Light-filled five-bedroom house near Enniskerry for €1.4m

Address: Cedarbrook House, Ballyman Road, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow

Price: €1,400,000

Agent: DNG

It’s a question many people face: whether or not to move from suburbia to further out the Wicklow way for a better work-life balance. The owners of Cedarbrook House, a substantial five-bedroom house on a fifth of an acre – just a kilometre from the pretty village of Enniskerry – had originally lived in Killiney and tinkered with this very question about 13 years ago.

“We rented directly from the man who had built the house and after three-six months, we decided we loved the place and wanted to live in the area,” say the owners, who are now rightsizing as they have an empty nest.

They mentioned to their landlord that they wanted to stay and he eventually decided to sell to the couple. As they had lived in the house for two years before they owned the property, they knew exactly the changes they wanted to make to put their own stamp on the 262sq m (2,820sq ft) house.

Structurally, there was nothing to do as the house was relatively new so many of the changes were cosmetic, such as swapping an old fireplace for a newer limestone model in the livingroom.

They installed solid electric gates – that also have a pedestrian access – which they say was the “best thing from a security and convenience point of view”. New solar panels mean hot water and heating is compliments of Mother Nature from May to October and the property is completely private thanks to the 30ft trees between the house and the road, and the 8ft-high fence that surrounds the perimeter of its 0.2-acre site.

It is exceptionally bright inside and nowhere is this more evident than in the large country-style kitchen that benefits from being triple aspect and has two sets of double doors opening out to two sandstone patios. The aspect here allows sun until about 7pm-8pm each evening, while the elevated lawn to the back gets sunshine all day long.

Two large reception rooms in the form of a livingroom and triple-aspect family room occupy the space downstairs with a bedroom, a loo and a utility room. Four fine bedrooms lie upstairs, three of which have an en suite.

Finishing touches such as solid granite sills, solid oak flooring, doors and skirting and double-glazed windows give an indication as to the level of detail and expense that went into its furnishing.

A Ber of B2 reflects the solar panels, good insulation and the passive heat from double-glazed windows throughout.

The owners say they had the best of both worlds while raising their family here. They love the privacy, space and light, and they also love the location. There’s a primary school in the village, while St Gerard’s secondary school is two miles away, as is John Scottus school. You can be in Dublin city centre in 35 minutes at offpeak – though clearly longer at peak times. But that is the trade-off for having views of the Sugar Loaf mountain from rooms to the front of your home, while rooms to the rear have views of the delightful wild ravine of the Scalp.