Inside a luxury Dh90 million Dubai home complete with an American-style diner


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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 main dining area. Photo: Prime by Betterhomes
The main dining area. Photo: Prime by Betterhomes

“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.

The cinema with a fully stocked snack room. Photo: Prime by Betterhomes
The cinema with a fully stocked snack room. Photo: Prime by Betterhomes

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.”

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

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Updated: June 22, 2023, 4:55 AM`