My Own Home takes you inside a reader-owned property to ask how much they paid, why they decided to buy and what they have done with it since moving in
Corporate office manager Jessica Richardson and her business owner husband Kyle have spent all year renovating their golf course-facing villa in The Turf at Damac Hills in Dubai, which they bought in November for Dh8.3 million.
The couple have been living in and renovating houses to sell in Dubai since 2019 and now they’ve listed this property for Dh17.4 million, a price they realise they’re not going to realise overnight, but they’re enjoying what they’ve created as they wait for a sale to go through.
The 7,423-square-foot, four-bedroom home has a focus on entertainment and well-being.
The National takes a tour.
Tell me about your home
Jessica Richardson: We've tried to incorporate a holistic lifestyle, so we have a 12-metre infinity pool, we have the Jacuzzi and we have a spa, which includes a sauna, steam room and rain shower. They all have inbuilt music and smart home speakers in them.
We also have the bathtub by a picture window looking out on to the golf course. And we have a Nebula luxury ice bath being delivered this week.
We like to entertain quite a lot, so that's why we have put in the bar there, which is the entertaining hub of the home.
We both enjoy playing golf and we have the golf course views here. We're on the ninth tee.
Kyle Richardson: We've built a house that we really enjoy living in.
There’s a downstairs guest bedroom, so if family or friends are coming across, they've got somewhere to stay, and it's completely separate to the living arrangements of the family upstairs.
With the entertainment side of things, it’s open-plan living, so the open-plan kitchen keeps everybody together. When you are entertaining, friends and family are all in the large living area, and then with the bi-folding doors, which opens up the back of the house, you get the indoor-outdoor feel.
There is a quite a big emphasis on entertaining and keeping the family together so that we can all enjoy each other's company.
What other changes have you made?
Kyle: We sacrificed the maid’s room to create the steam room, sauna and plunge area. The beauty of that villa is that it also has an outdoor driver’s room.
Jessica: It has all the smart home features as well, so lighting, ACs, motorised curtains, blinds and the fires all work on Alexa commands.
We’ve got the starry lights in the spa that come on through the mobile application. We can use all this through our phones and have a safe, smart lock on the front door.
What have you done to the garden?
Kyle: There’s the front garden and the back garden. In the front, there’s a double carport, but then you have an area for plants.
We created a garden area with a five-metre ficus tree. At the sides of the villa, there are banana palms and coconut palms, so it does give a very tropical, sort of Balinese theme.
Jessica: It’s Bali meets LA style.
Kyle: Then the back garden: we’ve got a large weatherproof and waterproof outdoor TV and seating area, so anyone who wants to sit in the pool or enjoy the garden can be sitting and watching sports outside.
There’s an outdoor Jacuzzi, so you can sit in it as sun is going down and watch TV with a fire on at the same time. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort on getting the landscaping done correctly.
What do you love most about living here?
Kyle: Our daily routine is we wake up early, we go downstairs as the Sun’s coming up. The golf course is very quiet, it’s very tranquil. You’ve got lots of birds, which sounds very nice. Then we sit in the steam room and sauna with the spa music on, then go for a swim in the pool, which is chilled.
The first two hours of the day really encapsulates everything you need to set yourself up for a good day.
Why did you choose Damac Hills?
Kyle: The community has something for everybody. Obviously, you've got the Trump Golf Course, which is good. You've got the Par 3 course, which is entertaining, and you've got a good clubhouse.
You've got unreal sports facilities now. There are padel courts, tennis courts, basketball courts and football pitches.
They've got very good lakes, with ducks and geese and flamingos. There is a riding stable as well, an equestrian centre, cricket pitch.
The supermarkets they've got are really good. And then you've got the Radisson Blu hotel.
Jessica: The Damac Mall, which just opened a few months ago, has been a game-changer, really, because now, rather than just having a convenience store within the area, we have a huge Spinney’s where you can do your full weekly shop. There’s a Fitness First upstairs and eateries, chemists, hair salons and all that.
You just don't need to leave the area on the weekends any more.
Kyle: The location as well. You’ve got Hessa Street, Umm Suqeim, Al Khail Road and Emirates Road. Wherever you want to be, you’re always going to be around 20 minutes away.
And Damac is still very good value for money for what you get.
Where will you go next?
Kyle: Damac Hills ticks all of the boxes, but from an investment point of view we would look at pretty much all areas.
Jessica: It’s just the high ceilings of Damac and that modern feel to the villa and what we can actually buy for our money in this area.
Right now we’re in a VD one unit type, which is a 7,500-square-foot plot size, so the next step up for us would be into a VD two unit, which is 8,400 square foot and an 11,500-square-foot plot size. So that would be a bigger project for us.
At some point we do have to settle, but we're just continuing to go with the market while it's still strong.
