How the multifaceted home of Ahmad Almuhassin, Villa Aumédan, has become a part villa, part concept store, floral boutique and the secret neighbourhood coffee shop.
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
I wake up early every day, my day doesn’t start without praying, having my cup of coffee and my lactose intolerance pills. I am an early riser, I wake up at 6 and aim to be quite fast in my morning routine. I always make sure, I avoid checking my phone directly when I am in bed and mostly begin to do that when I get into my car. My mornings define my whole day, so it’s those 30 minutes in the morning that matter to me. I also have a quick catch-up with my loved ones in the morning and make sure they are in good health.
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Talk us through your background?
I grew up regionally between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. My childhood was mostly around my family, travelling around the world with my father, all the way to Australia, London, Thailand, France, Costa Rica, Italy and more. This is what shaped me within my formative years, as I was getting exposed to different cultures at a young age. I also studied Mass Communications and PR, while minoring in photography. Yet, I have always been passionate about lifestyle, food, flowers and specific brands and the creative directors behind them. My creative process depends on the city I am in, the surroundings and especially my friends who are around me. I would say that this plays a huge role in my life and it does affects the final outcome of the product design that I would be working on, whether it’s a campaign, or a new brand that I am launching at Villa Aumèdan or even a new flavour of coffee that we will be introducing in the secret “If you know, you know Cafe” at Villa Aumèdan.
What inspired you to launch Villa Aumèdan?
My inspiration behind Villa Aumèdan comes from many different aspects honestly. My first drive when I got Villa Aumèdan was to live in it, and guess what, I actually did. I was always amazed by the houses in the south of France when my family and I used to travel in summer and spend our time in those simple villas in Côte d’Azur yet they have always inspired me to have something similar in Dubai, such as a one story villa with a private pool and a small garden – this is heaven for me. But a few months later, I thought of opening the flower studio which my sister Noura AlMuhassin who is the Managing director at Villa Aumèdan right now, is the brainchild behind. I surprised her by building up a whole studio complemented by a big fridge in the transformed Garage. She never expected that surprise and I handed it over to her right away. Yet I was still living in the villa and always wanted to have my own coffee bar and always wanted to call it “If you know, you know Cafe” and that is the whole point why it is hidden in the villa.
This concept has several components including a concept store, coffee shop and floral boutique – how do you balance all the elements?
Every section in the villa complements the other, and I believe that is the magic that the place holds. If you like to be surrounded with beautiful art pieces and nature, this is the zen place that you want to be in. It’s a 33-year-old one-story space – talk us through the interiors. I am not sure if you can imagine what a 33-year-old villa would look like, but I am sure you can tell how beautiful the architecture is of it. The design of Villa Aumèdan and it’s structure is exceptional, but it was not painted, not elevated, and it needed so much work and I would say I have done some things from scratch and all by my own. I have kept the old elements but I have uplifted and added some architectural elements. I had to keep the DNA of the villa its so beautiful and the texture of the walls that the villa holds is so special that no one does nowadays. It’s like getting a classic Rolls-Royce and taking care of it all over again, not just that but also driving it around in Jumeirah!
The minute you walk in, your mood is totally changed and you are instantly transported to another destination – tell us more.
The white pebbles, the greenery and landscaping, and the angle of the villa, makes you feel welcomed from the moment you enter. Overall, I have never seen in Dubai a place like Villa Aumèdan – which makes me so happy. Letting my audience and clients experience the feeling and the mood, is so close to my heart as this is the place I call home, yet it is a home for all creatives, content creators, designers, artists, and that’s the community we have built within those years. It makes me so happy and proud to say that I have attracted the right people at the right place.
Villa Aumèdan has been converted into a space of prominent brands along with bouquets being provided for names such as Level Shoes, Christian Louboutin and Dolce & Gabbana – tell us more.
We aim to set high standards in all types of arrangements whether it’s flower bouquets or vase arrangements, or customised orders. We have achieved a prominent name in the market, as designers continue to approach us, and we are always more than happy to be part of the fashion world. As a Creative Director, we get inspired on a daily basis from designer pieces that we come across during our day while running errands, and we cannot neglect the fact that some pieces get stuck in our minds for some time. Our creative process starts from here. We get the brand requests, we study the brand and its latest collections and the mood of the season, and based on it we create our florals. Overall, you always have to trust the process. Trust me, it might not work the first time, but you have to keep your eye on the goal to always be able to achieve it.
The cosy coffee shop playfully called ‘If you know, you know’, is also attached to the home – what are some of the key dishes offered?
We offer all types of specialty coffee, soft serve that we are super famous for, cookies and fortune cookies. “If you know, you know” cafes have expanded in the last year and we have opened branches in Abu Dhabi and one branch in Fujairah and will soon do so in other emirates as well.
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Ideally,I would say to be patient, but no – if I was patient, I would not have achieved what I have achieved in the past three years. So, chase you dreams and keep learning throughout the process.
What ahead lies for the future of Villa Aumédan?
Villa Aumédan will always remain in the heart of Jumeirah as a hidden gem that is based in Dubai but the plan is to definitely elevate and bring the experience to the whole world through e-commerce and expanding globally in the Gulf region and of courses internationally where we have already managed to do that in the UK in collaboration with Harrods department store as we took over the penthouse during summer where we had all the khaleejis and audience from the UK and Europe who came to visit.
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How would you best describe your style?
I am the person who would get two pairs of Adidas Sambas in different colours
and mix the two pairs together. I love collecting watches, on my wishlist right now is the Patek Philippe Ellipse. Yayoi Kusama is one of my favourite artists and I always buy pieces of her collaborations with other brands. I usually dress up in a smart casual look but I always like to add a twist to the outfit.My recent favourite brands are, le 17 September, Nanushka,N.peal (my favourite cashmeres) and my travelmleather goods only include Hermès, as I think it just reflects my personality. I am an extrovert but at the same time I also like to have my own quality time with myself and get into my Derek Rose pajamas and stay home for the whole day. Travelling is my remedy and whenever I feel something hasn’t gone the way I wanted or as planned I always take a step back, book my Emirates airlines ticket , pack up my Rimowa trunks and fly. London is my second home, Dubai is where the heart is, “IYKYK”.
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