Amansamar: Redefining Ultra-Luxury Design for Dubai’s Interior Visionaries

By Vellum & Forge Editorial

Serenity, Soul, and the Future of Luxury in Dubai

The unveiling of Amansamar, Aman Group’s highly anticipated debut in Saudi Arabia, is more than a hospitality milestone. It is a cultural statement, a design manifesto, and a redefinition of what ultra-luxury living means in the Middle East.

Situated in Wadi Safar near the UNESCO-listed heritage of Diriyah, Amansamar brings together landscape, culture, and craftsmanship into a symphony of minimalism and meaning. For Dubai’s interior designers, architects, and luxury developers, it offers not just inspiration but a blueprint for the future.

The project draws its name from samar — the Arabic tradition of gathering under the acacia tree in the evening for stories and poetry. Coupled with Aman, meaning peace, the name reflects its essence: a place where serenity and soul converge.

For those shaping Dubai’s luxury villas, branded residences, and ultra-premium interiors, Amansamar is not simply a resort. It is a compass, guiding design away from spectacle and toward authenticity, cultural rootedness, and quiet sophistication.

Wadi Safar, Diriyah — The Grounding of Place

Amansamar’s location is as significant as its architecture. Nestled in Wadi Safar, a landscape of desert escarpments, cliffs, and arid plateaus, the project becomes inseparable from its setting.

Unlike urban luxury developments that rise in isolation, Amansamar is woven into its terrain. Residences and villas are positioned to embrace panoramic desert vistas, natural light, and seclusion. The desert is not backdrop but protagonist.

For Dubai, where many villas overlook city skylines or artificial coastlines, this contextual integration offers a reminder: true luxury emerges when place and design speak to one another.

Aman’s Design Ethos — Minimalism as the New Grandeur

Aman is synonymous with quiet luxury — the kind that whispers rather than shouts. Under Jean-Michel Gathy’s direction at Denniston Architects, Amansamar channels this ethos into architecture that is minimal yet monumental, restrained yet resonant.

• Spatial Harmony: Proportions are meticulously balanced. Grandeur is achieved not through ornamentation but through light, volume, and silence.
  

• Indoor-Outdoor Flow: Shaded loggias, courtyards, and terraces create seamless transitions, shaping how residents experience climate and view.
  

• Privacy as Luxury: Villas are designed as sanctuaries, each oriented for both seclusion and perspective.
  

For Dubai, this is a counterpoint to over-statement. Instead of marble excess and chandelier bravado, luxury may instead lie in the depth of shadow, the coolness of stone, the softness of ambient light.

Interior Language — Materials, Craft, and Light

The interiors of Amansamar align with Aman’s global philosophy: simplicity imbued with meaning. Yet they also draw deeply from Saudi heritage, producing a material language rich with cultural resonance.

• Materials: Locally sourced stone, textured plaster, warm woods, and woven textiles form the palette. Surfaces are tactile, authentic, and enduring.
  

• Craft: Inspiration from Diriyah’s mud-brick geometry and vernacular details ensures interiors are not imported veneers but culturally embedded.
  

• Light: Recessed windows, shaded corridors, and carefully orchestrated openings make sunlight a design medium rather than a challenge.
  

For Dubai villas, adopting this philosophy means curating material honesty. Plaster walls, raw stone, handcrafted ceramics, and muted desert hues can replace gloss and polish, creating a richer sensory experience.

Emerging Trends Amansamar Embodies

Amansamar is more than a project — it is a lens through which we see luxury design trends for the next decade.

1. Wellness as Core Design
    Spa rituals, hydrotherapy, meditation spaces, and natural ventilation become embedded within architecture. Dubai villas can learn from this by integrating private spas, yoga courtyards, and biophilic interiors.
   

2. Privacy and Personalisation
   Residences are not only vast but tailored, with seclusion as the ultimate luxury. Dubai’s branded residences should emphasise personal sanctuaries over shared spectacle.
   

3. Cultural Authenticity
   From acacia symbolism to vernacular crafts, Amansamar’s interiors resonate with Saudi identity. For Dubai, the lesson is clear: global luxury must also be locally grounded.
   

