Twelve standout homes, we fell for this year

SEAFIELD HOUSE

Kilcrea, Donabate, Co Dublin
Status Entered the market in May, targeting 9.95 million euros; remain unsold
Agent Sherry FitzGerald Country Houses

Seafield House in Donabate was a big surprise this year. Just a half-hour drive from downtown, the fairyland of Palladian at the end of the tree-lined avenue is a world apart in time and space.

Built 300 years ago by Edward Lovett Pearce on behalf of the Sheriff of Dublin and more recently inhabited by the high-society couple Sir Robert and Lady Sheelagh Goff, it was bought for £ 1 million in 1996 by the owners current, Liam and Kaye Cronin.

Since then, they have invested heavily in its modernization, including restoring the grand lobby and formal reception rooms with their magnificent fireplaces.

600 additional trees have been planted on its 80-hectare park, but the pièce de résistance consists of an Italian fountain at the front of the property, which intelligently connects the house to the water and offers a beautiful view of the estuary up to Malahide. On the market via Sherry FitzGerald for 9.95 million euros. Madeleine Lyons

THE BEACH HAUS

Bettystown, Co Meath
Status Entered the market in July, targeting 1.5 million euros; sold for 1.525.000 €
Agent Savills

The location along a sandy beach with a special keyboard allowing you to jump from the house to the long stretch of coast, in conjunction with the Bauhaus style interiors, was what made this property take me to the skin.

Perhaps the dream of being so close to the water, with the sound of waves and uninterrupted sunsets – not to mention the hot-weather bathing – was the point of sale. But that was also the value.

After a decade of inactivity, the Beach Haus was the collapsed dream of a real estate developer, but was completed by a couple who retained the upscale interiors.

The price of 1.5 million euros for an ultramodern beachfront house of 929 square meters seemed to be worth it.

The views from the rooms and the reception rooms are spectacular. If this property was located south of Dublin – with a similar location at the water's edge – you could add an extra zero to the asking price.

The property sold through Savills for € 1,525,000 – which is not bad for three properties in one. We hope that buyers will get summers similar to those we just lived to enjoy their contemporary waterfront home. Elizabeth Birdthistle

ST GEORGES

St George's Avenue, Killiney, County Dublin
Status Entered the market in April, targeting 9.25 million euros; remain unsold
Agent Frank Knight

St George's of Killiney won the award this year in terms of historic built heritage. Built in the late 1870s, George Coppinger Ashlin, the owner of the architect, was built in the late 1870s for his wife, Mary, and in tribute to the legacy of his father, the famous neo-Gothic architect Augustus Pugin.

Ashlin then built many important religious properties in Ireland. St Georges – which even has its own chapel – is a very particular property that would have limited appeal due to its dark interior laden with wood.

But for fans of Gothic or artisbad design, this is a small Mecca faithfully and meticulously preserved at the time by its owners, Robert and Jane McQuillan. Visiting was both a delight and an education.

They are only the fourth owner of the last 150 years of the house. Knight Frank looking for 9.25 million euros. Madeleine Lyons

63 GITES OF GULISTAN

Rathmines, Dublin 6
Status Entered the market in July, targeting 550,000 euros; removed from the market in September
Agent Sherry Fitzgerald

This architect house with two beds at the end of the terrace was ready to enter. In a central location known for its small homes, it had an added advantage: a decent-sized, south-facing courtyard with a soothing water feature.

Its owner, Scottish architect Denis Gilbert, trained at the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, put the house on the market with SherryFitzGerald in July and when he announced to one of his neighbors that he was selling the house and was in danger of moving to Spain. they started talking and romance flourished.

Now, she moves into her beautiful home and renovates hers, at the sight of this property.

He bought the small end of the terrace with two beds of only 40 m² in 1997, paying it for £ 54,000 and completely reconfigured it, transforming it into a bright and fluid 64 m² house by adding glazing and roof lights well placed. Alanna Gallagher

DOMAINE FORTGRANITE

Baltinglbad, Co Wicklow
Status Entered the market in May, targeting 3.5 million euros; remain unsold
Agent Knight Frank and Jordan Auctioneers

It was not so much the imposing 341-acre period residence, nor the fact that it housed one of Ireland's largest collections of rhododendrons, or that some trees were on the Tree Council of Ireland's registry. .

