Pulled down in the 1950s, the La Touche family home, which stood for three centuries on their Delgany estate, now lives on in name and one of its remnants is Bellevue Heights, perched, as the name would imply, above the coastal town of Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Number 33 is at the end of a cul-de-sac in this attractively laid out estate of detached and semidetached bungalows and is now being brought to the market by DNG, seeking €695,000. Built in 2014, the three-bedroom property with two bathrooms was designed and built by an architect, is in impressive condition, with a floor area of 131 sq m (1410 sq ft), and has an A3 Ber.
When the owner first saw the house, it reminded her of a cottage from the west. The exterior is deceptive as it gives no hint of the Tardis-like dimensions inside. The front of the house faces east and looks over the greens of Greystones Golf Club.
A long hall with timber floors has three bedrooms and a livingroom leading from it; the livingroom and principal bedroom are both at the front and get lovely morning light. The livingroom has a solid-fuel stove in a sandstone fireplace, which gives off such good heat that during the infamous “Beast from the East” snowstorm in 2018, they barely had to put the heat on, the owner says. Solar panels on the roof ensure a constant supply of hot water.
Rate of home mortgages over 90 days in arrears falls to lowest in 15 years
Greystar buys Dublin student housing scheme for around €150m
Typical price paid for home by first-time buyer up €88,000 on five years ago
Housing in Ireland is among the most expensive and most affordable in the EU. How does that happen?
The principal bedroom has a smart, generous en suite with a roof light. A family bathroom lies beyond, with a shower and a wide claw-foot bath. The house and its neighbour were designed and built by an architect and it shows throughout the energy-efficient house that is superbly lit and well-designed. Two further bedrooms are fine-sized doubles; should a home office be required by new owners, there would be potential to use one of these bedrooms.
[ Is Greystones at capacity? ‘There is a genuine concern that the town can’t cope’Opens in new window ]
Spanning the width of the house to the back is a bright, airy kitchen/dining/livingroom, with three roof lights and large double doors leading out to the back garden, which is paved and has a shed. Everything is supersized with an abundance of countertops and presses as well as a double fridge/freezer. There is ample space for an island but with all the counter space, you would hardly need for it. A utility room is at the back of the kitchen; light bounces around here thanks to its pale walls, rooflights and high-gloss cream tiles.
The garden has three tiers, built into the back of a slope. The owner added a third tier and perched there in the mornings before work, examining the sea with her morning coffee, and often returned in the evenings to enjoy a view she never tired of, describing it as constantly changing with ships, lights and storms whipping up the waves in the Irish Sea as far as Bray head.
[ Spacious and sophisticated Greystones refurb for €1.95mOpens in new window ]
Now returning to her roots in west Clare – a move made possible by remote work – the owner says leaving Greystones is no easy ask: “I made great friends, the neighbours are lovely; it’s a great community.” She walked everywhere, hardly used the car and used to cycle to the beach for morning dips. Delgany wood is a 15-minute walk from the house and the Dart can be reached in 25 minutes by cutting through the golf course. There’s nearby shopping just down the hill from the estate with stores such as Donnybrook Fair and Tesco. “I had a superb quality of life, it’s quite ‘country’ in its own way, everyone gets to know you very quickly,” she adds.
