Steeplewood is a substantial detached Edwardian home on 1.2 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens in the prestigious neighbourhood of Killiney in south Dublin.
Built around 1900, and with interiors reflecting the arts and crafts style, the house was extended by its previous owners in 1990, with an entire new wing added on, bringing it up to 350sq m (3,767sq ft). The extension was done in sympathy with the original period structure, making it hard to tell where the old house ends and the extension begins.
The current owners of Steeplewood bought the house 10 years ago, but knew it needed one more thing to make it an ideal family home. They added a superb kitchen/breakfast/diningroom extension designed by architect Andrew Lohan. It’s a contemporary, light-filled structure that contrasts nicely with the period style of the rest of the house.
Not only has this fine space become the family hub, it has also tied the rest of the house nicely together, says the owner, turning what could have been a group of disconnected reception rooms into a beautifully balanced downstairs space where everything flows smoothly.
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This is the perfect space for everyday family living, where no one is on top of each other yet everyone can gather and catch up on their day or just relax.
It’s also a great space for entertaining, says the owner, and the house has hosted many a party and celebration in this generous indoor space and in the vast gardens outside. Add in the stunning views out to the Sugar Loaf and the Wicklow Mountains and you’ve got a family home built to last for generations.
“This house has been loved,” says the owner, who is now putting the 495sq m (5,335sq ft) home on the market through Savills with an asking price of €4.95 million. The house is Ber exempt, and is close to Killiney Hill, Killiney beach and Dalkey village, with quick access to the M50 and Killiney Dart station.
Steeplewood sits discreetly behind a wall of mature hedging, its classic Edwardian facade with its Tudor style black-and-white cladding revealing itself as you go up the driveway.
The 1.2-acre gardens also come into full view, tastefully designed by landscape architect Martin Brady, who went for a neat, manicured look that maximises the magnificent views while maintaining privacy. There’s a strategically placed seating area near the entrance to the house where you can relax with a coffee or prosecco and look out to the Sugar Loaf while catching the sunshine.
You enter the house via a veranda and a small entrance hall, stepping straight into a fine, big drawingroom, which has a large fireplace and a big bay window. It’s almost made for welcoming guests. This is one of four big reception rooms downstairs, including a sittingroom, livingroom and family room, and really the choice is yours what you want to do with each of these generous and versatile spaces.
The house, less formal than a Victorian home, lends itself well to both classic and contemporary decor, and the current owners have blended both nicely, with some of the contemporary pieces paying homage to the arts and crafts style of old.
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The family room features a big box-bay window with doors on each side opening to a substantial veranda, while the sittingroom and livingroom combine to make a large L-shaped open-plan space that could make a wonderful main dining/lounge space.
Pulling it all together is the new kitchen/breakfast/diningroom extension, with black-and-white tiled flooring, featuring granite work surfaces, an Aga, a large central island and bespoke Porter and Jones cabinetry. Extensive glazing gives views out to the gardens and patio, and facilitates the indoor-outdoor living championed by the Edwardians, who were keen to leave behind the dark, cloistered living style of their Victorian predecessors.
An inner hall leads to a sizeable utility room and a guest WC, and outside is a games room/gym, specially built to tie in with the rest of the house.
The timber staircase is a fine example of the arts and crafts style of Steeplewood, and leads up to six bedrooms on first- and second-floor level, plus a study and a large reception room with balcony, currently in use as a TV lounge. The main bedroom has a balcony with views over the Wicklow Mountains, a large walk-in wardrobe, and a large en suite bathroom with a free-standing bath. A shower room adjoins bedroom two and there’s a bathroom next door to bedroom three.
The second floor makes excellent use of the tall attic space of this Edwardian house, and has three more bedrooms, one with balcony, plus bathroom and eaves storage.
