When the owners of an award-winning villa in Dubai built their dream home, the brief to their interior designers was to help them turn the 35,000-square-foot space into the epitome of modern living.
The fun-filled modern villa in Al Barsha 2 recently won the Best Entertainment Area prize at Dubai's Top 50 Homes, the annual award instituted by real estate company Prime by Betterhomes.
The prize-winner and star attraction of the luxury six-bedroom villa is an American-style diner, which comes with a fully functional kitchen and can seat more than 20 people.
The villa's British owners who work in construction, but do not wish to be identified, tell The National that the space was designed together with their children – two boys aged 13 and 14 and a daughter aged 20.
“The diner came about as we wanted an area for our children to hang out with their friends, which wasn't a playroom or their bedrooms,” the owners say. “It has a fully functioning kitchen, so they can cook, eat, watch TV and have fun.”
But the diner isn't the only space for entertaining at this opulent villa, construction for which was completed in 2020.
There's also an indoor barbecue room that's fully vented to the roof, so the owners can entertain all year round, a cinema with a stocked refreshment area, an Xbox gaming room, a golf simulator room and an outdoor pool with a massive screen.
When asked which part of their home is their absolute favourite, the owners, who have lived in Dubai for 17 years, are hard-pressed to pick.
"Too many to say. We use the whole villa as a family. We love entertaining in the bar and lounge area and also the barbecue room, watching family movies in the cinema, watching big sports games from the pool on the outdoor screen. The boys obviously love the Xbox gaming room," they say.
Elsewhere, the attention to detail is striking, with no expense spared on high-quality finishes – from marbles to travertine. High ceilings create a welcoming space while the modern design aids in blending comfort and luxury.
Design company New Evolution was tasked with the interiors because they “do their own fabrication, have a great design team and are very well priced in the market”, the owners say.
“They worked closely with us to bring our designs and dream to reality, but also brought ideas to us and levelled up our original ideas."
The home is now estimated to be worth more than Dh90 million.
Winning the Dubai's Top 50 Homes award is an “amazing recognition” of the hard work and effort that has gone into building the ultimate home, they say.
“It's our dream home, a family home and a real dream come true.”