It's the story of the place, told by Mark Shirley-Beavan, son-in-law of the late Dennis Piers, whose family has been living here since the construction of the house in the early 1700s, made this stately home 11 rooms so interesting. .

While browsing it, one would have said a private museum containing so many items from the Dennis family – from Dennis Meade's Col and his buffalo heads hanging in the room to his Dennis detector in the basement – a prototype of his own. apparatus used to detect submarines.

The family's links with John Dryden and Jonathan Swift, dotted with paintings along the walls of the interior hall, meant that this house, steeped in historical stories, was worth the rent.

Sales agents Knight Frank and Jordan are negotiating with a potential buyer, a buyer who, hopefully, will do his research and will list all the interesting residents who have taken up residence at Fortgranite. Elizabeth Birdthistle

40 SLIEVE RUA DRIVE

Stillorgan, County Dublin
Status Entered the market, seeking 950,000 euros in May; sold for 1.21 million euros in August
Agent Janet Carroll

A simple exercise but very well upgraded from a half-bed to three-bed 50's to fit modern life.

The house (sold through Janet Carroll) had underfloor heating, an adjoining bathroom and 256 sqm of living space thanks to the garage and attic conversion, but it's an added, sunny courtyard and yet very private. Garden and studio separate workshop at the back that really makes that difference.

It worked very well as a family home with a large open L-shaped room at the back, a separate living room at the front and a third floor space for the kids. Alanna Gallagher

THE DOOLIN HOUSE

Ballyvoe, Co Claire
Status Entered the market in June, targeting 365,000 euros; sold € 370,000
Agent Location, Location

When Co Clare's Doolin House was released in June, it was designed by, among others, the famous architect Shelley McNamara, badociated with Yvonne Farrell of Grafton Architects, curators of Venice's great architecture this year. . It is also an award winning house.

In 1995, he won an RIAI award, noting one of the evaluators: "I think it's the best house in a rural landscape."

The design gained applause for its modern interpretation of the traditional Irish longhouse and its "simple aesthetic".

The four-bedroom house features elements that are now commonplace in high-end residential design – a double-height living space, full-height glazing in the open living room overlooking an armored courtyard, steel handrails (on the custom made ash staircase), oak flooring and floating shelves (in the solid wood kitchen built by a local craftsman).

It's simple and solid and everything about its exterior is unobtrusive and discreetly integrates into its landscape. It has 183.9 square meters (1,980 square feet), with the enclosed yard almost equal to the floor space of the house.

It was quickly sold through the local agent Location, Location, for € 5,000 on its asking price of € 365,000. Bernice Harrison

114 BALLYMUN ROAD

Glasnevin, Dublin 9
Status Entered the market in October, looking for 795,000 euros; still for sale
Agent Lisney

In 1932, an ambitious young developer, George Linzell, obtained approval to build a large ensemble of houses in Glasnevin, called Hampsted Hill and The Rise.

He was a son-in-law of Alexander Strain, a popular and prolific Dublin developer, known for his quality and detail, and not to be outdone, London architect Harold Greenwood, who worked in the office Edwin Lutyens to design his new Homes.

On the edge of the complex – on Ballymun Road – he built the biggest houses. The most striking is number 114. The two-storey detached house – a local landmark – with its imposing white-painted facade and green roof market in October for the first time in many decades.

A performer sold his owners, two sisters who had lived there most of their lives, took great care of the house, making it comfortable and modern in terms of heating, plumbing and rest, but keeping the layout and sound original decorative interior is intact.

Built on a plot of half a hectare, the gardens at the front and back are well landscaped and the private garden at the back is not overlooked, with a detached garage overlooking Hampstead Avenue. It was put on the market in October and asked for 795,000 euros via Lisney. Bernice Harrison

9 TERRACE SAINT PAUL

Sandycove, County Dublin
Status Entered the market in July, looking for 895,000 euros; since reduced to 795 000 €
Agent Savills

A blue door at the end of a small terrace opened on one of the most surprising properties of 2018.

