Four-bed Foxrock Village townhouses, complete with elevators, from €2m

The concept of swish townhouses in cities like London and New York is as old as much of the money that inhabits them. Despite being set over several levels, they retain the spacious proportions, and it is this sense of scale that inspired developers Stephen Byrne and David Keogh of Carlson Homes to deliver The Terrace, a block of just eight four-bed redbricks on the corner of Torquay Road and Westminster Road, in the beating heart of Foxrock village.

So centrally located are these homes that you could sit in the large salon on the first floor, open its French doors onto Juliet balconies and eavesdrop on conversations happening below between the coffee brigade and the al fresco diners at soon-to-reopen The Gables.

Designed by Karol O’Mahony Architects, with DMVF brought on board for the build, they should tick a lot of boxes for the well-heeled buyer who has €2 million to spend.

The uniformity outside belies a wealth of configuration possibilities inside.

The properties open into a roomy hall where there is the option to take the stairs or ascend its four storeys using the lift. Both are out of sight, with the six-person lift designed to sit flush with the wall, its discreet white facade deliberately fading into the background.

The installation of a lift marks an understanding of what prime buyers are looking for. It’s a sleek security blanket that future-proofs their time there, allowing ease of movement throughout, even if mobility is impaired, from the light-filled sittingroom to the front of the ground floor up to the sittingroom on the first floor.

Guests can do likewise; if you like entertaining you could even use the first of the property’s four bedrooms, also on this floor, as a bar area, with the utility room doubling as a coat check.

Each floor has a spacious landing, with the entire second level given over to the main bedroom. Its suite proportions include an enormous bedroom that commands the same space as the salon below, with a bathroom, which has a large shower stall and separate, freestanding tub, with cool contemporary tiles by Project and a dressingroom across the landing. Extending to some 65sq m, it is the size of a decent two-bedroom apartment.

There are two more bedrooms on the third floor. The one to the front has a raised terrace that overlooks the village, the racecourse and the golf course with views beyond to the mountains. It seems far too special a room for full-time accommodation use, but traders-down could use it as a carrot to lure grown-up children home more often. The rest of the time it could be a bar with space to install a large TV screen and from where you could watch live action on the racecourse through a set of binoculars.

The layout gives the homes ample space to accommodate visiting family members without anyone ever feeling like they’re overstaying their welcome. They’re also big enough for two people to cohabit on completely separate floors – divorce Irish-style – and never step on each other’s toes. One half of a couple could be blaring sports from any number of rooms and the other half won’t even hear it.

But the real attraction here is the large eat-in kitchen to the ground floor rear. With an inframe design by Terenure-based Jonathan Williams, it includes plenty of deep drawers, Neff appliances, underlighting to show off its slick lines and a Silestone top, which, if you buy early enough, can be finished to the countertop colour of your choice.

From here, all that separates you from the impressive tiered garden is a wall of concertina aluclad glass doors. Paved in granite slabs and with artificial grass, each level is sheltered from the elements by high fencing.

From the lower level, steps lead down to the enormous garage, where all the plant for the underfloor heating and water tanks live, removing any ambient noise from the house. This gives you vehicular rear access from Torquay Road.

Another set of steps takes you up to the top level where you can soak up southerly sun in a very private setting.

Number one, the end-terrace showhouse, which is the largest of the units and extends to 303sq m (3,261sq ft), has been fitted out by The Interiors Project.  It and the other end-terrace unit are being retained by the developers.

Prices for the rest of the homes, which have a BER of A3 and average about 266sq m ( 2,868sq ft), start from €2 million though SherryFitzGerald.