My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader's home to have a look at what they get for their money, how much they pay in rent and asks them what they like and don't like
How much would you pay to live in your dream home that's close to your children's school and your work?
For Palestinian-Canadian Carol Sukkar the answer is Dh235,000 a year.
That's how much she pays for a five-bedroom villa in Dubai's Umm Suqeim 1 community, which she shares with her husband, two sons, aged 13 and 11, and Leo, their golden retriever.
Ms Sukkar, 43, is not afraid to bring her work home, which is apt given she owns a home furniture store in the city.
The result, she says, is that her home often feels like a showroom.
She invited The National on a tour of her home to show us why it is so special to her.
Why did you choose to live here?
I decided to live here because it's so close to work and as a working mum the commute is ideal.
We're 15 minutes from the kids' school. We like to beat traffic by leaving around 7am and they are in school by 7.15am.
I'm able to be in the office at 8.15am, work the whole day and be home for 5pm when the kids need me for dinner and homework.
It's a great area to live in and you can walk to Kite Beach from here. I run two or three times a week at the beach because it's such a short distance away.
During the weekends, I go cycling with the kids and I'm up from six every morning to walk the dog, the streets are so quiet then.
There are also so many restaurants that are within walking distance.
Do you get value for money?
Yes. It's an amazing area to live in and the house is perfect for us. It's a five-bedroom villa with a pool and it's very spacious.
I wish the rates could be a little better [cheaper] but that's in keeping with the whole market in Dubai right now, isn't it?
Does running a furniture store influence how you decorate your home?
Every time I have a new collection [in the store] I am thinking about where I can place it at home.
I am always thinking about how I can change my home interiors to create a nice [space] for us all.
I love light colours because they make us all calm.
There's not a lot of junk in the house. I try not to have a lot of decoration because when there's a lot, then you feel like your eyes are not relaxed and you're able to think straight.
It's very minimalistic.
Since my job as a CEO is so demanding I like to have a home where I can be Zen-like and reflect on things.
I want to feel like there's no difference between sitting by my pool or by a hotel pool.
What are your neighbours like?
We have a great relationship with them. Especially the neighbours in the next villa.
They came up to us and said, hey guys, we're your neighbours. Now we have them over for dinner or we'll go and visit them.
When we take the dog for a walk we meet other people with dogs and arrange playdates for the dogs.
It's a nice community.
What would you change about your home if you could?
I would like a bigger kitchen. I feel the size of the rest of the villa is so big compared to the kitchen. It's not proportionate.
Making the kitchen bigger would be great because we use it quite often. I like to cook a lot.
