This September, urban nest celebrates its 9th birthday in Dubai, and looking back at where it all started feels slightly surreal.
Urban nest was founded in Dubai in 2017 by our founder, Janaika Elders. After 15 years in the corporate FMCG world, she found herself searching for pieces for her own home that felt different. She wanted colour, character and good design. Pieces that weren’t everywhere already and that could make a home feel personal, rather than perfectly styled from one catalogue.
That search eventually became urban nest.
Our name has always represented what we want the brand to be. Urban reflects Dubai, the cosmopolitan city we call home, filled with people, cultures and influences from around the world. Nest is the more personal part. We believe home should feel like your own little world, filled with furniture, art, objects and memories that say something about the people living there.
Nine years later, our Al Quoz furniture and interiors showroom is home to a colourful mix of European furniture, lighting, art, home accessories and collectible design. Over the years, we have introduced some incredible European and Dutch design brands to Dubai, the UAE and the wider Middle East, including HKLIVING, a brand that has been part of our story almost from the beginning.
Today, urban nest is the exclusive distributor across the Middle East for several of the European brands we represent. What started as a search for something different has grown into a destination for people looking for unique furniture in Dubai, colourful interiors, Dutch design, statement pieces, art and home accessories with personality.
And our nest keeps growing.
Earlier this year, we opened Urban Nest Concept in Beirut, bringing our love for curated European design to Lebanon with a more boutique collection of furniture, lighting, art and accessories.
Of course, nine years of entrepreneurship hasn't all been beautiful furniture and styling. Behind the scenes there have been freight crises, delayed containers, rising costs, changing markets, mistakes and plenty of moments when our founder wondered, "What on earth am I doing?"
But there has also been an incredible community of customers, interior designers, suppliers, creatives and team members who have grown with us.
Janaika recently joined Tim Elliott on Scale or Fail at MIRA Business FM to talk about that side of the journey too: leaving corporate life, building a niche interiors brand in Dubai, staying relevant and figuring out how to grow without losing the personality that made people connect with urban nest in the first place.
After nine years, that remains at the heart of what we do.
We believe the best homes are collected, not copied.
They should contain colour, stories, art, unexpected finds and pieces you genuinely love. And that is exactly what we hope you continue to discover at urban nest.
Thank you for being part of our nest for the past nine years.
Next stop: 10!!