Monkstown: €850,000The traditional open green on the doorstep of novelist Denise Deegan's suburban house proved the perfect place for her children

When we moved into our first home, as a newly married couple, we never imagined staying 15 years. In fact, we weren't thinking ahead, at all. We just walked into 34 Richmond Park and felt instantly at home. Four days later, it was our home. We did not choose it for its suitability to children. And yet, it was our children who, when they finally arrived, became the reason we have never moved on.

Like most people of our generation, we grew up at a time of great personal freedom, playing out of doors with friends for hours on end. We learned the rough and tumble of social interaction by osmosis. Quite by accident, by moving into Richmond Park, we had provided the same environment for our children. The development, in Monkstown, has a large, safe and quite beautiful green space where kids can be kids.

When ours were little, we were out there with them. Later, we watched from our front window, while they grasped independence by their sticky fists. Now, if it weren't for the fact that Tip-the-Can, football, and races are on our doorstep, we might have a problem getting our son off the computer.

It is hard to put a monetary value on a lifestyle. And even harder to find a place like Richmond Park, so close to the sea, the DART and village living. It is tucked away, quiet and safe. The houses are as varied as the residents. Retired couples mix with trendy urban couples and young families. Children grow up here learning to respect people at different stages of life.

We weren't looking to do up a house, and it feels as if we have done very little with our home over the years. And yet, looking back at old photos, I am shocked to be reminded of the avocado-coloured bathroom suite and grey kitchen units we lived with for years. There are shots of my son looking up at the man who arrived on stilts to plaster the ceilings and supervising the guy who wrote songs in his head while putting down our wooden floors. We have done a lot of work over the years. It just never felt like it.

Now there is a For Sale sign outside the door. I arrive home, see it and remember that we are moving on, finally 'trading up'.

I wish we could somehow hold onto 34 Richmond Park for that time when we are starting a new life again without children.

34 Richmond Park is a three-bedroom semi detached house, measuring 100sq m (1,075sq ft). It being sold through Sherry FitzGerald.