Fernhurst on Hillside Road in Greystones is an original Burnaby residence. However, what defines it as a desirable 21st century family home is not so much the Edwardian character of the building as the huge family room that envelops virtually the entire rear of the ground floor.
"It's a great party house," says owner Paula Ryan.
“There’s great room for circulation,” says husband Fergus.
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The couple are moving on now that their children are grown. Fergus is a barrister specialising in tax, while Paula is an artist and specialist in copper-plate etching.
Both have family and work connections to the building industry and it is therefore not surprising that Fernhurst is in tip-top condition. It has been restored and improved during the decade the Ryans have lived there in a way that enhances the original Edwardian Burnaby home feel to the place.
The front door opens into a floor-tiled porch, with original leaded light stained glass. The hall has been widened slightly but, thanks largely to the sanded and varnished wooden floor and doors and the cornice plasterwork, looks and feels like the day it was made more than 100 years ago.
A small storage room to the right could be an office-cum-computer room. To the left is the drawingroom, a front-facing, graceful and elegant space with a grand fireplace and two square bay windows, each with stained glass details.
Dining area
At the bottom of the steps at the rear of the hall, the house balloons into the open-plan room mentioned above. On the right is the kitchen. Spendlove-designed and with a gas-fired Aga, it has everything required, including lots of cupboard space, a utility room/pantry, island worktop, double Belfast sink and granite counter. It’s also flooded with light.
Beside the kitchen is the family dining area. To the left, there is a spacious family seating area with big, flop-into sofas and a raised fireplace. A sweeping bay window looks out over the secluded and mainly paved rear garden.
Off the large open-plan area and up some steps, there is a more formal and intimate diningroom with a domed ceiling.
From the large family room and extending further into the garden area, there is a beautiful conservatory with glass atrium and French windows opening on to the garden proper, with corner pond, shrubs, two palm trees and some mature silver birch).
Original features
Upstairs, four double bedrooms are spread across three levels. All contain original features such as fireplaces and all are in near-perfect condition. The main bedroom has an en suite and walk-in wardrobe/dressing room.
The main bathroom has a free-standing bath positioned by a large fanlight window through which the luxuriating occupant may view the surrounding treetops unobserved.
The attic has been floored and can be accessed it via fold-away stairs. On the roof, there’s a small seating area with a panoramic view over the Irish Sea from Wicklow Head to Howth.
The Ryans will miss Fernhurst as will their friends.
“You have friends in,” says Fergus, “and no one seems in a hurry to leave.”
"It's been a beautiful family home," says Paula. "It's so close to the village, but it's on a quiet road and it's in the Burnaby. "
Sherry FitzGerald Greystones is quoting €1.25 million.
