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
When Georgina Kelly and her husband, photographer David Learman, bought a Dh945,000 villa off-plan in Ras Al Khaimah back in 2007, they did not intend to live there.
The business coach and sales trainer had planned to buy the two-bedroom house as an investment and to rent it out for holidays. However, in 2014, during a financially tumultuous time for the couple, they decided to relocate from Dubai permanently – and they have never looked back.
After 10 years of living in the Al Hamra Village property, Ms Kelly, who also founded business network forum RAK Entrepreneurs, said she could not imagine moving out for at least another decade.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home
It’s now worth Dh1.2 million. We had moved from a huge three-bedroom and three-bathroom apartment in Dubai to a cottage-type dwelling in Ras Al Khaimah.
It’s about the same size as the two-bedroom garden flat we once owned in London.
I loved the downsize because it stops us from buying things we don’t need and we sold three-quarters of our furniture when we relocated.
What renovations have you done?
We have done a lot of work. We’ve probably spent nearly Dh200,000 on renovations.
We put in a new kitchen and also major storage under the stairs. To open up the downstairs, we removed a wall and moved the back door out further into the garden to square up the room.
We also created a majlis area in the garden with mashrabiya and a red clay-tiled roof. This gives us a wonderful area to sit and enjoy the birdsong in the cooler weather, plus we have the bottom end of the garden to entertain in.
I love the patio off our main bedroom for the same reason. The birdsong is amazing first thing in the morning. It’s a wonderful place to meditate or exercise.
How would you describe your interior style?
It’s a mix of everything. When we first arrived in the UAE 22 years ago, we bought stuff from Lucky’s Furniture and Handicrafts and another warehouse in Sharjah. They imported furniture from India, such as tables and bookcases made from old bullock carts, and we still have some of those pieces.
Sadly, we had to sell a lot when we relocated to our town house as our home is half the size of our previous apartment in Dubai.
We have some pieces of furniture going back 36 years that we bought when we first married. Somehow, it works for us. I like to mix it up and l have two big cabinets that are 22 years old that I want to get repainted in a shabby-chic way.
David is a highly talented photographer – he won Best Photographer of the Year at World Art Dubai this year – and we have some of his amazing prints on the walls as well.
Why did you buy the property?
It came about by pure chance. I was actually quite sick at the time, and I was in hospital, and in those days in Dubai, you used to get a free newspaper called 7DAYS. Somebody had done an illustration of Al Hamra Village and what it would look like.
I remember sitting there in bed after an operation, thinking, ‘Oh, that looks quite nice’. I was looking for somewhere to invest because I'd been left some money by a relative, and I thought, I’ll buy that.
It’s the best thing we ever did.
Why did you decide to move in instead of renting it out?
We had the global downturn and we were still suffering the consequences, so we decided we would move to RAK in 2014 and commute daily to the office in Dubai, which we did for five years.
When we moved from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah, we found the quality of our lives improved.
Sometimes, you go through rough times, but they say the light is at the end of the tunnel, and our light and saving grace was buying this house. We got out of the rat race.
We're beside the mountains, we're beside the sea, we've got the desert. We now have weekends to enjoy, we started exploring the coastline, driving to Jebel Jais long before the zip line and restaurants were built.
We're not high rollers, so we don't want to live expensive lives. We actually live quite simply.
What do you love about the neighbourhood?
We have a public beach a 15-minute walk away, which is wonderful to walk on early in the morning.
I love going to the Kuwaiti Souq, which has fabric shops, gold and silver jewellers, a small indoor shopping mall and little shops selling everyday things and incense.
We have many great restaurants in Jazeera Al Hamra, a five-minute drive away. There's Arab and Asian food and a great shawarma place, where you can get shawarma for Dh14. Plus, the Afghan bakeries sell wonderful fresh hot breads for Dh1.
Medical clinics, dentists and so on are nearby. Also schools and sports facilities. We have Al Hamra Mall a short car drive or a cycle ride away.
It really is a village setting. It’s easy to get to, we know our neighbours and make friends easily, plus there are plenty of community groups for all ages.
If there's one thing you would change about your home, what would it be?
I want a new bathroom. We have a bathroom upstairs, and then there is a washroom downstairs, but I would like to redo that.
How long do you plan to stay there for?
How long is a piece of string? I'd say, certainly, at least another 10 years.
What would you say to anyone thinking of relocating to Ras Al Khaimah?
If you're going to commute to Dubai every day, that's a hard journey. That's not easy. You’ve got to seriously think if the driving is worth it.
If you can have a hybrid where you can work from home part of the job and have to commute the rest, then it'll work.
If you're moving here as a family and you're looking to work here and live here full-time, then it's an absolute no-brainer. It’s got everything going for it. I love it.
