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
Kanupriya Saraf wears many hats in her career, which encompasses life mentoring and astrology, but her work as a feng shui and Vastu consultant was a guiding force when choosing the home she’d live in.
She moved to Dubai from India two years ago and bought her first property here last May. She chose a two-bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina, which she got for Dh2.75 million, and where she now lives with her one-and-a-half-year-old Maltipoo puppy and a house helper.
Everything from the style of the building’s reception to the communal lounge and her north-east-facing property has created a sense of “Zen” for Ms Saraf, and she has no plans to move out any time soon.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home.
I put a lot of focus on the home and everything that goes inside its four walls. It's a two-bedroom flat, and there's also a maid’s room. There are two bathrooms and one powder room.
There is an open-style kitchen, which I put a glass door over because we Indians don’t always want our cooking smell all inside the house. I'm generally sensitive to smells as well.
I don't get a straight view of the Palm, but then it's on the 12th floor, so from the balcony I do get a small view of the water body of the Marina.
How much is the property worth?
I bought it in May 2024 for about Dh2.75 million. I do not know what it's worth now, but I have done a lot on renovation of the flat, so I don't bother checking its worth.
What renovations have you done?
I've changed the ceiling lighting. There was just one lamp in the centre of every room, but I put spotlights and LED lighting to enhance the mood. I also put some chandeliers around the house, and yellow lighting as there was white light everywhere.
I changed the bathrooms, especially the wash basin and some of the tiling. I added the kitchen door, and I made more chests of drawers and cabinet storage in the kitchen.
I added more storage in the maid’s room. I also put something to circulate the air on top of the ceiling. That's very important for me with my work in the space of feng shui. I need to put the element of wind in the house, so it allows for the air circulation, especially in the hot environment.
I wanted to balance the wind element with the water element of the Marina. There’s a lot of wind if you stand on the balcony, if I open the doors, which is great.
I also changed the wall colours and added knick-knacks here and there.
Why did you decide to buy?
I believe that if somebody does have the finances in hand, it makes sense to buy a property. You get the visa when you buy a property and if you're looking to stay here, it just makes sense. If somebody does decide to leave, they can always rent it, so I know that even if I ever left Dubai, I can always come back. I will always have some friends living here.
I believe a home is something that is owned by me. Even from the Vastu and feng shui concept, a home is a very safe space for me, so I find that safety when I own that property myself and I can decorate it as I please.
How would you describe your interior design?
I like to create a Zen space in the house. I keep my walls and my curtains white, very minimalistic or ivory beige, or a very light brown colour, and then I complement it with a touch of orange colours. The orange represents joy and creativity.
In my living room, I've used the orange colour in my cushions and I like to add natural elements as well, because I really like nature. I have some plants and the cushion covers have birds on them.
The furniture will add the warmth, add the wood element with the brown colour.
It's not very bright, but it's a very aesthetically pleasing environment, very peaceful, very Zen, very serene, but also very luxurious and very classy at the same time.
In my bedroom, the bed is a very nice blue colour, and then everything else is white, and the chandelier and the fans are golden. So it's a combination of white, which represents purity, gold represents luxury and the blue is just adding a touch of colour. I mix these concepts in the house throughout.
What facilities do you have?
The building is excellent. I got the north-east-facing flat, which is very feng shui and Vastu-compliant. I check all the geometries and the energy, not just of the flat, but even the building. There’s a beautiful reception and the facility management staff in the building are very helpful, very professional.
There's a walking track in the building, there's a swimming pool, there's a gym, there's a steam room and sauna. There is a kids’ play area. There is also a lounge if I want to host a small event, which can accommodate easily up to 25 people.
It has free guest parking available. There's also a concierge service.
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
I have had residency in Dubai for the last eight years and one of my family members used to have a home in the Marina, so I used to be in and out of the area a lot. But then, when I finally decided to make the UAE my home, I was exploring flats in Marina, JLT, JBR, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Hills.
I was sure that I was looking for a flat. Because I live by myself, I wasn't so open to a town house and I needed a bigger budget for that.
The building is so strategically located that you enter and exit the Marina from where I am, so you never get stuck in traffic. It's also a 1,650-square-foot flat. If I compare it to Dubai Hills, I would have to pay a lot more there, and for me, size was important.
Generally, the Marina is a more well-established community and I wanted to be around people who have been in Dubai for a longer time.
How long will you stay in this property?
I would definitely keep this property longer term and whenever I get married, I would move out into a bigger place, but I plan to keep this property until that happens.
I don't want to sell it. I would rent it out, but if I do rent it out it would be to a family that values it because of its Vastu compliance. It's almost like a five-star accommodation in the middle of the Marina.
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Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
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