The Creative Clinic’s Ceebo Shah Shares The Magic Behind His Aesthetic
Creative director, tastemaker and all-round connoisseur of cool
Ceebo Shah takes us on a tour of his home and life in Dubai
Since co-founding award-winning Dubai-based design firm Creative Clinic over a decade ago, Ceebo Shah has become the crowned head of all things cool — design and otherwise. A stalwart of true style (and the Dubai social scene), the 42-year-old entrepreneur and creative director has orchestrated some of the most compelling interiors Dubai has ever seen. With his organic eye for architecture, Shah mixes contemporary design with old-school cool which, quite simply, always hits the spot.
In 2012, along with business partner Khalid Sharan, the two ‘party boys’ started a boutique nightlife design firm which has now successfully snowballed into an 80-person team. The duo went from designing nightclubs to now offering a full turnkey design solution for hotels, restaurants and high-end residential projects with Shah commenting: “never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be doing this for a living.” Some of the Creative Clinic’s most recent projects include La Niña, a Spanish restaurant and lounge bar in DIFC, Black Flamingo on the Palm Jumierah, the revamp of Bagatelle Dubai, and Opa restaurant and bar in Doha. Currently working on over 20 very exciting venues including an Über-exclusive members’ club and the renovation of a landmark hotel in Dubai, Shah is also lending his innovative talents overseas by working on a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
A resident of Dubai for 16 years and counting, Shah has always been an advocate for his now-home town, saying: “the biggest misconception of Dubai from outsiders is that it’s an artificial place. It’s become such a melting pot of people, ideas, and fantastic places. It has truly become the epitome of a 21st-century city. A culmination of all this is the soul and culture of Dubai. I am proud to call Dubai home because it has given me the opportunity to develop our design business to what it has become today.” We took a tour around the creative’s home and got a glimpse of one of the best little black books in town…
Harper’s BAZAAR Arabia (HBA): Describe the feel and style of your home.
Ceebo Shah (CS): Giving my home one aesthetic would not do it justice, but I would describe it as a contemporary meets traditional mash-up, with a toned-down maximalist intent. The home is filled with provocative art, objects collected from travels around the world, and a rotation of en-vogue furniture pieces. Somehow it all fits and works together. I’ve never thought about it, but it’s almost an elevated nightclub that went to college and is now retired.
HBA: What is your favourite room in the house and why?
CS: My bedroom, the only place with a completely white-on-white palette. It helps me switch off, and then wake up with a completely new canvas in the morning. It also helps me realise that each new day is one I can paint in any new style, colour, and theme.
HBA: How does your personality inspire your home?
CS: It doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s a little bit of fire, there’s a little bit of fun, and it’s very eclectic.
HBA: Where do you like to shop for your house, whether in Dubai or at any online stores that deliver?
CS: It’s very difficult to find unique pieces in Dubai but I’m loving the surge of small furniture designers that have popped up locally and on social media. A lot of my furniture is custom-made in my own factory.
HBA: What do you collect?
CS: I like to collect coffee table books, primarily special edition fashion and photography ones. They are great to get inspiration from and make excellent décor pieces for the house.
HBA: If you could have a home anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
CS: A big glass mid-century modern in Palm Springs. Lost in time, it’s just the perfect chic design oasis in the middle of the desert.
HBA: What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
CS: Blindly search my side table for the button that automates my curtains, AC, and morning music. Yes, they are simultaneously synced. I like to spend my mornings taking long hot and cold showers and listening to my favourite podcasts.
HBS: What does your daily wardrobe always consist of?
CS: A good pair of trousers, my favourites are from Armani, and a very comfortable T-shirt.
HBA: Favourite fragrance?
CS: My fragrance of choice is Amyris by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Nuit de Bakelite by Goodsir.
HBA: What would we always find in your fridge?
CS: A small crate of heirloom tomatoes and a bottle of bubbles.
HBA: Where would we find you quenching your thirst in Dubai?
CS: For a drink, you will always find me at Bar Casa, a new bar located next to my pool that we’ve custom-built for those warm summer nights. Happy hour is whenever.
HBS: And for dinner?
CS: My favorite place for dinner at the moment is La Niña. The Tacos de Jose, a caviar dish wrapped in cured wagyu beef, is one of my favourites. I could eat 20.
HBA: For a glimpse of old-school Dubai, where should people go?
CS: People should visit the neighbourhoods and markets along the Creekside. My favorite is Naif Souk, where you can spend hours discovering everything from fabrics and fashion to furniture.
HBA: When you escape from Dubai, where do you go?
CS: I go to Los Angeles, to visit family and old friends.
HBA: How would your friends describe you?
CS: Smart, kind, caring, funny, wise, attractive, obsessive, and a million other things.
HBA: And your foes?
CS: A Stranger Things character.
HBA: What motto do you live by?
CS: ‘It’s not that serious.’
HBA: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…
CS: I would direct music videos.
HBA: When are you most happy?
CS: When I’m on the couch with my cats, a bad 80s movie, and take out.
Words and styling by Sophia Serin. Photography by Efraim Evidor.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia Interiors Summer 2023.