Architectural Digest Chef Izu Ani

“He always said, ‘When I build my house, you’re going to design it.’ And almost ten years later, it happened,” says architect Tarik Zaharna, reflecting on the home he has created for celebrity chef Izu Ani and his family in Dubai.

With a restaurant footprint that stretches from Sirene by Gaia in the UAE to recent openings in London and soon Miami, Ani is one of Dubai’s most influential culinary figures and regularly moves between restaurants, cities and time zones with little pause. “His life is chaotic. He’s always travelling!” laughs Zaharna. “We both agree that there’s nothing better than to come home and have everything be in its place.”

What began as a simple brief for more space and better spatial flow quickly became a full architectural rework. Within planning limits, Zaharna expanded the villa by around 25 per cent, a change that required months of structural interventions before any design work could even begin. “A third of the time was spent on civil and structural work,” Zaharna recalls, with pre-cast concrete and post-tensioned slabs being cut, reinforced and stitched back together. “Every visit for months meant another new column, another beam.”

It was this groundwork that set the tone for a home where execution matters as much as concept. Zaharna describes his approach as stripping projects back to their “pure essence”, avoiding visual noise and unnecessary gestures.

As with many of Zaharna’s projects, natural finishes are used throughout. “We wanted materials that would weather beautifully, and that would sit comfortably with the architectural lighting,” he says, highlighting warm stone floors, timber joinery and softly textured surfaces.

Throughout the home are discreet references to the Ani family’s Nigerian, British and French backgrounds, such as African-inspired lighting in the living room. Ani’s time spent in Japan influences the understated nature of the overall design and the intricacy of elements such as the sliding and pivoting partitions between the cocktail lounge and kitchen. “These simple movements transform the space,” Zaharna notes. “The house can be intimate for four people or active for 20 without feeling forced.”

“I wanted somewhere my children can always come back to and recognise as home,” he says. “Outside, it’s simple. Inside, everything has its place, and every detail means something.”

Zaharna describes the collaboration as unusually close, shaped by a long-standing friendship and a client with a sharp eye for quality.

“He doesn’t compromise,” the architect says. “If you offer two marbles and one is better, he will choose the better one, even if he’s the only person who ever knows.” The result is a house that feels focused yet personal, aligning the rhythms of family life with the professional infrastructure that underpins the chef’s work. As Ani says, “It really is the best of all worlds – but most importantly, it feels like home.”