Inside, the owners had completely rebuilt 9 St Paul's Terrace – a narrow cul de sac off Adelaide Road, in a location described as Glasthule, Glenageary and Sandycove – to make it a state-of-the-art home.

From the curved walnut window seat located at the front of the ground floor to fully open wood flooring up to the back garden with its hardwood herringbone deck, the house shaped Tardis is full of smart ideas.

The storage was almost the most striking: the utilities of the bright white kitchen are hidden behind doors, just like a workstation in the dining room; the sliding drawers on the casters are everywhere, up and down.

Two glbad doors at right angles to the back of the house slide completely, without support column to obstruct the view of the garden, a real outdoor room.

The two beds of 125 m² (1350 m²) with a third attic room was put on sale in July. Savills asked for € 895,000 and the price has since dropped to € 795,000. The house is close to the playgrounds on Hudson Road, currently being redeveloped by the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with sports fields and a playground. Frances O'Rourke

PROSPECT HOUSE

Newcastle, County Wicklow
Status Entered the market in June, targeting more than 2.5 million euros; sale just agreed
Agent Sotheby's

Nothing better illustrates the difference in price between town and country than a Georgian estate on 8.8 acres of beautiful gardens in Co Wicklow.

Prospect House, a 716-square-meter (7,700-square-foot) bed meticulously maintained with an adjacent but independent three-bed guest wing, a staff quarters and a recently remodeled 460-square-foot (460-square-meter) coachbuilder on market in June with Sotheby's asking for 2.5 million euros and more.

Similar prices are being sought for much smaller properties with small gardens in some suburbs of Dublin – and the house, a few minutes drive from the N11, about 15 minutes from the M50, is not even so far from Dublin.

Built around 1760 and enlarged in 1820, it features elegant period features, newly renovated bathrooms, a modern kitchen / diner, a wine cellar in the backyard adjacent to an apartment for staff, even a comfortable kennel for the big German owners. shepherd.

The refurbishment, just steps from the main house, is a very modern contemporary country-style three-bed with whitewashed stone walls.

And then there are the gardens: a rose garden, a vegetable garden, three communicating gardens separated by high hedges and a hidden tennis court, as well as a long field at the front with plenty of room for sheep or horses. He just went on sale agreed. Frances O'Rourke

3 STRANGFORD ROAD

East Wall, Dublin 3
Status Entered the market, seeking 450 000 €, in May; sold in September for 460 000 €
Agent Owen Reilly

I am a sucker for a house with a little history. Take 3 Strangford Road, East Wall, for sale by Owen Reilly.

Bright and luminous, built by Canon David Hall about 100 years ago, it has a story relevant to our time of housing crisis.

In May, during my visit, the museum displayed 100 m² of extremely welcoming family living spaces and gardens with apple trees, cherry trees and lilacs.

In 1918, with his parishioners from the east wall of St. Barnabas living in poverty and miserable housing, Canon Hall asked the women in his flock to design their ideal home.

They wanted indoor toilets, hinged windows and gardens.

In 1920, he created the country's first utility company, and in 1926, while municipal authorities were still debating the housing crisis, he built 176 homes. Number 3, Strangford Road, is a shining example. Rose Doyle

APARTMENT 2, 51 PEMBROKE ROAD

Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Status Entered the market, seeking 850,000 euros in May; remain unsold
Agent Lisney

Apartment 2, located at 51 Pembroke Road, arrived on the market via Lisney in May.

In a large old house built in 1834, the meeting rooms and common levels of everyday life in no way prepared the sumptuous and exquisite splendor of the apartment 2.

Elaborate cornices, architraves, rosettes on the ceiling, beads and wall plaques have made history.

The ceilings were 4 meters high and the doors, 3.3 meters wide, and I could have camped on site, on the wrought iron terrace and protected awning.

When I offered the agent Stephen Day € 50,000, he thought I was joking. The addition of € 25,000 has failed to impress. Rose Doyle