New homes: A-rated with an easy commute

Cúil Dúin is a development of 220 houses by Harcourt Developments. It is located within a five-minute walk of the Citywest stop on the Luas red line, part of the 4.6km tram-line extension to Saggart.

This is the firm's first foray into the residential housing market in Ireland since Park West Pointe in 2004.

The first phase of Cúil Dúin, which is now for sale, comprises 30 decent-sized houses.

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The three-beds with 126sq m/1,355sq ft in size, are €280,000-€315,000 and the four-bedroom semi-detached homes with 158sq m/ 1,700sq ft are priced at €385,000.

In general, the layouts are good but in some of the three-bedroom houses the front door opens directly into the living room, as in many artisan two-up two-down houses in Dublin 7 and 8.

This is unusual in new builds but you do have a choice to install a hall, at the loss of valuable living space. The compromise is the asking price of €280,000 – affordable relative to the asking prices in other parts of the capital and it comes with fast commuter options into the city.

The houses are three-storey with an entertainment room or second living space situated to the front on the first floor in the four-bedroom houses. It's an idea borrowed from the Cosgrave Group who have used this extra storey to fit in more reception room into their plans.

These homes do not have a fireplace as a focal point in the livingroom but that gives more wall space to play with in terms of furniture layout.

The eat-in kitchen has off-white units and in some of the smaller units, in more difficult spaces, the fact that the above-counter cupboards don’t go all the way up to the ceiling makes the room look a tad disjointed. It’s a small criticism and one you could probably remedy, for a couple of extra euro, before signing contracts.

The master bedroom in both the three- and four-beds is on the second floor and overlooks the garden which you can see through the large-format roof lights. It has a shower en suite bathroom.

Across the hall is a smaller space, not technically a bedroom but that could work as a nursery. It could later become an office or a playroom. There are three-door wardrobes in all bedrooms giving ample storage.

Light-filled, the layout makes good use of space throughout.

In the four-bed house, for example, there is a utility room off the guest WC, while in the three-bedroom properties there is lit space under the stairs for storage.

Cúil Dúin is being sold through agents Hooke & MacDonald.