Number 97A Beechgrove Cottages on the Old Bray Road is a semi-detached two-bed that was built in 2008 to blend seamlessly with the existing row of older cottages.
Although it was originally planned as a three-bed, current owners Claire and Paul, who love to entertain, decided to use what would have been the third bedroom as a diningroom instead.
In designing this contemporary home from scratch, Claire looked to incorporate cottage-style features such as the interior six-panel doors which have doorknobs as opposed to handles.
While it faces on to the N11, the cottage is set back at a comfortable distance from the road itself so there’s no need to worry about the hum of traffic.
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Upon entering through the house’s blue front door, you’re met by a Victorian-style black and ivory chequer-tiled floor, which continues into the main bathroom at the end of the long hallway.
The first room off the left of the hall is the second bedroom, a double, while the second door on the left leads to the main bedroom, which has a double-aspect corner window and an en suite. The decent-sized main bathroom has a bath and a shower and is tiled mostly by white subway tiles, which complement the monochrome floor.
The kitchen, to the right off the hallway, is the welcoming heart of this property.
Bathed in light from wide French doors and two Velux windows, the room has a pitched roof and bespoke white wooden units, designed by Claire, whose family has a background in kitchen manufacturing. The units comprise of a useful mix of glass-fronted cabinets, shelves and deep drawers, with Silestone quartz worktops.
The black five-ring Rangemaster cooker sits under a hooded extractor fan and the dishwasher is integrated. The washing machine and dryer are also hidden behind a cupboard door.
The centre island offers more storage and the overhang countertop provides a seating area. A grey-painted unit houses the large Fisher & Paykel fridge-freezer with a larder on either side.
Through double doors off the right of the kitchen, the livingroom sits to the front of the house and is kept nice and cosy thanks to a Stanley solid-fuel stove, which heats the water and the radiators.
With the double doors left open, this space flows through to the kitchen and into the adjoining diningroom. A staircase leads to the versatile attic room, which Claire uses as a home office. Its roof is not high enough to officially be deemed another bedroom but it could easily fit a double bed, and it has a WC.
Back downstairs, the diningroom leads in to a modern all-glass garden room, continuing the flow of living space.
Installed in 2021, Claire called this standout addition a “lockdown treat”. Now it is great for when you have people over, she says, to have drinks before or after your dinner in the diningroom, or to adjourn to after a barbecue in the garden. It benefits from a heater that is fixed to the wall.
The spacious southwest-facing garden gets both afternoon and evening sun and is tiled in grey sandstone slabs. It has a large patio area, raised flower beds with daffodils, agapanthus and box hedging, and a steel shed.
There is a small lawn on the opposite side of the garden, a great area for the owners’ cockapoos, Oscar and Poppy, to play. There is more space to the side of the house where you could park a car in addition to the driveway at the front of the property.
A trellis maintains the privacy of the garden, blocking it from the apartment building behind it.
This cottage, extending to 162sq m (1,744sq ft), is in an excellent location on the quality bus corridor (QBC) just outside Cabinteely village. It’s a proverbial stone’s throw from a stop on the Dublin Bus route towards the city centre, a 15-minute walk from the Luas green line stop at Cherrywood and a five-minute drive from Dunnes’ flagship store at Cornelscourt.
Kilbogget Park and Cabinteely Park are both nearby.
This bright turnkey home, with a D1 Ber, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €625,000.
