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.

Open built-in wardrobe with neutral clothes on matching hangers, a woven cotton basket and a white ceramic candle on the shelf, and a larger basket with shoes on the floor

Latest

Bedroom

Closet Organisation Ideas That Survive a Real Week

Closet organisation for the wardrobes UAE apartments actually have: the clear-out, the three-level method, small and walk-in wardrobes, linen cupboards, and a five-minute weekly reset.

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Corporate gift line-up on an oak table: two lidded soy candles tied with cream ribbon, a cream canister and bread bin set, and a woven cotton basket holding a linen napkin and card
Candles

Corporate Gifts in Dubai That People Actually Keep

Corporate gifts in Dubai for clients and employees, by budget: candles, basket sets and kitchen canister sets that go home and get used, with bulk ordering and UAE delivery.

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Woven cotton baskets holding linen-wrapped parcels beside a lit amber soy candle and a eucalyptus wreath for a quiet Christmas
Candles

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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A Diwali gift hamper in a small woven cotton basket holding a blush soy candle and a cream tea canister with marigold petals and a brass dish of sweets
Candles

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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Two lit soy candles in amber and blush glass among brass diyas and a marigold garland on an oak console for Diwali
Candles

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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A gift hamper in a woven cotton basket with tissue paper holding a blush soy candle and a cream sugar canister, with dates and pistachios beside it
Eid

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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Cream six-piece kitchen canister and bread bin set with wooden arch handles lined up on an oak counter beside a bowl of coffee beans
Buying Guide

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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Blush pink frosted soy candle with bamboo lid beside kraft and linen wrapped gifts on beige linen
buying guide

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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Cream steel bread bin with bamboo lid beside a fresh sourdough loaf on an oak kitchen counter
bread bin

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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Calm Dubai apartment corner with a frosted amber soy candle, woven cotton basket and cream canister in warm light
dubai

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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White and grey hand-woven cotton storage baskets holding folded linen on an oak shelf
buying guide

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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Cream tea, coffee and sugar canisters with an amber soy candle and a linen-wrapped parcel on an oak counter with the Dubai skyline behind
Dubai Living

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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