ejari, your electricity and water provider sends your account number and the deposit amount, and the connection usually follows soon after you pay. If the previous tenant’s account is still open it can take longer, so ask your landlord or agent to confirm it’s closed. Internet and phone come from the two main providers, and you can usually apply on their sites or apps. Some premises, such as free zone ones, follow a different route, so check with your building or your tenancy contract.

Make it feel like yours

Once the essentials are in, live there for a while before buying extras. You’ll find out where you sit and what’s missing. Then add art, lamps, plants and textiles. If you rent, our guide to making a rented flat feel like home shows how to do it without leaving a mark. There are guides too on how to make a first flat look grown up and on mid century furniture in a modern flat.

Common questions

What do I need to buy when I move into an unfurnished flat?

A bed and mattress, somewhere to sit, storage and a table. Check whether curtains, a fridge, a washing machine, a hob or an oven are included, because these vary from flat to flat.

Furnished or unfurnished: which is better?

It mostly depends on how long you’ll stay. A longer stay favours buying your own, and a shorter one favours furnished. Check what your tenancy contract says about furniture either way.

Do I need to buy a fridge and washing machine?

Not always. Some unfurnished flats have them and some don’t, so ask the landlord or agent for a list before you move in.

Is it worth buying secondhand furniture in Dubai?

For many things, yes, especially solid wood that ages well, such as tables, shelves and chests of drawers. Check each item before you pay, and think about buying a mattress new.

How do I move furniture into a Dubai tower?

Ask your building about its move in permit and the service lift before delivery day, then book licensed movers about two weeks ahead. Each building has its own rules.

How long does it take to furnish a flat?

It depends on what the flat includes and how long made to order items take, which can be weeks, so order those first and get a bed and a table in quickly. Move in rules and lift bookings can also set the pace.