4. Sustainability with Elegance
   Passive cooling, natural materials, and energy-conscious planning demonstrate that environmental responsibility can coexist with indulgence.
   

5. Experiential Journeys
   Amansamar understands luxury as an unfolding sequence: arrival, threshold, journey, discovery. Dubai interiors must design not just rooms, but narratives of experience.
   

Application for Dubai Villas & Branded Residences

To apply Amansamar’s philosophy within Dubai’s ultra-premium landscape, designers must shift from ornamentation to an orchestration of serenity. The lessons translate into very practical design moves:

1. Arrival as a Ritual
   Instead of double-height marble foyers crowned with chandeliers, arrivals can be conceived as thresholds of calm. A shaded entry, textured stone underfoot, and framed views of desert or garden create a sense of grounded elegance. Luxury here is found in silence, proportion, and anticipation.
   
   
2. Living Rooms with Soul
   Traditional Dubai luxury often leans on polished marble, glossy finishes, and showpiece furniture. An Amansamar-inspired living space privileges organic textures, matte finishes, and curated tactility. Warmth replaces gloss; intimacy replaces scale for scale’s sake.
   
   
3. Master Suites as Sanctuaries
   Rather than ornate ceilings and mirrored walls, bedrooms evolve into private wellness retreats. Spa-inspired bathrooms, muted palettes, and access to private terraces or courtyards turn the master suite into a sanctuary for restoration.
   
   
4. Bathrooms Rooted in Ritual
   The marble-laden bathroom gives way to hammam-style intimacy. Natural stone, textured plaster, and diffused lighting transform bathrooms into ritual spaces. Deep soaking tubs, steam areas, or indoor-outdoor showers provide both function and poetry.
   
   
5. Outdoor Integration
   Landscaping is no longer an afterthought. Instead of decorative gardens, Dubai villas can embrace integrated courtyards, shaded pergolas, and native plantings such as acacia or palm. These create outdoor rooms that are both ecological and experiential.
   
   

Challenges and Realities

Translating Amansamar’s ethos into Dubai is not without challenges:

• Climate Extremes: Materials must withstand humidity, solar gain, and sandstorms.
  

• Client Expectations: Some UHNWI clients equate luxury with spectacle. Designers must educate them on the value of quiet luxury.
  

• Maintenance: Minimalist interiors expose flaws easily; material selection must balance beauty with durability.
  

Yet these challenges present opportunities for designers to differentiate their offerings in a crowded luxury market.

Vellum & Forge’s Strategic Role

For Vellum & Forge, Amansamar’s unveiling is a cue to position itself as the bridge between Saudi serenity and Dubai sophistication.

• Material Libraries: Expand sourcing to include desert stone, handcrafted ceramics, and regional woods.
  

• Narrative Interiors: Develop design concepts rooted in storytelling — desert journeys, acacia motifs, Arabian evenings.
  

• Wellness-Driven Spaces: Embed wellness rituals into villas, from private hydrotherapy suites to shaded meditation gardens.
  

• Cultural Authenticity: Champion local artisanship, ensuring interiors resonate with regional identity.
  
  

In doing so, Vellum & Forge affirms its leadership in shaping the next chapter of ultra-luxury interiors in Dubai.

From Wadi Safar to Dubai’s Villas — The Future of Soulful Luxury

Amansamar is more than Saudi Arabia’s first Aman resort. It is a design philosophy in built form: serenity anchored in landscape, authenticity woven into interiors, wellness framed as lifestyle, and minimalism elevated to grandeur.

For Dubai’s interior designers and luxury developers, the lessons are clear. The future of design lies not in spectacle, but in soul. Not in quantity, but in quality of experience.

At Vellum & Forge, the path forward is illuminated: to craft interiors that feel timeless, grounded, and meaningful — spaces where serenity is not staged but lived.

 Are you a designer, architect, or developer shaping the next era of Dubai’s ultra-premium interiors? Discover how Vellum & Forge can bring cultural depth, artisanal craft, and wellness-driven serenity into your projects.

An Heirloom Approach. Tactile Intelligence. Considered Decisions.

Invite Vellum & Forge into your next masterpiece

📩 Begin your collaboration: studio@vellumforge.com