The facade of 37 Simmonscourt Castle doesn’t give much away – other than that this new-build house and its neighbour are very different from the rest of the properties in the up-market residential estate in Ballsbridge. There’s something almost industrial looking about the wall of gleaming Portuguese limestone with its narrow strip of grey-clouded glazing to one side – a door and a window – to punctuate its austere appearance. A triangular glazed section high up at roof level indicates a lofty space inside. A further clue to what might lay within is glimpsed over the frosted glazed screen to the side which is low enough to reveal a line of trees – an indication of an inner courtyard – and an upper balcony in the L-shaped detached house. Designed by O’Mahony Pike architects it’s an uncompromisingly modern, thought through house designed for privacy, space, light to make the most of the valuable site.
Inside the layout inverts the traditional – the bedrooms are downstairs, the living space stairs.
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There are four bedrooms, all doubles with stylish en suites, discrete fitted wardrobes and floored with Japanese oak. Each bedroom has access to one of the two courtyards – as well as the larger one to the front, there is another courtyard at the rear. The largest bedroom has a full size bathroom. Also downstairs is a laundry area hidden behind tall doors and plenty of storage.
Impressive entrance
In the triple-height entrance hall, with light flooding down from a large rooflight, is an elegant open thread staircase with a frameless glass balustrade. It leads up to the living accommodation – mostly made up of two vast rooms, both with serious wow factor – one is a livingroom with that triangle shaped window glimpsed from outside, the other a kitchen with dining area opening on to a balcony. The sleek kitchen by Kerwood features a wall of cupboards fitted with Miele appliances and a sink unit. The island with its angular stone worktop is a striking as well as practical feature. There is a small utility up here and a guest WC. A sliding door in the kitchen opens into a third, much smaller room – one that will probably be used as a playroom. Its large window is partially frosted – obscuring the view of an RDS jumping arena.
Top-level tech spec
Aside from the upscale fixture and fittings the tech spec is top level including a sophisticated Wink lighting system, heat recovery ventilation system, and fire and intruder alarms.
Next door is an identical house – both were built at the same time by the same couple who bought the site with planning permission, built the two houses, one for themselves and one – number 37 – to sell on. With 288sq m (3,100sq ft) it is for sale for €2.75 million through Knight Frank, a strong price for a house in an estate and one without the grassy child-friendly garden that families tend to look for. It is being viewed unfurnished – the pictures in the brochure were taken in the owners’ own house next door to give an idea what it would look like furnished. The house is located at the far end of the low density estate and comes with an €1,200 annual service charge.
