Sustainability is a word that has been worn thin.
In the studio it comes down to four ordinary things: nothing is built before it is wanted, nothing crosses an ocean to reach you, everything is made to be re-covered rather than replaced, and only toxic-free fabric enters the atelier.
Nothing waits in a warehouse.
The least glamorous question is the most useful one. Does a studio hold stock it hopes to sell, or does it build against a real order?
Saint Objets works made to order. There is no stock. A piece is drawn and built once it is commissioned, for one room, in one home. Overproduction and warehouse surplus are not managed here, they simply never begin.
Made here, not shipped across an ocean.
A great deal of furniture is manufactured on the other side of the world and arrives by sea. Saint Objets makes everything in the Emirates, and the finished piece travels from the atelier to your home. A short journey instead of a long one, on every single piece.
It is also why the studio can change a dimension late, or open a seat back up if something is not right. Proximity is not only lighter. It is what makes bespoke possible at all.
Built to be re-covered, not replaced.
The greenest sofa is the one you keep. Frames are solid hardwood, seats are built to be opened, and every piece can be re-covered when the fabric tires or the room changes.
A seat kept for fifteen years and dressed twice replaces nothing. That is the quiet answer to a loud word, and it is a construction decision, taken long before delivery. You can read more in our approach to sustainable furniture in the UAE.
Only toxic-free fabric enters the atelier.
This one is personal. Sarah Koben, Creative Director of the studio, buys only toxic-free fabric, and she does it for a simple reason: a sofa is the piece a family actually touches.
Children sit on it before they can walk. Dogs and cats sleep on it every afternoon. Someone lies on it with a book for three hours on a Friday. A room in Dubai is closed and air-conditioned for most of the year, so whatever is in the fabric stays in the air with the people who live there.
So the library is curated rather than open. Fabrics come from European mills, they are OEKO-TEX certified, and low chemical emissions indoors are part of the specification rather than an afterthought. Solid hardwood instead of particleboard. It is not a marketing position, it is the reason the studio exists in the form it does.
- Made to order, so nothing is built in advance
- Made in the Emirates, so nothing crosses an ocean
- Solid hardwood frames, opened and re-covered rather than thrown out
- OEKO-TEX certified European fabric, toxic-free, chosen for the air in the room
Explore our responsible, made to order approach.
Frequently asked questions.
Is made-to-order furniture actually more sustainable?
Yes, in a concrete way. Made to order means the studio builds a piece only once you commission it, so there is no stock produced in advance, no overproduction, and no warehouse surplus to discount or discard. At Saint Objets, one piece is built for one home, which removes waste at the source rather than offsetting it.
Does it matter where the furniture is made?
It matters more than most buyers realise. A lot of furniture is manufactured in distant factories and shipped in across oceans, which adds a long transport journey to every piece. Saint Objets makes everything in its atelier in the Emirates, and the finished piece goes from the atelier straight to your home.
What does toxic-free actually mean here?
It means the fabric and the construction are chosen for the air in a closed, air-conditioned room. Saint Objets uses OEKO-TEX certified European fabrics, solid hardwood rather than particleboard, and materials selected for low chemical emissions indoors. It is the standard the studio applies to every piece, not an option on a list.
Can a Saint Objets piece be re-covered later?
Yes. Every piece is built to be opened and re-covered. Fabric tires, rooms change, and a well-made frame outlives both. Re-covering is the intended path, which is why the seats and frames are constructed the way they are.