La Touche Lodge wasn’t always the stunning, contemporary family home it is today. Six years ago, when Marc and Christine Hamilton first viewed the bungalow just outside Delgany village, it didn’t look very promising. With faux traditional features and a rickety conservatory, the property was in need of upgrading. But the couple clocked the magnificent back garden, and saw the huge potential in this property on 0.45 of an acre in the heart of Co Wicklow. The couple had just returned from Australia, and had searched in vain around south Dublin for a house at the right price with enough space for their family before landing on Greystones, where they dismantled the original house that was on the site and built a modern bungalow.
They weren’t in the least daunted by the task they had taken on; while living in Australia, the couple did two home-build projects, so were old hands at new builds. They built La Touche Lodge to the highest specs, extending it to a roomy 310sq m (3,337sq ft) and installing premium flooring and triple-glazed windows, bringing it up to an A3 Ber energy rating.
They replaced the conservatory with a stunning dual-aspect kitchen/family/dining area spanning the width of the original house and extending out to the back, with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors leading out to the patio and big back garden. The kitchen area has sleek cabinets, a large island and breakfast bar with a sink and a matt-black tap, fitted shelving, marble countertops, a Neff induction hob and pendant lighting over the island. A large roof light overhead brings all the light you need into the house. In fact, there’s not a dark space in the entire house, thanks to the many full-height windows all around and wide overhead rooflights.
The couple built the new house on the footprint of the old, retaining just two of the original walls and a fireplace. They also added a main bedroom extension to the side of the house, with huge picture windows looking out to the back garden, a spacious walk-in wardrobe with bespoke shelving, hanging rack and drawer units and recessed lighting, and a luxurious en suite with a large step-in rainfall shower, his-and-hers circular wash-hand basins, black accessories and high-level windows to retain privacy while letting in lots of natural light. Joining this suite to the rest of the house is a superb entrance hallway with a large picture window looking out to the back garden, and lots of storage for coats, schoolbags, sports gear and all the other accoutrements of an active young family.
Off the kitchen is a well-equipped utility room with access to an outside courtyard. Separating the kitchen/dining/family area from the inner hallway is a clever recessed sliding partition wall, so when the kids have gone to bed, the parents can relax and entertain without waking the little ones
The inner hallway has two atrium-style rooflights and leads to a cosy livingroom with the original exposed-brick fireplace, and a large window overlooking the front garden. Across the hall is the playroom, with a glass-panelled door and solid wood flooring. Beside the livingroom is a fine office with three tall windows looking out to the front. There are four bedrooms in this section, one which is en suite, and two of them are linked by a sliding door so they can be opened up into one big play area.
The fine, spacious back garden features a deep granite patio running the width of the house, which is ideal for al fresco dining. Granite steps lead down the rolling lawn to a large vegetable plot with polytunnel. There are colourful rockery beds bordered by stones recycled from the original house, and a large Monterey cypress tree provides shelter for the play area. The couple recently built a second granite patio along the garden’s southern boundary to create the perfect spot to catch the evening sun or just relax under the stars away from the stresses of city life. The driveway to the front is accessed through a stable yard-style gate, and is laid in tarmac, with room to park several cars, and timber-gated side entrances leading in to the back garden. There’s also a charging point for an electric car.
La Touche Lodge sits just at the edge of Delgany village, near the Wicklow Arms bar and restaurant, Farrelly’s butchers and the Bear Paw Deli. Greystones and all its amenities are just 3½km away, and the route takes you along a “golden mile” of sports clubs and on to South Beach, Burnaby Park, the new harbour and marina, and the new public park on Darcy’s Field.
There’s a good range of local schools including St Laurence’s, Delgany National School, St Kevin’s, St Patrick’s, St Brigid’s and Greystones Community College. There are also numerous fine golf courses, including Delgany, Druid’s Glen and Powerscourt, and you’re close to all the outdoor activities on offer in Co Wicklow, including walking, mountain biking and mountaineering.
The Dart from Greystones gets you into Dublin city centre in just 45 minutes, but with the peace, tranquillity and contemporary living offered by La Touche Lodge, you won’t be in too much of a hurry to get into town. La Touche Lodge is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.4 million.
