wellfield, A Georgian house on Malahide Road, Balgriffin, Dublin 17, has had a radical overhaul since it last came on the market in 1997. Briefly owned by rock singer Morrissey, and, before that, by Dublin businessman Ulick McEvaddy, it lay empty for some time before being bought by a property developer who has recreated the interior in a startling minimalist style.
Wellfield is now back on the market with a guide price of £1.5 million. Most of its original 12 acres of land is being held back for future development. The house is being sold with three acres, including a tennis court and outdoor swimming-pool. It will be auctioned by joint agents Lisney and Hooke & MacDonald on June 22nd.
Of the house, four walls and a roof remain, although without their cloak of Virginia creeper. Previously, visitors would have walked through the front door into a traditional hallway, complete with fireplace. Now, they will enter a soaring white space, floored in grey polished limestone, with a double-height corridor running the full depth of the house and recessed lighting at ankle height to guide them through the house at night. The centre of the house has been scooped out to allow this double-height hall and, at the upper level, rooms on either side are connected by a glass corridor.
Two reception rooms on either side have tall, solid-oak doors and floors, and the original Georgian windows are screened by wooden venetian blinds. There is a third reception room suitable as a diningroom, playroom or study - but the most dramatic room in the house is the amazing double-height kitchen, with a stainless steel flue rising up to the roof, a massive stainless steel island and a dining area of dancehall proportions. Off the kitchen is a rear hall with access to a utility room and a back stairs that leads up to a guest suite, via a gallery-style landing overlooking the kitchen.
The main staircase leads off the entrance hall and rises to meet the glass floored corridor above. This makes the journey across to the main bedroom a dramatic event. The bedroom, once a grand boudoir with lavish furnishings, has been stripped back, with its original ceiling timbers exposed.
A steel staircase rises to an attic-style dressing area. Down below, the bed sits in a curved bay with windows all around. Steps also lead up to the en suite bathroom, where beige matt ceramic tiles, a sunken bath and a sculptural wash-hand basin sitting on an oak table look very simple - and very expensive. On the other side of the corridor are two more bedrooms, both with similarly fitted shower rooms.
Clutter is banished throughout the house - in closets behind tall oak doors - and colour is only allowed in occasional splashes of purple, blue, red and yellow. By day the house is incredibly bright, with views from all the rooms over the gardens. By night, a sophisticated lighting system kicks in, with the corridors washed in light from low, recessed spots and huge ceiling lanterns.
Not perhaps the easiest house to live in, but certainly one of the most exciting to have come on the market this year.
