A five-bedroom house near Brittas, Co Dublin, goes to auction on May 23rd with a guide of £450,000 from selling agent Lisney. Hillview was built 12 years ago on 1.25 acres of mountain land in an area of outstanding natural beauty, so away-from-it-all that it is hard to believe it is 17 miles from St Stephen's Green.
Hillview is almost out of sight of the road behind electronically-operated gates. It has polished oak floors, an enormous conservatory and plenty of cupboard space. The hallway has Chinese slate flooring and doors to an inner hall.
Off this, a very spacious oak-floored sittingroom has a Le Droff fireplace and leads through an arch to the formal diningroom. Here there are slate floors, a large feature window with a display shelf above and a spiral staircase to a mezzanine lit by six big Velux windows.
Both the diningroom and country style kitchen open to a large conservatory used by the family as a summer diningroom. The kitchen/ breakfastroom has a centre island and a good range of oak units with green granite worktops: all electrical equipment is built-in and the floor is Italian-tiled.
A utility room has floor-to-ceiling cupboards for a washer-dryer, pull-out ironing board and laundry baskets. The family room behind the conservatory has fitted bookshelves and a has Junckers maple floor.
The main bedroom suite, guest room and a delightful child's bedroom are at ground floor level. The bedroom has a hand-painted ochre headboard, wardrobes and TV cabinet. A dressing area off has "his and hers" wash-hand basins, extra wardrobe space and a door to an en suite shower-room with power shower.
An artist was commissioned to paint the ceiling and the walls of the child's bedroom in a fairytale theme, with stars and woodland creatures which glow in the dark. Rose and cream panelled wardrobes and a matching headboard are included in the sale. The guest room has fitted wardrobes.
The family bathroom has a bath, separate power shower with a steamer facility and gold-plated fittings.
Two of the five bedrooms are upstairs. One with doors to the mezzanine is fitted out as an up-to-the-minute office and has a walk-in wardrobe off. The second bedroom, also double and with good wardrobe space, has a desk unit, wardrobes and shelving.
The garden is mostly lawned, with groves of birch and pine trees on the perimeter. A cobbled patio is bounded by raised flower beds. A few steps up there is a lawned play area with a timber climbing frame, swing and a solidly-built tree-house, which are part of the sale. There is a detached double garage with a storeroom and work bench.
