If I lived in Ardfield, I'd never get out of bed. While relatively ordinary looking from the front, the back of this house is a marvel of sea views and stunning scenery: across Bull Island to Howth on one side, and Dún Laoghaire Harbour to the Wicklow Mountains on the other. In the master bedroom, a pair of windows offer a vista that's so gorgeous I'm not quite sure why the current owners, who built the house, didn't open it up even more.
The owners, who are keen on surfing and other sports, lure me from my lazy reverie back downstairs to discover, in the basement, a massage treatment room, a sauna and an indoor heated swimming pool, that makes up for its relatively small size (3.3 metres by 6 metres) by having an adjustable current machine to swim against.
There’s also a large garage at basement level, but as the house has ample off-street parking, it’s more likely to be useful for general storage or a workshop. On the ground floor there’s a spare room at the front, which is painted an unfortunate shade of dark maroon, but that’s a small quibble, when once again, all the drama of the house is to the rear, and the open plan kitchen/livingroom is completely walled on two sides with glass, bringing a whole new meaning to the cliche “bright sunny kitchen”.
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The kitchen is high-spec, with clever storage, a breakfast bar, and a spiral staircase leading to an internal balcony space above. There is underfloor heating, and triple glazing on the windows. French windows from the living room area open onto a terrace, with steps down to an enclosed garden with a lawn and mature planting.
It’s hard to say what style the house is – contemporary European, perhaps? The spiral staircase is very modern, but a pair of fireplaces, one in the living area, and one on the balcony platform, are old-fashioned in design. It would be easy to put your own stamp on this house.
Then again, you’d be so busy swimming in the pool or hanging out on the terrace that you might never get around to it. The four bedrooms aren’t ensuite, but there are three bathrooms, so it’s hard to imagine family squabbles over queues in the mornings. But that wouldn’t matter to me anyway, as I’d still be in bed, soaking up those gorgeous views.
