Mizanna Designs' Natalia Contova composes rooms that resonate with minimalist allure and vibrant color in a soothing oasis apartment in Dubai.

If architecture is akin to classical music, often echoing its rigid structure and proclivity for rules, then interiors are more the likes of jazz where spontaneity and improvisation are hallmarks of a good sound. No matter the genre ? form, rhythm, and harmony all play tremendous parts in making a space, or song, emotive. The Dubai-based interior designer and founder of Mizanna Designs, Natalia Contova, draws on her expertise as a former jazz singer to compose rooms that resonate with minimalist allure and riffs of vibrant color in this soothing oasis apartment.

Scene building begins with the site where a 2,345-square-foot residence overlooks the Dubai marina from its swath of the Al Murjan tower and highest skyscraper in the complex of six, which gets its name from the popular Arab gemstone. A visual narrative of off-white keeps time with a peaceful flow of neutral backdrops and light gray floors stringing together an entry, office, coffee corner, living and dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. Establishing a soothing tempo allows for home furnishings to be staged in an interesting syncopation such that unexpected objects and pops of color break the rhythm in delightful ways.
The theme is one of expressive minimalism, unencumbered by clutter but still a place with room to improvise. ?I get inspired by people I wo...