Deer, pheasant and fox are regular visitors to the woodlands that surround Kilcroney Lodge, a charming family home in Kilcroney Co Wicklow.
"It's just a few gear changes from the N11, yet it really is a woodland oasis," says Mary Brennan of the home she has shared with her family for the last decade.
The house is at the end of a wooded lane, on which the houses have large gardens that allow total privacy, yet not for a moment does it feel isolated.
0 of 8
The lodge echoes many of the decorative styles of the houses in the nearby village of Enniskerry. Tudor elements such as overhanging eaves with elaborate barge boards and finials add a touch of antiquity to this fine family home, but it still doesn't feel like pastiche.
Inside the 279 sq m (3.000 sq ft) architect-designed house, no expense has been spared to create a home that carefully balances elegance with comfort.
All the carpentry in the property, including the kitchen, architraves, staircase and bathroom fittings, were handmade by Dunnes in Westmeath. Other details down to the splayed windows, Blue Bangor slates, and cast-iron guttering show the amount of thought that went into the design.
The hand-painted kitchen is in a style that will never date and even though it is a decade old, it feels brand new like the rest of the house.
There is a large drawingroom-cum-diningroom, heated by a stove, off the kitchen. It has wide-plank solid oak flooring and French windows which open onto the garden.
The house has three bedrooms upstairs, while two more are used as an office and reading room on the ground floor.
The master bedroom is one of the many great features of Kilcroney and occupies an entire wing of the property. Different ceiling pitches give the room a cosy feel which is further enhanced by a small stove, perfect for early winter nights.
The gardens come with a ride-on lawnmower, which is just as well as the lawns stretch over a large area. A patio area off the kitchen has raised banks planted with an abundance of rhododendron and azaleas.
Kilcroney Lodge would make a splendid family home and is in turnkey condition. Sherry FitzGerald is asking €1.5 million.
