Studio or one bedroom
Design and basic scope for a small apartment, published by Pine Tree Lane at AED 10,000 to 25,000 for a studio.
- Tower rules in the brief
- Furniture layout
- Lift and delivery plan
from AED 10,000
Apartment interiors
Apartment interior design in Dubai
In a tower, the building decides as much as the designer: which walls stay, which tiles stay and when the lift is yours. We write those limits into the brief before any firm quotes.
The bands
Apartment interior design in Dubai: what does it cost?
Apartment interior design in Dubai is priced by bedroom count more often than by floor area, and the published bands overlap heavily. The table below keeps each firm's figures on their own row, read in September 2026, so you can see where the sources agree and where they part.
How much does apartment interior design cost in Dubai?
Design and basic scope for a studio is published at AED 10,000 to 25,000, and for one or two bedrooms at AED 25,000 to 60,000 (Pine Tree Lane). Ray Fitout's apartment guide puts a one-bedroom at AED 40,000 to 120,000 and two bedrooms at AED 80,000 to 250,000. Design alone for a whole apartment runs AED 15,000 to 60,000 and above (Bestimate). The apartment rows carry their sources.
Which apartment bands do Dubai firms publish?
| Apartment and scope | Published figure in AED | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| Studio, design and basic scope | AED 10,000 to 25,000 | Pine Tree Lane |
| Studio, total | AED 10,000 to 80,000 | Ray Fitout |
| One bedroom, small turnkey package | AED 10,000 to 15,000 | AI Designs |
| One or two bedrooms, design and basic scope | AED 25,000 to 60,000 | Pine Tree Lane |
| One bedroom, total | AED 40,000 to 120,000 | Ray Fitout, apartment guide |
| Two bedrooms, total | AED 80,000 to 250,000 | Ray Fitout, apartment guide |
| Whole apartment, design only | AED 15,000 to 60,000+ | Bestimate |
| 1,500 sq ft apartment, professional fees | AED 35,000 to 135,000+ | Algedra |
| Entry-level apartment, full fit-out | AED 200,000 to 340,000 | Algedra |
Ray Fitout publishes two sets of apartment figures on two pages: its general cost guide gives AED 25,000 to 120,000 for one bedroom and AED 100,000 to 200,000 and above for two, and its apartment guide gives the ranges in the table. Algedra's entry-level total sits far above the rest because it prices a complete fit-out of the apartment. Ask any firm which of these scopes its figure describes.
Send us the apartment and the tower
What can you change inside a Dubai apartment?
Less than in a villa, and the limits are written down.
| Building or authority | What an apartment design may not do | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Emaar towers | Remove walls, remove existing tiles, move or cover MEP and firefighting systems | Emaar home modifications factsheet |
| Town Square apartments | Remove or replace floor tiles; new tiles go on top, but not on balconies | Nshama apartments manual, 2026 |
| Dubai Municipality | Add, remove, merge or split built-up area under the décor route | Circular 3-8-1 of 2021 |
| Any rented unit | Start décor works without the property owner's approval | Circular 3-8-1 of 2021 |
Inside those limits a great deal is open: paint, lighting, loose and fitted furniture, new floors laid over old ones, and ceilings. Dubai Municipality asks for no building permit for décor in units of 100 square metres or less, and in larger units the accredited contractor issues its own permit through Dubai BPS. Where a design would take out a wall, Emaar's answer in its towers is no, and elsewhere a registered consultant has to file the change as a modification. Our Dubai approvals page sets out that route.
When can apartment work and deliveries happen?
Tower rules set the clock. Emaar's 2026 rules for its apartment buildings allow noisy work from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, an hour earlier than in its villa communities, while its permits portal gives contractor access from 8 AM to 5 PM. In Nakheel and Dubai Properties towers, Dubai Holding Community Management's 2026 rulebook allows minor works Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM, keeps noisy work to the same two windows, and wants requests through the community app 24 hours ahead or by email 72 hours ahead.
