Low-rise living in high-rise Downtown Dubai for Dh3.7 million – in pictures

Apart from the tiles underneath the floor, there isn’t a square inch that hasn’t been ripped out and changed. Olympio Bongat Jr

The designs are based on making the properties much brighter, using a palette of light greys and whites for furnishing. Olympio Bongat Jr

Kitchen spaces are also opened out to create a brighter kitchen / dining area with a breakfast bar. Olympio Bongat Jr

Discrete spotlights have been placed into ceiling bulkheads and feature chandeliers have been added. Olympio Bongat Jr

“All of the ceilings are new, the bathrooms are new, and they’re all marble. The cupboards and wardrobes are completely new,” says the redesigner. Olympio Bongat Jr

Most of the buildings in Old Town are three-storey buildings, and even the taller mid-rise apartments are no higher than about eight storeys. It’s the only low-rise development in the area. Olympio Bongat Jr

The Old Town conversions have all been similar in style, although each one is tailored to the individual property with bespoke curtains, furniture and furnishings. Olympio Bongat Jr

There are only two downsides to the area: the traffic and the original decor in The Old Town apartments – which is where the redesigns come in. Olympio Bongat Jr

Discrete spotlights have been placed into ceiling bulkheads and feature chandeliers have been added. Olympio Bongat Jr

The property developer Rick Guy has created a side business in refurbishing properties in Downtown Dubai’s Old Town, five minutes’ walk away from The Dubai Mall.

His latest is a 1,354 square feet, two-bedroom property on the sixth floor of a Reehan community building, on the market for Dh3.7 million with the Dubai agency Ascot & Company.