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Ursula Winzel has owned and rented homes during her 18 years in Dubai.
A German raised in South Africa, she is the founder and chief executive of Balcony8 Brand Buro and an Emirates Woman of the Year 2025 award winner.
Ms Winzel, 47, rented a bungalow in Jumeirah 2, Dubai, following the death of her husband four years ago.
She showed The National around the home she shares with daughters Leni, aged seven, and Noä, five, with whom she runs family business Little Rituals, and their nanny, driver, and veteran cat Bahira.
Why did you choose this place?
I love Jumeirah bungalows. There is something so nostalgic and charming about them.
They complement Dubai’s magnificent, very progressive skyline, and they tell stories about old Dubai and the local families that helped shape its future. I’ve always been drawn to them.
I’ll pay Dh140,000 rent this year.
Why this area?
I fell in love with Jumeirah. I moved to a big bungalow in Jumeirah 1 and had a vision to raise a family there.
At the time it was just myself and my cat, in a three-bedroomed villa. A few years later, I was living there with a husband and two babies. I gave birth to our second during Covid. Six months later we discovered my husband was suffering from a fatal brain tumour.
At the same time, I had to let go of 90 per cent of my employees as all the retainers had shut down.
How long have you lived in this home?
Ursula Winzel was eager to create a warm and loving home for children Nöa and Leni.
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