The first thing a prospective new owner will want to do when they move in to number 5 Balure is throw a housewarming party. This detached five-bedroom Regency-style home is certainly well set up for entertaining a large group, with a big open-plan kitchen/dining area, plenty of patio space at the back, and even a purpose-built garden bar which opens out to a section of the patio laid out in artificial grass.
The spacious downstairs area has been designed in collaboration with interior designer Shauna Kelly, who has curated an elegant and stylish ground floor where guests will feel right at home.
The second thing a prospective new owner may want to do is promptly send their guests home, take the phone off the hook, so to speak, and get settled in for luxury living in this spacious, well-laid-out home off Church Road in Killiney. It is part of a development of just eight houses built by South Dublin Construction around 2016, set well back from the main road and detached from its neighbours. Number 5 has the benefit of being at the end of the row, so there is even more space to the north side of the house, with high walls and mature trees giving a greater sense of privacy. All the rooms are large, with high ceilings, adding up to an expansive 366sq m (3,939sq ft), and the period details are present and correct, including ceiling coving, wainscoting and big bay windows.
But do not be deceived – this is a thoroughly modern house with all the elements needed for contemporary family living, including underfloor heating downstairs and in the bathrooms, concrete flooring throughout, a Sonas sound system and speakers in every room, a central vacuum system and solar panels on the roof. And, in one way, it diverges from many period houses – it has a very efficient A2 Ber energy rating. Number 5 Balure comes to the market through Sherry Fitzgerald, seeking €2.25 million.
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You enter the gravelled driveway via remote-controlled electronic gates, and there is lots of room to park four cars. The entrance hall is designed to make the right first impression, which is one of space, light and a neat blend of period charm and contemporary style, with porcelain tiled floors, wainscoting on the walls, and teardrop-shaped pendant lighting suspended from the second-floor ceiling to light up each level.
The drawingroom is magnificent, with a huge bay window and a marble fireplace with wood-burning stove. This flows nicely into the diningroom which has French doors leading to the back garden and bifold doors into a superb kitchen/breakfastroom with Nolan in-frame fittings, an island unit with a wine fridge and microwave, white marble countertops and splashback, a Quooker tap with hot, sparkling and filtered water, and a Rangemaster oven with a five-ring gas hob. There are plenty of storage cupboards and an enormous larder press. A large utility room off the kitchen opens out to the side of the house.
To the right of the hallway is another large front room which makes a perfect kids’ den and games room, or a large TV room/library, with fitted bookshelves and a large bay window. The three reception rooms downstairs all have herringbone walnut parquet flooring. The downstairs is completed by a good-sized guest WC.
There are four large bedrooms on the first floor, arrayed around a large landing, three have an en suite, while the one without has access to the main bathroom via Jack-and-Jill doors. The main bedroom suite runs from the front to the back of the house, and really is the height of luxury, with a bay window, a bespoke fitted headboard, a huge walk-in wardrobe/dressingroom and a stunning en suite to the back with his-and-hers wash-hand basins, a large shower unit and a free-standing bath.
The fifth bedroom is on the second floor, and has fitted wardrobes with eaves access, plus a fine, fully tiled en suite with a skylight. This would make a great guest suite. Also on the second floor is a large study/gym/yoga room with wide-plank oak floors, fitted bookshelves and an entertainment unit, and more access to eaves storage.
On the second floor landing, you will pass a bookshelf, but if you stop and look, you will realise it is a concealed entrance into a small study/office nook with shelf storage and a skylight.
The rear garden is west-facing and split into two levels – a wide patio area that wraps around the back and sides of the house and a raised lawn area with a shed, a kids’ play gym and slide, and granite steps leading up to a relaxing rockery with a hanging garden chair for chilling out.
Balure is close to the N11 and M50, and within easy reach of Killiney Dart station. Dalkey and Killiney villages are also nearby, and you can enjoy walks on Dalkey and Killiney hills and along Killiney beach.
