Choosing the materials that make a one-off villa, with someone on your side
Stone, joinery, lighting and fittings decide how a one-off villa looks and feels. We travel with you to choose them, then make sure what arrives on site is what you chose, on time for the programme.
- Stage
- Design, procurement and construction
- Who it's for
- Private villa owners and investors
- Where
- Dubai and Abu Dhabi
On a truly one-off villa, the materials are where the owner's taste shows: a particular stone, a joinery workshop, a lighting designer's fittings, taps and ironmongery chosen piece by piece. They are also where programmes slip and budgets leak. Samples are approved without a reference, lead times are guessed, shipping and customs are left to the last month, and the delivery that arrives is not quite what was chosen.
For a truly one-off villa, one person on your side does the work with you. We review every drawing, quote, payment and variation, are on site regularly through construction, at the frequency agreed in your scope of works, and travel with you to source stone, joinery, lighting and fittings. It is how Philip worked with clients on the high-end houses P Chapman Construction built in the UK over 21 years: everything reviewed, a weekly presence on site, and sourcing trips with the owner.
We plan sourcing around your programme and budget, travel with you to quarries, workshops and showrooms when a choice needs to be made in person, and keep a record of every sample and decision. When the goods arrive, we check them against what you chose before they are fixed. We take no commission, referral fee or discount from any supplier, so the recommendation you receive is about the material, not the margin.
You buy from the supplier directly or through your contractor, as your contract sets out; money never passes through us. Who orders, receives, stores, insures and fits each owner-supplied item is agreed with your contractor in writing before anything is ordered. Sourcing trips are agreed in your scope of works before they are booked.
What we do
- Sourcing trips with you to quarries, workshops, showrooms and makers, when a choice needs to be made in person
- Samples and reference panels logged, labelled and kept, so every later delivery is checked against what you approved
- Lead times confirmed with each supplier and set against the construction programme, with order-by dates
- Shipping and UAE customs clearance timing planned with the supplier, the freight forwarder and your contractor
- Owner-supplied items agreed with your contractor: who orders, receives, stores, insures and fits each one
- Deliveries checked on arrival against the approved sample, specification and quantity, before anything is fixed
- No supplier commissions, referral fees or discounts: the only fee on your project is the one you pay us
What it gives you
- A sourcing schedule: each item, its supplier, lead time, order-by date and delivery window
- A sample record with photographs and the decision you made on each
- A note after each sourcing trip with what was chosen, prices quoted and the next steps
- A delivery check note for every consignment, with any shortfall or damage raised at once
Read more: Sourcing materials abroad for a Dubai villa.
You receive
The documents this service produces, written for you in plain English. What you receive, and how often, is set out in your written scope of works before work starts.
- Sourcing scheduleEach item, its supplier, lead time, order-by date and delivery window, set against the programme.
- Sample recordPhotographs of every sample and reference panel, with the decision you made on each.
- Sourcing trip noteWhat was chosen on each trip, the prices quoted and the next steps.
- Owner-supplied items scheduleWho orders, receives, stores, insures and fits each item, as agreed with your contractor.
- Delivery check noteEach consignment checked against the approved sample, specification and quantity, with any shortfall raised at once.
As the builder, the late items on a high-end house were rarely the structure. They were the stone that had to come from one quarry, the joinery made abroad and the light fittings on a long lead time. The owners who travelled with us to choose them, and who signed off a reference sample we kept on site, got what they wanted, when the programme needed it.
Questions
Will you travel with me to choose stone, joinery and fittings?
Do you take commission from suppliers?
Who pays the supplier and who imports the goods?
How do you check what arrives?
Do you keep a list of approved suppliers?
Ask about this service
Tell us whether it is a plot or a villa, the community, the stage you are at and when you want to start. Philip replies personally within one working day.
Related services
Full representation, plot to keys
Your consultant is responsible for the design and its statutory duties. Your contractor is responsible for building it. We represent you, from the plot to the day you move in.
Cost and programme control
Every month you should know three numbers: what you've paid, what you've committed, and what it will cost to finish. Most owners only know the first.
For owners living overseas
Many villa owners are not in Dubai most of the time. The project still needs decisions every week. We bring them to you with the information and a recommendation, so that nothing is decided without you.
Tell us about the house you want to build.
Philip replies personally within one working day. The first conversation is free. Nothing you send is published, and it is shared only with the service providers named in our privacy notice.
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- sourcing materials for my villa