Dublin 15/€5m: One of the most appealing family houses to come on the market in Castleknock for some time is to be auctioned on March 28th through Ganly Walters.
Cottonwood stands on an acre of mature gardens on Carpenterstown Road - gardens that were planted decades ago by a skilled botanist and tended since with meticulous care. Rare trees and flowering shrubs abound. The huge magnolia outside the conservatory window is weighted down with buds and an unusual "wedding cake" tree adds a splash of early colour. There's a cottonwood tree, of course.
The owners are downsizing in the locality, after 18 years in Cottonwood. They are hoping the house will be bought by a family but, with an AMV of €5 million and that large plot, developers will inevitably be tempted. The 270sq m (2,904sq ft) house stands in the centre of the acre, with pretty gardens back, front and sides. A double front door opens into a tiled vestibule and onwards to a hall with parquet floor.
To the left is a formal sittingroom with maple floor, bay window and open fireplace. A butler's pantry off this room makes a useful drinks and glasses store. Doors open from here to a quarry-tiled conservatory and thence to the garden. Turn right off the hall and you come to a family room looking out to the front garden. Another door connects with the best room in the house - a huge kitchen/breakfastroom/sitting area warmed by a cheery red Aga. Units are oak with granite worktops and the gas-fired Aga provides hot water and back-up central heating. A wood-burning stove is set into a brick surround. Also in this part of the house are a utility room, pantry, cloakroom and guest toilet.
Upstairs, four double bedrooms and the family bathroom lead off a gallery landing, which has space for an armchair by the window. Bedroom one includes an en suite shower room and dressingroom.
While Cottonwood is a comfortable family home, the gardens will be the star attraction on viewing days. Like all the best gardens, the eye is drawn along paths meandering over lawns and through dense planting. A secret path between a double stand of trees was a favourite place for the owners' children, who were convinced that the cottonwood fairies lived here.
