In the glow of its pale wood and muted textiles, Kabana feels like a meditation on comfort – a space designed not to impress, but to let you exhale. Conceived by Omar Al Gurg, the Emirati architect, designer and photographer, the installation marks the Middle Eastern debut of Stellar Works, the Japanese-founded furniture brand with its production base in Shanghai, created in collaboration with New York’s Calico Wallpaper. Together, they’ve built an environment that blurs the boundaries between a boutique hotel and a home – immersive, tactile, and disarmingly calm.
“For years, we’ve been drawn to the Middle East’s creative pulse – especially the UAE, where design, culture and architecture are evolving at extraordinary speed,” says Daisuke Hironaka, CEO of Stellar Works. “We’ve worked on hospitality projects here for some time, but always from a distance. Two years ago, we established a dedicated presence in the region, and since then we’ve witnessed a surge of interest in what we call ‘New Luxury’ – a lifestyle that values authenticity, tactility and emotional connection as much as opulence.”
That philosophy underpins Kabana, unveiled during Downtown Design Dubai 2025 (5–9 November) as part of Dubai Design Week. But this isn’t a conventional fair booth. Al Gurg has choreographed a sequence of domestic zones – café, dining area, bar, lounge and reading nook – each furnished with Stellar Works’ latest collections and enveloped by Calico Wallpaper’s Atmosphere and Arcadia designs. The result is a spatial narrative that unfolds like a story of belonging.
“My vision was to design a booth that feels welcoming and functional, rather than purely decorative,” Al Gurg explains. “I wanted people to come in, spend time with the furniture, sit at the bar for a refreshment, and take in Calico Wallpaper’s wallcoverings and Stellar Works’ furniture. The longer people stay in the space, the more likely they are to fall in love with it.”
Within Kabana, design operates less as display and more as invitation. The café pairs Marea tables by Alessandro Munge with the Charlie Bench by Yabu Pushelberg and Frank Chairs by LAYAN; the reading nook juxtaposes Yabu Pushelberg’s Ynez Ottoman with Munge’s Pesca One-Seater Swivel. At the centre, a bar anchored by Calico’s Arcadia wallpaper forms a quiet focal point, its surfaces animated by the grain of wood and the soft diffusion of light. Nearby, the lounge gathers Munge’s Marea Lounge Chairs, Homstvedt’s Arc Sofa High Back, and AvroKO’s Boyd Dining Table into a gentle conversation of silhouettes.
“Stellar Works was born in hospitality, and that DNA naturally extends into the home,” Hironaka notes. “Today, the boundaries between a five-star hotel and a private residence are dissolving – clients expect the same degree of composure, craftsmanship and serenity in both.”
The collaboration also signals Stellar Works’ growing commitment to the Gulf. “Our business has always been borderless – Shanghai is our production heart, but our offices span Tokyo, New York, London, Los Angeles and Amsterdam,” Hironaka says. “Dubai now completes that circle. It stands alongside the world’s great design cities, and this debut is a commitment: to engage, to collaborate, and to shape the region’s hospitality landscape from within.”
For Al Gurg, Kabana is both statement and sanctuary – a momentary stillness within the fair’s wider intensity. “The stand is about creating a friendly, immersive environment where design can be experienced naturally,” he says.
Hironaka adds: “I hope visitors feel inspired to see luxury through a softer lens – not as display, but as atmosphere; not as trend, but as timelessness. Kabana is our first conversation with the region – a prelude to deeper collaborations. We want visitors to leave feeling that Stellar Works understands not only how people live, but how they wish to live.”
