Palm Living’s Nikki Martin and Karen Dougall Are On A Mission To Introduce A New Facet of Interior Design To The Region
The Dubai-based entrepreneurs have an unstoppable drive to make every client’s dream home a reality
Beautiful and bespoke, Palm Living Interiors builds a lifestyle – one where function and form mingle in continuous harmony. The brainchild of entrepreneurs Nikki Martin and Karen Dougall, the three-year-old Dubai-based company is an ode to handcrafted, European furniture that invites joie de vivre and an endless sense of tranquillity into the home through neutral shades of calming creams and whites – the brand’s signature palette.
Upon meeting Nikki and Karen in their Al Quoz showroom, it’s clear that their seamless synergy and warmth shapes the character of every piece here – the Sasha lounge chair, paired with the cosy-chic Paige Cloud suede sofa immediately captures my eye, and I learn that each item takes its name from a client or family member to inject a personal storytelling element into the Scandi-inspired designs. “We really like to connect with our customers and keep the retention high,” Karen explains, emphasising that most of their work springs merely from the love of it, “it’s something that we’re really passionate about.” Nikki looks around the space, admitting that she’s sometimes in disbelief that this, her ultimate life passion and something that brings so much joy, is in fact her job.
After identifying an increasing demand in the market for affordable luxury in interior design, Palm Living was envisioned with a purpose of offering both luxury and cosiness within price points that don’t break the bank. “The market in the UAE is maturing, as is the wider GCC, and our vision is to play a major role in providing individuals and families a home they can enjoy with a fresh approach to aesthetic living,” Karen shares.
The showroom feels more like a home – the soothing tones and textures exude a relaxed and comforting ambience aptly reflective of the pair’s personalities. “We believe that your home should be a sanctuary away from the stresses of work and general life – a place to enjoy and spend time with loved ones all in a peaceful environment,” they declare, jointly confessing their obsession with natural stone and the raw and organic feel that comes with the use of travertine or marble.
Before joining their business brains together, the design duo were friends for over a decade – and it shows. They first met through the fashion industry in Scotland’s Glasgow. Nikki reminisces, “We both relocated to Dubai and fell in love with the city and the lifestyle. Having moved to The Palm Jumeirah, we would spend a lot of time discussing styles and trends to furnish our own homes. We realised we had a passion for designing and furnishing our own apartments, and decided to take a chance and create Palm Living to help others.” The name was born from their love of The Palm archipelago itself and the homes that they created whilst living there.
With both Nikki and Karen hailing from a background in fashion, the industry inevitably informs their approach to Palm Living today – for instance, making sure that lead times for deliveries are quick and efficient is a rule they live by. Nikki explains, “We have taken a lot of inspiration from the fashion world to understand how the business works and have tried to implement them in the interiors business.”
“Having been friends for a long time we were fortunate enough to have a real synergy in our ideas and our aspirations.”
Nikki Martin
Karen continues, “There are a lot of parallels between fashion and interiors, both industries require a lot of creativity on the design side to find styles and trends consumers are engaged with. Our designs are created with the home in mind, helping clients understand and place each object in their home with consideration towards how it can help them feel happy in their own home.”
They agree that motherhood poses its trials on the business, but it’s nothing the duo can’t handle – in fact, Nikki tells me, she had her first child just eight months ago. “Honestly, being two working mums has its challenges,” Karen admits. “We are both very lucky to work for ourselves and to be able to dedicate time to spending with our families. A lot of our styles are named after people in our life including our children, and they are more interested in who is the most popular. Building a business can mean late nights, and lots of voice notes back and forth, but we enjoy the challenge and cherish the time we get to spend at home.”
“There are a lot of parallels between fashion and interiors, both industries require a lot of creativity.”
Karen Dougall
The dream, five years from now, is to expand Palm Living to the surrounding regions – such as Saudi Arabia, they hint. “Dubai gives you so much opportunity to evolve and grow and I think the wider GCC is moving towards that as well – look at Saudi, look at Neom,” Nikki expresses. The future very well could see more showrooms, new collections every two months, and even the introduction of home renovation services.
With such a competitive interior design landscape in the region, we wonder, how does Palm Living retain an authentic identity? “We’re a small business packed with a punch,” Nikki laughs. “We designed this brand to provide our clients with a personalised and bespoke service so clients can not only purchase our designs, but create their own dream homes too. We are aware that we also need to keep things fresh and evolve our product offering and react to our customers’ demands. We’re constantly looking for the next big thing and use social media to test ideas and ask our clients and followers for feedback on new concepts to put out to the market. We intend to grow our brand further and continue to provide people with styles and concepts that we believe in. We’re aware that the market is very competitive, but we believe in our brand offering, quality promise and, with our determination to succeed, we are ready for the challenge!”
As with launching any business, the journey to success wasn’t without its hindrances, but Dubai proved to be the perfect place to start. Karen elaborates, “We are so fortunate to have so many great partners here that help make the process simple and efficient. The government helps small businesses, and the optimism and warmth you feel through dealing with the different entities enhances the experience.”
To our surprise, Karen and Nikki are actually quite different in their thinking, yet while varying perspectives are shared on a daily basis, the end goal remains the same – this is what makes the brand so strong. So, we ask, what is the secret to a successful business partnership? “We are an all-female-owned business and we are passionate supporters of women in business, having been friends for a long time we were fortunate enough to have a real synergy in our ideas and our aspirations,” Nikki enthuses. “I’m a Sagittarius and Karen is Aquarian, which are very opposite personality types that complement each other really well. I think the greatest strengths we have in our partnership is we leave our egos at the door and, even when in disagreement, work together to find solutions and we have such an amazing time working together.”
The authenticity of Palm Living shines radiantly through all the made-with-love pieces – from the rugs and mirrors to the sofas and beds – and of course, through Nikki and Karen. Confident in their ability to reach even higher heights, the design mavens have made it their personal mission to do more than just build a profitable business – rather, to empower, inspire and leave an everlasting footprint in the industry. They smile, “We’re aiming for the stars.”
Photography: Efraim Evidor. Styling: Imogene Legrand. Words: Ayesha S. Shehmir.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2022 issue.