Many developments offer parking for your cars, but it’s not every day you come across a new house that offers a paddock for your pony. Annabasky Glen is a development of 12 luxury five-bedroom homes just outside the charming village of Enniskerry in Co Wicklow. Built to the highest specifications by the Cosgrave Group, these substantial detached houses, each measuring a generous 312sq m (3,358sq ft), have everything needed right on the threshold of Wicklow but also on the doorstep of Dublin city. They are now for sale through Hooke & MacDonald, with prices starting from €1.65 million.
The development sits on beautifully landscaped grounds just off the Ballyman Road on the outskirts of Enniskerry, with views out to Bray Head and the Sugarloaf. The grounds have lots of character and features, not least the historic ruins of Annabasky church. The houses are well spread out, leaving lots of space for neighbours’ privacy, and each house is surrounded by generous grounds of about 0.12-0.16 of a hectare (0.3-0.4 of an acre). Three of the houses have a full acre of grounds, incorporating the garden, patio and a huge paddock area for equestrian enthusiasts (remember, you’re practically in the countryside).
The showhouse gives you a good picture of what to expect from this development, and a pretty picture it is too. The houses look the part: elegant, solid, modern but with a certain traditional style. Cosgrave have put lots of craft and creativity into every detail, from the classical-style granite-framed doorway to the elegant coving and crisp architraves that shape the interiors.
Besides being beautifully finished, the houses at Annabasky Glen are also sustainable, each one accredited as a nearly-zero-energy building, with a highly efficient heating system and numerous passive house features and controlled energy-saving mechanisms that keep down the costs of running a busy household.
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Outside, there’s parking for several cars on a gravel courtyard, which is set to the side of the house so you’re not looking out at your car outside your livingroom. To the front are tasteful paving planting, and to the back a patio wraps around two sides of the house so you can maximise your enjoyment of the sunshine all through the day. There’s a generous back garden with a steel garden shed that’s wired and ready to use.
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A central theme of Annabasky Glen is neatly blending the indoors and the outdoors through liberal use of large windows and French doors, creating a sense of wide open spaces while maintaining a sense of comfort and cosiness. The large lounge and livingroom to the front have dual aspect, so you’re looking out at nature from all sides. These rooms are versatile; one can be a formal drawingroom, with an energy-efficient electric fireplace with stone mantle and surround, while the other can be more of a den or entertainment room. There’s also a study downstairs that would make a perfect home office or a kids’ playroom. There’s a large guest shower room which can be accessed from the hall or from the boot room/utility room to the side. So when the family arrive back after a walk around nearby Powerscourt demesne, they can kick off their muddy gear and be showered and changed before setting foot in the rest of the house.
The kitchen/dining/family area is impressively spacious, stretching right across the rear of the house, with large double doors out to the patio areas and large windows looking out to the back garden. The sense of flow is apparent here, as is the sense of style; this is a place the whole family will be happy to hang out, whether sitting at the large feature island, at the informal dining table or in the relaxing lounge area looking out to the patio. A nice, contrasting look is achieved using Cambrian oak, quartz countertops and splashback and curved pillars, moulded parapet and panel surrounds. It’s a dream kitchen, with two sets of double ovens, a large larder book ended with a full-height fridge-freezer. The island has a sink with a Quooker tap and there’s an induction hob set flush into the worktop, with a concealed extractor. There’s also no shortage of storage, including under the island, and Cosgrave have even put in a handy under-counter wine cooler so you don’t have to.
The stairs lead up a spacious wraparound landing with void looking down to the entrance hall below. The landing is big enough to accommodate its own lounge area. There are five enormous bedrooms up at this level, four of them with en suites. The main bedroom is a spacious 40 sq m (431sq ft) with a huge walk-in wardrobe and an equally large en suite with floor-to-ceiling marble, stone porcelain tiling and a free-standing bath with chrome towel rails. All the built-in wardrobes upstairs are done in richly crafted ivory shadow and walnut. The main bathroom also has a free-standing bath, while all the en suites have extra-large shower trays with fixed glass panels or sliding doors to make it all flow nicely. A large hot press houses the heat-recovery ventilation system and has plenty of space. Whichever window you look out from upstairs, you’re seeing great views out to Wicklow or the Dublin Mountains.
Cosgrave is known for its high-quality builds, and everywhere there are design touches that remind you this is no ordinary development. The internal doors, for instance, are Bergerac, painted and fitted with solid lever handles; the fireplace in the livingroom is Cambridge Turkish limestone with honed black granite insert, with an Iconic deep electric fire. Many of the ceilings have pelmet lighting allowing for a softer illumination throughout, and the windows are made by luxury brand Residence 9 – hand finished, durable and robust with excellent thermal and acoustic performance. Outside, the specially designed Cosgrave services enclosure houses the water booster pump and water tank, saving space and keeping all pump noises away from the house and eliminating the danger of leaks or water damage. The houses are wired up for TV, phone and broadband, and the drive is wired for an EV charging point.
There are plans to extend Berryfield Avenue out to join the N11, which will make it even handier to get in to the city centre. The village of Enniskerry is a good starting off point for exploring all the amenities Wicklow has to offer, and you’re not far from family-oriented attractions such as Kilruddery House with its famous Hell and Back course, or Avondale Forest Park with its treetop walkway, viewing tower and giant 90m spiral slide. There are plenty of good schools in the area, and it’s a short drive to the shopping at the Park in Carrickmines or in Bray.
