Open House: A Miami-style villa in Jumeirah Islands

Open-plan living, minimal and white furnishing, a mature garden offering privacy, and a fully formed community. As the VP of Business Development at Greenbull Group, JG and his team have focused their efforts on redeveloping over 35 villas in Jumeirah Islands to cater to modern tastes and ideals. Proposing a seamless turnkey solution, their vision was to craft a space where individuals relocating to Dubai or seeking a residence without the hassle could envision themselves flourishing. In this edition of 'Open House', JG talks about why he chose Jumeirah Islands as an area for the 'Miami Collection' project and why it ticks all the boxes for potential owners or investors.

JG: When my partners and I first moved to Dubai, we were all looking for different places to live in the city that offered a piece of home. One of us moved to Jumeirah Park, one to the Meadows, one to the Arabian Ranches, and another to Jumeirah Islands. 

Out of the four communities, it was clear that Jumeirah Islands was the best community to live in. Being built over 20 years ago by one of the largest developers here in Dubai, we loved the ratio of the water to the land. And because it was built a while ago, you have mature gardens and big trees; you don't feel like you're living in a desert. Coming from a Western country; it felt like home, with lots of lakes and greenery. It also has a very low density of houses compared to other communities where they're packed next to each other. These are independent homes, allowing for privacy. The price value ratio is favorable too; you get more in terms of both plot and BUA. There is an established microclimate here due to it being a low-density neighbourhood; there's lots of fresh air thanks to the greenery and the lakes.

The amenities are great and very accessible too - you have a clubhouse, two restaurants, a ladies' salon, a barber shop, and many sports facilities like tennis, volleyball, as well as basketball courts. They are also in the process of setting up a padel tennis court. 

Our goal with these investments was to buy a ready house and make it a turnkey solution for the new owner. We tried it first for ourselves and then started to develop and invest more in this concept to help people who are moving to Dubai and give them the right quality and finishing. We imported a lot of the materials from Europe, including the appliances, and sourced the tiles and some elements locally. The kitchen appliances of this home are Miele.

Our goal was to create a Miami-style villa, finished with a contemporary and minimalist style. We wanted the people who viewed these villas to project their lives onto a setting that is pure, elegant, soft, and open. We created an open-plan layout, adding lots of light to the property through large windows and double-height ceilings, and expanded the rooms. We wanted to give people a little piece of their home here. 

Coming from a real estate background, we drew upon our experiences from doing a lot of developments in Geneva, Switzerland, and France and brought our expertise to the table here. We spent two whole years developing this house and each project in the collection is slightly differentiated, but carrying the same design language. 

What a lot of people don't know is that the renovation process takes time and the right team to make it work. It takes time to select the materials, design, and manage the approvals. With each home we create, we do better on time and ease as we have the process in place and improve every time we start a new project. We offer the homes fully furnished too and have upgraded all the systems from AC to electricity.

Another thing we have done is focusing heavily on the plot location. We've chosen the quietest spots, villas with views of the lake, and have at times even purchased extra plot space for the gardens.