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
Vish Patel, the owner of a project management company, lives with his wife, two children and mother in a five-bedroom villa in Dubai Hills, not far from the sprawling golf course.
He built the property from scratch, buying the land for more than Dh5 million ($1.3 million), before spending at least Dh20 million – although he says it’s probably more, as there were plenty of additions and upgrades he didn’t account for – creating his dream home.
Now, he’s listed it for Dh65 million as he looks to build an even better project elsewhere in Dubai. The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home
It’s a five-bedroom house, with a basement, ground floor and roof terrace. It’s on a 12,000-square-foot plot. With it being my own house and me being a perfectionist, I wouldn’t say it’s finished even now. But it’s been two years since we moved in.
Why did you decide to build your home?
I'd wanted to build a house here for a while. We have an old house in the UK, it’s a listed building that we’ve renovated. Here we wanted something modern, opposite to what I have over there. And a family home – something practical that we can use for my kids, who are teenagers, and my mum, who is staying with us now, too.
We wanted somewhere that we could use all of the areas, entertain in the house. It’s not just a show home, it’s something that suits all of our needs.
I knew in my mind how that would work, I sketched it out then called an architect. I chose the materials, equipment, everything. It was an exciting time.
Of course, Covid caused some changes in direction due to the availability of materials and so on.
Why have you decided to sell?
I’m not selling because the market is great and now is the time to sell. I put my heart and soul into this house.
I’d never sell my house in England no matter what offer someone made. But, emotionally, here I can sell the house and I know I could do something similar again. I wanted to liquidate some funds from the value of the house to do it again.
The needs of the family have changed and I might not build something as big again.
Why did you choose Dubai Hills?
I love Dubai Hills. The million dollar question we used to get asked since we’ve been in the UAE 20 years was, 'Where’s the centre of Dubai?' It was the Marina, then Downtown. Now I really feel Dubai Hills is the right place to be.
It’s so central, you can get out to everywhere, it’s a practical location.
When we move on, I’d like to stay here. Having a villa is absolutely amazing as it’s a private space but it comes with responsibility, maintenance.
Now we’re toying with the idea of moving into a penthouse and having a change, where we can go down and use the pool, instead of worrying about the pool cleaner coming. Short-term, we’re potentially looking at a flat or something similar, but in Dubai Hills.
What facilities do you have access to?
The master plan has community pools, but I also have a pool at the house and a Jacuzzi outside. The basement has a gym and a steam room, and we have a home cinema as well.
It’s a small cinema, with only four seats, but it’s for our use, not to invite people round.
The entertainment space is in our basement. Our whole plot was excavated and the basement is our biggest floor.
Growing up, watching movies, basements were always dark, scary places, so I’ve excavated the plot and it has three-metre-high ceilings and windows with natural light coming in.
We’ve got a sunken terrace, a green living wall on one side, a barbecue pizza oven, kitchen and so on that we use – that’s all on the lower basement level as well.
How would you describe your interior style?
It’s pretty neutral. When you enter you notice a skylight at the top that goes up to the roof.
The whole house is built on this spine wall. Outside, it’s clad in basalt, a lava stone. With heat and dust, there are very few dark colours you can use, but basalt doesn’t heat up the house.
It’s black outside and we boldly use it in the master bedroom, too. Inside is the white marble, which serves a purpose as it stays cool.
The flooring is porcelain tile that’s made to look like white marble slabs.
We have wooden floors for bedrooms, which are solid oak. Every two to three years you need to oil the floor, but otherwise it’s low maintenance and, because it breathes, it allows for shrinking and expanding with the humidity.
It was a considerable expense, but we also have floor-to-height windows in every room – and most of them are motorised. People forget how heavy they are, so the motorised option really helps. For many months of the year we have our windows open in our bedrooms, so it’s nice to have those sliding doors.
The glass is clear and transparent, but it limits heat protection without the tint. It’s one of the best investments I made. You can put your hand on it and not feel the heat even during the summer.
We wanted light to come in and didn’t want to have to close the curtains during the day because it’s hot.
What other features have you installed?
Storage was really important and everything can be hidden away. All the cabinet and joinery has been made bespoke.
There’s a lot of automation – the way the music works, the locks on the doors, the cameras. We can programme it how we want and control it all even when we’re not here.
There’s also a double-height wardrobe in our master bedroom. You can never have too much wardrobe space, and there’s a lift in there that takes you up to the same wardrobe floor above it.
Another element that’s been practical for us is that the master bedroom has two separate bathrooms – his and hers – so no more arguments in the morning.
What will you miss about this house?
I’ve been dreaming of building this house for a long, long time. In my head, I’ve been bookmarking pages, saying, ‘When I do my house, I want to do that or this.’
And I have to say this is the best community I’ve stayed in – we know the neighbours, my son plays basketball and this is the first time he’s met kids that aren’t in his school.
We go walking the dog as a family and get to meet loads of people.
On this street, most people have built their houses from scratch and they are mostly here to stay forever. It’s not just houses getting flipped and sold all the time. That gives more stability as well.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
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Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
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Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
