Number 22 Ashton Park ticked a lot of boxes for its owners when they bought it in 2016. This spacious semidetached home is nestled at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac between Monkstown Avenue and Windsor Park, and is within walking distance of Monkstown village. It has a large garden with a sundeck, a spacious front driveway, and the house had been extended by its previous owners.
In 2020 the owners decided to put the icing on the cake by completely renovating and modernising the house, and the results are impressive. Gorgeous, well-crafted interiors deftly balance classic and contemporary, and throughout are neat design touches that elevate this four-bedroom home well above the ordinary. Number 22 Ashton Park measures 186sq m (2,000sq ft) with an additional 23sq m (247sq ft) in the converted attic space. It has an A3 Ber, and is for sale through Vincent Finnegan, seeking €1.35 million.
The showstopper on the ground floor is the open-plan kitchen/dining/family room to the back, with wall-to-wall sliding glass doors looking out on to the landscaped garden. The owners called in Ben Kerrigan of Kerwood Design to reimagine the kitchen, and he went for a timeless feel with bespoke, slim Shaker units, including two clever bifolding units – one a drinks cabinet and the other a breakfast bar – a large island and Silestone Calacatta Gold worktops. Behind the kitchen is a good-sized utility room plumbed for washer and dryer, with an extra-high ceiling, abundant shelving and storage, and a handy hanging clothes airier.
The owners like to entertain friends at home, so the kitchen layout was designed to maximise the social element. The hob sits on the island, allowing the owners to chat with their guests while cooking the meal, and a wine cooler under the island can be temperature-set for both reds and whites.
The sink has a Quooker tap and insinkerator, and neatly arrayed along one wall is an integrated double oven with a fridge and freezer on each side, and an abundance of storage cabinets. A large, custom-designed pocket door with glass pane leads from the hallway to this little piece of kitchen heaven – no surprise that it featured in the autumn 2022 edition of Ireland’s Kitchen Guide.
What strikes you when you step into the wide entrance hall are the high ceilings downstairs. The owners put in new coving throughout the downstairs to give the ceilings a classic feel. To the side of the entrance hall is a handy alcove area with an open cloakroom/bootroom and a handy bench seat, plus a guest WC with tiled flooring and colourful wallpaper.
Engineered wooden flooring runs through the hallway, livingroom and kitchen/dining/family room, and the downstairs level has underfloor heating.
Both the family room at the back and the livingroom to the front are fitted with built-in media wall cabinetry, making for abundant storage for books and display space for family photographs and artwork.
A second showstopper awaits upstairs: the main bedroom with large walk-in wardrobe and en suite, which runs from the back to the front of the house. The bedroom overlooks the back garden, getting the morning sun, and behind the bed is a gorgeous custom-made headboard. The walk-in wardrobe has storage and hanging units, plus a vanity dresser with lights, and a frosted window out to the side. The en suite has tiled walls and flooring, rain head shower and frosted windows out to the front.
Also on the first floor is a large family bathroom, two more double bedrooms and a small single that’s ideal as a nursery, study or home office. On the second floor is another small landing leading in to a well-lit attic extension with three Velux windows. This is being used as a home office, but you could imagine this as a spacious kids’ playroom or teenagers’ den.
The spacious, triangular-shaped back garden faces southeast, and has mature trees, plants and shrubs, a paved sundeck running the width of the house, a garden shed and a kids’ play area at the end of the lawn. The garden widens out to a large, gravelled space to the side of the house, which catches the late afternoon and early evening sun.
