It’s become a feature of suburban streets: an ultra-modern house on the corner, sticking out from a row of traditional houses. For people wanting to build on their corner site, blending in while getting the most out of the space can be a challenge, but when the owners of 4 Bellevue Park built 4a Bellevue Park in 2017, they got a modern house that packs a lot of living space in, and maximises the light and the views, while maintaining a sense of privacy and fitting in neatly with the rest of the street. It helps that the house sits on a quiet corner looking across to Elm Park Golf Club and southwest to the Dublin Mountains.
The owners applied their experience of contemporary houses abroad to inform their design choices. And the design architect – John Flood of DMVF– used his vision to create clerestory windows on the ground floor and a picture window on the stairwell with views of the trees lining Elm Park. You’re on the intersection of two rows of houses, but there’s still a sense of privacy, with no one looking in. The owners have moved on, but they’ve left a deceptively large home in its own cosy corner of the world.
The house is three storeys, but the top floor is set back from the front, so it doesn’t look out of proportion with the rest of the road. A wide, open entrance hallway with solid oak flooring and staircase and double-height ceiling leads to a large livingroom with bay window and feature gas fireplace. There are double sliding doors here leading to a dining/kitchen/family room with a skylight. The kitchen is done in a stylish grey with stone worktops, built-in cabinets and integrated appliances – including a fully automatic coffee machine built into a wall-mounted sideboard. There’s also a guest toilet on this floor.
Relative to the 217sq m (2,336sq ft) inside, the back garden is small – no getting away from that – but it has the advantage of a southwesterly aspect, and it’s nicely landscaped, with a patio for entertaining or simply enjoying your morning coffee or evening glass of wine.
There are four bedrooms on the first floor, all good-sized and perfect for teenagers’ privacy. One of the smaller bedrooms is used as a study/utility room, with washer/dryer/sink concealed behind sliding wardrobe doors saving you lugging your laundry up and down the stairs. The family bathroom is on this floor, along with a shower room: all bathrooms are fully tiled, with integrated cabinets and sanitary ware by Villeroy & Boch.
The main bedroom is on the second floor and is well lit, with fine views across to the mountains, with an en suite shower room and separate toilet. There’s also a walk-in wardrobe in the dormer part of the top floor – taller people may have to stoop a little to hang up their clothes, but it’s otherwise a neat storage solution. There’s a penthouse-like feel to this floor, and a sense that it’s a proper second floor and not just another attic conversion.
Bellevue Park runs alongside Elm Park Golf Club, and there are shops and cafes on nearby Woodbine Park. Booterstown Dart station and UCD are a short walk away. Number 4a Bellevue Park, which has a Ber of A3, is on the market for €1.25m through Sherry FitzGerald.
