Caroline Stanbury and Sergio Carrallo at Home: Inside The Real Housewives of Dubai Stars’ Dubai Villa

“I believe in manifesting and I’ve visualized this life of mine," says Caroline Stanbury, The Real Housewives of Dubai cast member, about living in her glass-lined Dubai villa with her husband, Sergio Carrallo. “I always wanted to live with Sergio on this side of Al Barari, by the lake, and here we are!”

It also helped that the reality TV star has real estate mogul Nadia Zaal (who, with her family had masterminded the tropical district in the heart of Dubai) on speed dial. So, a few years ago when she saw Instagram stories about the latest phase of Al Barari being snapped up, Stanbury knew straight away that this was her chance. And just like that, a property materialized backing onto the lake that runs through the neighborhood.

Stanbury and Carrallo started dating in 2019, and their December 2021 wedding was a key story arc in the first season of The Real Housewives of Dubai. In the series’ second season, after many construction hold-ups and frayed nerves, the couple finally moved into their their new home. For the first few nights, they slept on a mattress on the floor—not the glamour Stanbury was accustomed to, but waking up to birdsong and the sound of water trickling by made it all worthwhile. “We wanted everything to be perfect before we moved in, but there were delays that were out of our hands, and we wanted to be by ourselves, get on with our lives, and let our friends get on with theirs,” recalls Carrallo.

One of the design elements that caused much concern was a gigantic bonsai tree that had to be air-lifted into the central glass-lined courtyard. This is where Stanbury’s designer of choice, Kate Instone, comes in with her mastery of combining locality with modernity: As the first thing one sees when they enter Stanbury and Carrallo’s Dubai villa, the landscaped court tips its hat to the Arab traditions of privacy and spatial hierarchy. On one hand, it screens the private lounge and dining areas from immediate view, and on the other, it separates the home from Stanbury’s Barbie-pink home office and podcast studio, without cutting anything out of sight.

“I’ve been good friends with Caroline since our days in London, so I already had a strong sense of her personality, preferences, and how she moves through life,” says Instone. “Most people tend to design homes that reflect what they think others expect of them, using their interiors as status symbols to showcase wealth, style, or sophistication. Caroline was determined not to fall into that trap. She wanted her home to be a true reflection of who she is—unpretentious, personal, and deeply connected to her own tastes and lifestyle.” The Real Housewives star’s brief was refreshingly simple: she wanted a modern, light-filled home connected to nature.

“Nothing of what you see in this home today is an original feature from when we bought it," explains Stanbury. “The only thing we said to the team was to not touch the plants growing by the lake. I wanted it to feel like a jungle and that is so refreshing in Dubai.”

A chevron floor in black-and-white marble from Casa Mia sets the stage for the open plan ground floor, where the kitchen—with its island accessorized with brass framed chairs—leads into the formal living and dining area, which opens out to the dining terrace on one side and the swimming pool and lounge on the other.

“I’ve got kids and dogs, and I wanted this sense where we could all go from one place to the other freely—and even when we’re not together, we could still remain connected.” Exterior walls in high-performance glass that minimizes heat transmission without compromising the view were complemented with motorized, retractable shading systems—such as louvered pergolas and automated blinds—and smart thermostats, which automatically adjust interior temperature based on the weather and occupancy patterns, ensuring that Stanbury’s vision for indoor-outdoor living was also kind on the planet. And while the bonsai soars through the atrium to visually connect the upper floors with nature, where that is not possible, tropical plants bring nature indoors, or as per recent decoration developments in the Stanbury-Carrallo household, to the rooftop terrace lounge.

Fans of the franchise would recall a pivotal scene in season two of The Real Housewives of Dubai: Stanbury and Carrallo are throwing a house-warming party and all hell breaks loose. At the center of the on-screen drama between Taline Marie and Caroline Brooks was Stanbury’s milk white M. Bellini Camaleonda sofa by B&B Italia. “This sofa went viral on The Real Housewives of Dubai,” laughs the TV star. “And yes, on the show I did say that I don’t want anyone near it, but honestly, we all use it every day.” Chandeliers in opaline Murano glass anoint the space filled with Stanbury’s art collection and family pictures.

Upstairs, Stanbury and Carrallo’s bedroom is a calm, blush pink cocoon. Just a mirror and marble ledge (which also conceals a TV that pops out at the press of a button) separates the sleeping area from the bathroom. “I really wanted a hotel vibe here,” says Stanbury. “One of the biggest investments in my house is luxury bedding. I’ve got the world’s finest bedding and it’s no joke. It’s all Scandia Home and it can cost you a second mortgage.”

A hand-painted de Gournay wall covering, in a soft, swirly pattern becomes both the de facto headboard and statement wall, its soft tones mirrored in the Italian marble and mosaic tiles that complete the wet area.

Also connected to the main suite is Stanbury’s walk-in wardrobe, brimming with power suits, Birkins, and Chanel dresses that the reality TV star has had altered to her taste. “People ask me where my stuff is, but I’m slowly inching my way in here,” laughs Carrallo pointing to his section in this Hollywood-style dressing room fitted out in bespoke cabinetry by Ornare Dubai.

Caroline Stanbury’s Dubai villa was originally published in AD Middle East, which you can find here.

And when Stanbury is not hiding away in her bedroom, she’s assembled with family and friends in the home theatre on the first floor, where they can let their hair down and watch reruns of The Real Housewives of Dubai reunion.

While the construction phase of Stanbury and Carrallo’s dream home in Dubai was not always easy, the process of imagining something and then seeing it come to life has opened up new opportunities; now, the couple has a range of real estate projects on the go. In Dubai, they are working on a series of branded rental apartments (also designed in collaboration with Instone and her studio, Blush) and in Bali, a sculptural resort has just started taking shape.

“Before we started work on this house, I seriously thought we would end up in LA, because these type of homes didn’t exist in the Middle East until a few years ago—and here I am, in my glass-lined home in Dubai, with my hot, young husband,” says Stanbury. “I told you I believe in manifesting!”