It is quite difficult to discern the age of 4 Avoca Wood in Blackrock from its exterior. With its redbrick façade swathed in Virginia creeper and sash windows, you could be forgiven for thinking it is a Georgian house that lies behind the 2m-high walls and electric gates that give much privacy to the 465sq m (5,000sq ft) of immaculate interiors.
It actually dates from 1996, and the family who live here moved in two decades ago. “We thought it would be our forever home and had no intention of moving, but we recently saw a property in Monkstown that we have really fallen for,” say the owners. It raises the question about what they have found – it must be really something – as their current home ticks quite a few boxes for those who wish to reside in a smart turnkey home in the leafy south Dublin suburb.
Though well built and maintained, when they arrived to the four-bedroom house, the family engaged architect Neil Burke Kennedy to address what they deemed to be a wasted space – a double-height ceiling that rose from the wide entrance hall all the way up beside the principal bedroom.
With clever configuration a room was added to fill the void and give what is now a bedroom suite that would give any five-star hotel a run for its money. Selling agent Sherry FitzGerald is calling the spot the “main bedroom common area”. It is akin to a television/livingroom off the bedroom that also hides utility units behind a wall of Rimadesio wardrobes.
Cutting off family members: ‘It had never occurred to me that you could grieve somebody who was still alive’
Great places to eat in Ireland when it’s date night
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
‘I know what happened in that room’: the full story of the Conor McGregor case
The Italian contemporary custom-made units with leather trim “operate like silk” and offer much storage around a television where “it almost makes ironing fun”. It is a very cleverly designed space and a good marriage of form and function.
More attention to detail can be found in the “his and hers” dressing and bathrooms which are clad in Emperador marble. Interiors were overseen by Helen Kilmartin of Minima Design, who was tasked with the large bedrooms, the diningroom, bathrooms and common room décor.
Of interest besides a lovely bright music room – complete with a grand piano – is a cinema room, which is one of five reception rooms that lie off the main hall in this impressive house.
Warmed by a gas log fire within a limestone surround, a large screen descends from a hidden ceiling unit at the touch of a button. The room has a wireless sound system as does the rest of the house and entertaining areas in the garden.
In addition to the main house, the property also has a lovely detached mews which has been used as a home office and guest accommodation, along with a Shomera garden room that was used by family members during lockdown.
As the family had intended to remain forever, they engaged architect Hugh Wallace to design a new extension to the southwesterly side of the property, which would also give alterations to the second floor. Here a large room that occupies 111sq m (1,194sq ft) is currently used as second television room. It now has permission for the addition of dormer windows to allow for two new bedrooms. The permission also allows for a detached car garage.
Gardens like the house are immaculate and well thought out. Designed by the late Colm Doyle of Doyle Landscapes, they feature lawns, a split-level patio area protected from the sun by an overhead awning, an irrigation system and putting green all set around a gravel driveway. Hidden from sight are a bike storage area, a car charger unit and storage space.
With the family heading down the road to Monkstown, they have placed their immaculate home with an impressive Ber of B3 on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €3.25 million.