In Abu Dhabi's Aldar-managed towers, the community handbooks set the rules. A furniture delivery needs two days' warning, gets the lift for no more than two hours, and has to arrive in a vehicle no taller than 1.2 metres. Gate & Arc on Al Reem Island adds a quiet period from 8:00 PM to 8:30 AM on working days. We build the design programme around these windows from the first draft.
Designing an apartment you rent out
Owners who design a unit to let it work under the same building rules, with two more things to weigh. A tenant cannot commission décor works without your approval under Dubai Municipality's circular, so the design you choose is the one the next tenant lives with. And apartment work costs more than it looks: Vision Three, a Dubai renovation firm, publishes that apartments sit 15 to 25 percent above villas at the same specification because of building access restrictions. The hub's guide to rented property rules covers Ejari, RERA and reinstatement at the end of a lease.
Apartment interior design in Dubai towers: who signs off?
Up to three parties. The authority comes first: Dubai Municipality for most of the city, with its no-permit route for units of up to 100 square metres. Then the developer or community manager: Emaar's NOC comes through its community portal, and Nakheel's online services list a separate Request For An Apartment Modification. Some towers add a third gate. Al Reem Island has been part of ADGM since April 2023, so a unit owner there needs two consents: one under ADGM's strata title regulations and one from the tower's Owners Union. Our interior design homepage explains how we put one scope to several firms.
Scope
Three apartment scopes
One or two bedrooms
Design and basic scope across a family apartment, AED 25,000 to 60,000 on Pine Tree Lane's published range.
- Room-by-room layouts
- Overlay floors where required
- Working hours planned
from AED 25,000
Design only
Drawings and a finishes schedule for a whole apartment, which any accredited contractor can price. Bestimate publishes AED 15,000 to 60,000 and above.
- Drawings you own
- Contractor chosen separately
- NOC file prepared
from AED 15,000
How it works
How an apartment brief reaches three firms
Tower and unit
The building, the floor area and a floor plan or photos. Tell us if the unit is rented.
Building limits
We list what the building forbids and when work may run, so no firm designs around a rule it has not seen.
Three proposals
The same scope goes to licensed firms that work in towers like yours.
You sign
You contract with the firm directly, with the building's approvals written into its scope.
More on Apartment interior design in Dubai
Common questions: How Much Does an Interior Designer Cost in Dubai?.
Questions
Apartment design questions
- Can I remove a wall in my Dubai apartment?
- In Emaar towers, no: the home modifications factsheet does not permit removing walls in apartments. In Town Square, opening or removing interior walls is allowed only in townhouses. Elsewhere, a wall that carries load needs a registered consultant and a modifications transaction with Dubai Municipality, plus the building's consent.
- Do I need a permit to redesign my apartment?
- Often not from the authority. Dubai Municipality waives the building permit for décor in units no larger than 100 square metres, and it files paint, floors, doors and suspended ceilings under simple maintenance, which needs only an accredited contractor. The building or developer may still want an NOC, and a tenant needs the owner's approval.
- Can I replace the floor tiles in my apartment?
- In Emaar towers the existing tiles stay, and new tiles are laid over them. Town Square apartments follow the same overlay rule, which does not extend to balconies. Where replacement is allowed, Dubai Municipality treats changing floors as simple maintenance with no permit, provided an accredited contractor lays them.
- How much does a one-bedroom apartment interior cost in Dubai?
- Published figures run from AED 10,000 to 15,000 for a small turnkey package (AI Designs) to AED 40,000 to 120,000 on Ray Fitout's apartment guide, with Pine Tree Lane at AED 25,000 to 60,000 for one or two bedrooms. Read what each figure includes before comparing them.
- When can contractors work in an Emaar apartment building?
- Emaar's 2026 rules for its apartment buildings limit power tools and other noisy work to 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Its permits portal gives contractor access from 8 AM to 5 PM, except on Sundays and public holidays, though an older clause on the same page still names Fridays. Every contractor needs an entry permit, even for work that needs no NOC.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the apartment
Tower, floor area, bedrooms and what you want designed. We come back with design firms who quote against the published bands, and show you where each quote sits against them.