Rathmichael home blends urban appeal with rural feel for €1.695m

A detached house on approximately an acre of gardens would suit buyers who want something with a rural feel that is close to urban conveniences. Balfour, a house built in the 1970s on Ferndale Road in Rathmichael, Dublin 18, is a short drive to Shankill and Bray – but enclosed behind high hedges, it is a quiet, peaceful spot with the entrance to Rathmichael Woods nearby.

Balfour has been refurbished since its owners bought it in 1999: it has a Dalkey Design kitchen and smart tiled bathrooms, but new owners are likely to update some aspects of the house. The 290sq m (3,122sq ft) two-storey four-bed with a part-brick/part stucco-style exterior and leaded windows at the front is for sale for €1,695,000 through George & Maguire Properties. It has a D1 Ber rating.

Mostly, what Balfour has is space – inside as well as outside – and plenty of scope to extend, subject to planning permission, if 290sq m isn’t enough for new owners. A large partly double-height entrance hall, floored with oak-effect laminate opens through double doors to the diningroom at the back of the house. Double doors from here open on the left into a long sittingroom that runs from the front to the back of the house, with a leaded box-bay window looking over the front of the house. It has a white marble open fireplace and sliding glazed doors opening to the garden at the back.

A large Dalkey Design kitchen, floored with terracotta tiles, and the timber-floored breakfastroom on the right of the front hall also run from the front to the back of the house. The country-style kitchen has an island unit and counters topped with polished black granite. A utility room and a boot room open off the kitchen at the back, with sliding glazed doors into the garden. There is also a terracotta-floored downstairs toilet off the hall.

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The very large family room to the right of the kitchen/breakfastroom has its original timber floor. Like the sittingroom, it has a white marble open fireplace and a leaded box-bay window at the front.

Upstairs, four bedrooms – three large and one small double – and the family bathroom open off a wide landing that looks down into the entrance hall. The main bedroom has a tiled en suite with a large double shower as well as a walk-in dressingroom – which had been a single room. One of the other bedrooms has a good built-in desk. The fully-tiled family bathroom looks to have been recently revamped.

With neighbours on either side, Balfour is not isolated but it is very private, with high hedges and tall trees at the front and back sheltering the lawns. Tall timber electronic gates open off Ferndale Road into a long driveway bordered by lawns, tall trees, flower beds and very high hedging. There is lots of room to park at the front of the house; a garage at the side is used for storage. The back garden is mainly in lawn, ordered by trees and shrubs, with tall evergreens sheltering it. There are two patio areas; mature trees include a cherry tree and a mimosa.