Ballybawn House, a period home on six acres, at Old Long Hill, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, has been in the same family for the past 150 years. Scheduled for auction through Gunne on April 28th, it is expected to fetch over £600,000.
The white-painted house has 180-degree panoramic views, sweeping from Dalkey Island across the Wicklow hills. Most rooms look out on the Sugarloaf mountain.
Maud Gonne MacBride took refuge here during the Troubles and a frequent visitor in later times was the "golden voice" of Irish radio, Ian Priestly Mitchell.
The original cottage has been extended to create a spacious home with four bedrooms. There is also a duplex annex with two bedrooms. The interiors of the main house have a strong period feel. Stripped pine is a feature throughout, along with hand-painted walls and decorative stencils. Many of the rooms run into each other along traditional cottage lines and are cosy with low ceilings. The entrance hall is quarrytiled with a timber staircase. Off the hall to the right are two rooms which comprised the old cottage. The diningroom has quarry tiles and a cast-iron fireplace. The two window ledges are particularly deep on account of the three-foot walls and the livingroom has a redbrick fireplace. The kitchen is at the other side of the entrance lobby. It has a range as well as a Belfast sink set into a fitted pine unit. There is a central island and a hanging rack but many of the free-standing units are not included in the sale.
Folding glass doors lead into a small family room. Beyond this is the breakfastroom/lobby with black and white floor tiling, pale blue walls and double-glazed sliding patio doors. A utility room off this is plumbed for a washing machine and includes a lavatory.
The four bedrooms upstairs are all doubles. The main bedroom is finished in green with imaginative stenciling and windows in three walls. The second bedroom has vaulted ceilings, a fitted timber hand-painted wardrobe, and a wash-hand basin with wooden surround.
A third bedroom is finished in tartan and has stripped timber floors and a wash-hand basin, while the fourth bedroom is painted a deep blue and has an en suite shower room. The main bathroom is also upstairs.
The duplex accommodation is equally unusual, but very modern in design compared with the rest of the house. A sliding entrance door leads into a bright livingroom with ceramic tiled flooring, an open fireplace and a lobby - in the colours of Chelsea Football Club - which leads to a lavatory.
Upstairs is a large bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe which is itself spacious enough to be a bedroom. There is also an en suite shower room.
Also upstairs is a second bedroom dramatically painted with large green and white stripes to give the impression of being in a marquee. Separate from the house is the remnants of a wine bar, known as Granny Kavanagh's, which was housed in the original stables in the cottage.
Outside is a gravelled courtyard with extensive parking as well as some well-planted herbaceous borders, and five acres of paddock. There is a vegetable garden, a green house and a security intercom at the entrance gates.
The setting, and imaginative internal decor, mark this house apart. Within easy commuting distance of Dublin it might also appeal to someone with equestrian interests seeking a rural retreat.
