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Turning their three-bedroom house into a dream home they enjoy living in, while entertaining family and friends, has been a labour of love for interior stylist Reema Chandhok and her husband Rosh D’Costa.
The couple bought the villa in Dubai's The Lakes in 2021. They have remodelled it to fit a play area for their daughter Mia, eight, as well as a lounge and work space.
Their plan is to extend the ground floor with an entertainment area that overlooks the large lake – turning theirs into the epitome of a “house with a view”.
Ms Chandhok, an associate general manager for styling at Landmark digital, enjoys functional design and contemporary vibes. Her artistic flair and eye for detail are being put to use in bringing out the best in the two-storey villa.
The National takes a look around.
Tell us about your home
It’s a three-bedroom plus study. The only thing my husband asked for was a view and we have a lake view.
There are only about eight houses on this stretch that are built at a height in The Lakes. We get a seamless view because of the elevation so we don't see anything except the water in front of us.
When did you buy it?
We bought it in 2021 after years of renting in Dubai. This is our first home in the UAE.
Why did you decide to buy?
This was our 54th viewing with a single estate agent. After we signed the MOU, I felt we had made the biggest mistake – it was small, dark and I wondered how we were ever going to change this around. We called up the owner, asked for our MOU to be declined and our money returned.
But today I'm so glad the owner refused and so we had no choice but to go ahead. We literally put our heart and soul into turning this around and we're so happy we got there (In Dubai, a minimum 10 per cent of the purchase price is paid on signing a memorandum of understanding to secure the property).
How much did you buy it for?
We spent about Dh4.1million. We’ve had many offers since then. We keep getting notes on our cars every morning asking if we are interested to sell but this is too close to our hearts.
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
We moved from renting a one-bedroom apartment in the Greens to a two-bedroom villa in the Springs. This area – Emirates Living – is close to our hearts, it’s special. I can't imagine living in a better community. It’s a versatile community and everyone takes their celebrations so seriously. Celebrations become a community affair and that is great for children.
It’s designed for the family. There are so many parks and pools – when you leave you feel you are exiting a green zone. It’s very well located with multiple access points to major roads.
We are really spoilt for choice – we have clinics and schools close by and, of course, salons and a community centre with a restaurant that we absolutely love walking down to.
What renovations have you done?
We are house-proud. We have made several structural changes and put our heart and soul, love, sweat and toil into our house. Our first aim was to build the largest windows anywhere we saw scope for a window. The sunlight brings happiness, positivity and warmth.
We have a lot of natural light coming in to the master bedroom. When we wake up, the first thing we see is a serene lake just outside our window because we expanded that window. We also have a double-height ceiling in our master bedroom and broke the bathroom to build a walk-in wardrobe.
We converted a study downstairs into a playroom for our daughter’s toys and crafts and that is her space when her friends come to visit. It’s separate from her bedroom upstairs because we didn't want to mix play and bedtime.
We have a family lounge space upstairs that my husband uses to watch football and I have a small workspace in the corner that works well.
We reconfigured a bathroom downstairs so the nanny's room is en suite. Repositioning has opened up so much space.
How would you describe your interior design style?
We wanted to make sure that nothing is just for the sake of design, but everything has a story of functionality. When we added a table, we made sure it’s a functional design, modern, contemporary, earthy. Even our kitchen door handles were hand-picked.
It’s individual touches we added like our daughter having her own space, my husband having his own niche. We've found our own nooks within this home and that includes our guests because they become part of the love language of our home.
People start to congregate in the living room but by the end of the evening we are in the kitchen because it's a versatile space and not restricted to just being a kitchen. Every space has been adapted to our style of life, our needs whether it’s entertainment or reading a book.
How long do you plan to stay in the property?
We are getting ready for phase two of renovations so we are not going anywhere anytime soon. We plan an entertainment area that we can open up downstairs in the winter months. We will also enclose the balcony upstairs and increase the walk-in wardrobe space.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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