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
Ericka and Jim Mansfield moved to the UAE two years ago from Colorado, US with their daughters Mika, 9, and Summer, 16.
The entrepreneur couple, who founded electric scooter company ScootUp, bought their Dh8.3 million four-bedroom apartment at Address Beach Residences before they even arrived, getting a head start on their Dh2 million renovations.
Two years later and they’ve loved every minute of living in what Ericka describes as her “baby”, but now they’re ready to move to a villa elsewhere in Dubai, having recently listed the property for just under Dh15 million.
The National takes a tour.
Please tell us about your property
Ericka Mansfield: We have a four-bedroom apartment at Address Beach Residences in JBR, so we have great views. On one side you can see JBR, while on the other you have Dubai Marina.
It’s right in the middle of everything, so we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, hotels.
Why did you choose to live in these hotel residences?
Ericka: The big reason we decided to live here with our two daughters is so each of them could have their own bedroom, which they had a hand in designing. One of them is a Lego-themed room. They have a lot of Lego projects around here, including a 10,000-brick one of the Colosseum.
At the time, we were the first owners here. It was a new building, which we really like. We liked the fact it is connected to the hotel, so we have a lot of amenities and they’re great.
Jim: We actually own another three-bedroom apartment that we bought off-plan, but we decided it was too small to live in, so we started to look at four bedrooms.
We looked at one in JBR and some places in the Marina. This one just seemed like the best value and size and lay-out. It’s 2,500 square feet and it uses the square footage well.
How have you renovated the space?
Ericka: We remodelled the entire place when we bought it to make it more liveable.
There’s a lot of storage. I challenged the contractor to put in as much storage as possible, so we have a lot of hidden areas in the walls that can hold things like suitcases and shoe racks.
We remodelled the kitchen completely, too, to make it bigger. We built in things we’re used to in the States, like a really big refrigerator, a built-in coffee maker, wine storage.
In our master bedroom, we get the views of JBR and the Marina, so we added a TV in the ceiling that comes up and down, so we wouldn’t ruin the view.
We just tried to make it feel really homely.
Jim: There are two areas for sitting and watching TV. We have a dining area. We also closed off the middle space so that the big main living room has more privacy. It all took about five months.
What was your experience with your contractors?
Ericka: We got really lucky and we hired a contractor through a friend who recommended them to us. They were really amazing to work with.
Especially since we were abroad, we had to do a lot of work and make a lot of decisions remotely. They were very, very good and very thorough.
It took a bit longer than we had hoped, but I guess that’s the world of contracting.
I also worked with a designer who was amazing and could see my vision and really implemented it to the T.
What facilities do you have access to?
Ericka: We have a pool downstairs and also a gym. I was there this morning – I’m at the gym most mornings.
If we want, we can also use the hotel facilities as well, which are separate to ours. You can either sign up or just pay as you go, but it’s nice to have those available.
There are also several restaurants there and the lobby is nice for food and coffee. We can use the Emaar app and get discounts.
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
Ericka: We’d stayed in the Marina before and we liked it. It’s convenient for most places in Dubai. The kids’ schools are very close. And when it’s not peak holiday time, it’s easy to get to Sheikh Zayed Road.
Having kids, we also love to be at the beach.
Jim: We were also looking for investment value. We looked at other places, such as Downtown, but for us it’s convenient and a better location for an apartment.
Having the scooter business, especially living in JBR, everybody has scooters, because it makes it really convenient to get around.
Ericka: It’s also really nice here in January and February, or in the holiday months, because we can sit out on our balcony and have dinner and get the fireworks shows every night. During the Dubai Shopping Festival, there’s also a drone show like every night at 7pm.
Another time there was a skydiving competition and we were just sitting here and felt like we could just reach out and touch these skydivers who were landing right out there on the beach.
Those things have been unexpected, but really, really cool. It’s like, where else would you ever be where you could see this from your balcony? Only in Dubai.
Why have you decided to move?
Ericka: After living here for a little bit with our daughters, even though they love it here, we want to experience villa living.
Now we’re exploring different areas in the city.
What will you miss most about this place?
Ericka: It feels like my baby. I had a hand in all of the design. It just really feels like our space. And if we left the JBR/Marina area, we won’t have all the things around us that are so easy and convenient.
As much as we want a villa, it probably won’t be the same kind of experience, which I think will take some getting used to, but life’s about changes.
