Foxrock can feel like another world. Leafy, salubrious, quiet; the cars are sleek and the occupants well-groomed. Willow House is on Grove Wood, just off Hainault Road. You go through two separate sets of security gates to get there and, once inside, the house is just what you'd expect of the area, perhaps even more. This is because the current owners worked with the architect and builders during construction, widening doorways and fireplaces, deepening skirting boards, and commissioning built-in bookshelves, cornices and coving.
The house is part of a small development on the site of Grove House, an old six-bed Edwardian pile. When they were originally new to market in 2004, the asking price was about €4 million apiece. Now, this one is for sale, through Sherry FitzGerald, for €2.3 million.
Willow House is high-spec, and high-tech. It is on three levels, the top floor includes an office space and a wraparound bedroom, with en suite, that could be an au pair flat, or a bedroom for a lucky teenager.
Walk-in shower
The first floor has four further bedrooms, the two main ones to the front having lovely bay windows, and en suite bathrooms. The master en suite has a walk-in shower that runs the width of the room, with rain water and jet effects. There's also a dressing room off the master bedroom.
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The two smaller, though still sizeable, bedrooms share a bathroom, and there’s also a laundry room on this floor.
Downstairs is a gorgeous family kitchen, hand-built by Design House, with an Aga, marble breakfast bar and pantry area. The kitchen leads through to a sunny, south-west facing breakfast room, and off to a TV room too. There’s also a more formal sitting room, and separate dining room on the ground floor, both of which have large fireplaces. There are solid wood floors, thick carpeting, high ceilings and recessed lighting. The house is wired for sound, has an intercom system, and there are separate heating zones throughout.
Outside is an enclosed garden, with a play house, patio, grass area and mature trees. The trees are spot-lit, and there’s an irrigation system to keep the flower beds happy. Wisteria rambles up the walls, although, as this is Foxrock and not Wisteria Lane, there is nothing desperate about Grove Wood. Instead, the overall effect is one of low-key, but nevertheless clearly discernable luxury, in this elegant family home.
