How To Start Your Interior Design Business in Dubai With Meydan Free Zone

In Dubai, design is more than just aesthetics, it’s part of everyday life. The city’s energy comes alive in its iconic towers, vibrant retail spaces, and interiors that blend comfort with modern style. It’s a place where creativity isn’t confined to studios but is built into the very fabric of how people live, work, and experience the city. Every corner of the Emirate reflects the power of good design.

The Government of Dubai Media Office announced the Dubai Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033, a roadmap set to boost transactions and global investment appeal. As the property market expands, this surge is directly fuelling the growth of Dubai’s interior design industry, creating endless opportunities for designers to shape the city’s future spaces.

With new projects constantly transforming the city’s skyline, the demand for interior design is stronger than ever. Whether it’s luxury residences, retail outlets, or lifestyle brands, businesses need design that is not only functional but also visually striking.

This makes it the perfect time to explore the interior design license in Dubai available for entrepreneurs.

The easiest way to launch is with Meydan Free Zone, offering you a full LLC setup, a business license with 100% foreign ownership, and the freedom to start without needing an NOC from your current employer.

Interior Decorators (7410.04)

Interior design or interior decorative activities focus on enhancing the way people experience indoor spaces. While the broader activity, Specialised Design Activities, covers fashion, graphic, and industrial design, this business activity focuses specifically on interior design and interior decorator services. The role of interior decorators stands out as one of the most practical and in-demand business activities in Dubai.

Picture a stylish villa living room redesigned into a modern retreat, a café transformed with décor that pulls in new customers, and an office refreshed with layouts that boost collaboration - this is the business activity that allows you to create interiors that truly work.

This includes:

• Designing and styling interiors for residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. For example, transforming a villa living room into a modern luxury space or redesigning a café to attract more footfall.
• Selecting decorative elements like furniture, fabrics, artwork, lighting, flooring, and accessories that bring a space to life.
• Developing colour schemes and themes that align with a client’s lifestyle or brand identity - whether it’s a warm, homely palette for a family apartment or bold corporate colours for an office reception.
• Advising on layouts and aesthetics to balance functionality and beauty, such as creating open-plan offices that encourage collaboration without compromising privacy.
• Project consulting by coordinating with suppliers, contractors, and clients to ensure every detail is executed as planned.

This business activity does not include architectural design and structural planning, engineering design services, stage-set design, or web and digital design, which are all covered under different activity codes.

For example, an interior design company licensed under this activity could style and furnish a new restaurant to attract customers or renovate an office reception to reflect a brand’s identity, but it would not be permitted to produce architectural blueprints or carry out engineering design work.

Third-party Approval: This business activity needs a pre-approval from Dubai Municipality (DM).

Anti-Money Laundering: The business activity is exempt from AML requirements.