Style & Taste
Notes on a softer existence.
Style & Taste is the Soft Existence journal — slow reading on considered living in Dubai and the wider UAE. We write about scented soy candles and how fragrance behaves in air-conditioned rooms, about woven cotton baskets and the quiet work of home organisation, and about the kitchen storage that keeps a warm, humid kitchen calm. Everything here is written for homes in this climate, not imported from another one.
The pieces are practical rather than aspirational: fixing a candle that has tunnelled, storing flour and rice through summer, styling a shelf without buying anything new, preparing a majlis for guests. New stories are added most weeks — start with the latest below, or follow the tag on any story to read by theme, from candles and scent to storage, styling and care.
Latest
Christmas Gift Ideas in Dubai That Survive January
Christmas gifts for her, for him, for the family who hosts and for Secret Santa: candles, baskets and canister sets that are still in use in March, delivered across the UAE.
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Diwali Gift Ideas in Dubai That Outlast the Sweets
Diwali gifts for the home instead of another box of mithai: candles for the festival of light, a hamper you build yourself, and canister sets for the family kitchen.
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Diwali Decoration Ideas at Home: Light First, Everything Else Second
Diwali decoration ideas for Dubai apartments: clear the surfaces, cluster candles and diyas at low height, marigolds in one colour, and a table set for sweets.
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How to Make a Gift Hamper at Home: A Dubai Guide
A gift hamper made at home costs less, holds better things and leaves a basket behind. The method: one anchor gift, three small things, tissue, linen, done.
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How to Choose a Kitchen Canister Set
What a good canister set needs, what goes in each canister, and how Maison Cream, Atelier Grey and Grand Maison compare for the counter you actually have.
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Gift Ideas in Dubai: What to Give When It Has to Feel Considered
Dubai gifting has its own etiquette - frequent hosting, mixed cultures, high standards and short notice. A practical guide to gifts that feel chosen rather than grabbed.
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Do You Need a Bread Bin? Why the Answer Is Usually Yes
The fridge ruins bread and the plastic bag sweats it. A bread bin is the old answer that still wins - here is what it actually does, and what to look for when you buy one.
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Home Decor in Dubai: A Guide to a Calmer, More Considered Home
Home decor in Dubai has its own rules - hard light, rental walls, marble floors and dust. A practical guide to decorating calmly and well, without drilling a single hole.
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Storage Baskets, Room by Room: How to Choose and Use Them Well
A practical, room-by-room guide to storage baskets - which materials work in a UAE home, what sizes actually get used, and how to style them so the room looks calmer, not busier.
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Wedding Gift Ideas for a Couple Setting Up Home
The wedding gifts still on the counter five years later: a canister set, a pair of candles, a basket set. Ideas by budget for couples in Dubai, sent or handed over.
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How to Fix Candle Tunnelling - and Stop It Coming Back
A candle that burns down the middle and leaves a wall of wax is tunnelling. Why it happens, how to rescue one that has already done it, and the single habit that prevents it.
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Why Is My Candle Smoking, Sweating or Leaving Soot?
Black smoke, soot on the glass, beads of oil on the surface. Four common candle complaints, what each one is telling you, and how to put it right.
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