Showstopper homes by a golf course

Co Dublin/from €1.275m: Eight detached houses on large gardens in north Co Dublin are luxuriously fitted out says Property Editor Orna Mulcahy

Luxurious four-bedroom detached houses on sites of half an acre or more of garden beside a golf course in north county Dublin go on sale through Hamilton Osborne King this weekend.

The scheme, at Balcartie in Roganstown, three miles from Swords and 12 miles from the city centre, is part of McInerney's Roganstown Golf and Country Club development, where an initial phase of houses and holiday homes are now maturing well having sold out rapidly in 2004.

The 50-bedroom hotel and leisure centre at the heart of the development has also become established as a popular venue for families as well as for weddings and parties.

Just eight houses are being built in this phase, with prices ranging from €1.275 million to €1.4 million. The difference in price is down to site sizes, with the more expensive homes having larger gardens with better aspects.

Work is well underway with one showhouse complete and the remaining seven houses at various stages of construction. As with other McInerney developments, particular attention is being paid to the landscaping, both of the overall scheme and of the individual plots. Each house will have fully lawned and landscaped gardens front and back, with outdoor lighting included.

The big two-storey houses are set well back into their sites, with a gravelled driveway flanked by a large area of lawn fringed by rockery style planter beds. Each house has a garage, either detached or attached. In each case, the garage space could be adapted to provide additional living or hobby space. There is plenty of parking space in front of the house and entry is via an imposing front door, or through a side door that leads into a large utility space.

With a total of 288sq m (3,100sq ft), these are exceptionally spacious houses, with big airy rooms radiating from a central hallway where the solid timber carved staircase is lit by a double height window.

The first of the reception rooms is straight ahead and it's a show stopper room with a soaring double height ceiling, and a tall arched window allowing light to flood in. Part sittingroom, part diningroom, it has a deep curved bay that acts as a conservatory. There is also a superb drawingroom that runs from front to back of the house with French doors opening onto a wide decked patio.

The kitchen is also dual aspect, with a big dining area overlooking the front garden, and the working kitchen with its picture window onto the back lawn.

It's not just the big rooms that impress, however. The well thought out layout includes lots of useful cupboards, and the fully fitted utility room - larger than most people's kitchens.

McInerney has not skimped on the interior details with underfloor heating, an integrated sound system, kitchen appliances, a central vacuuming system and a generous electical spec that includes extensive use of recessed lighting and mood lighting.

Upstairs, the main bedroom has a large room leading off it that is billed as a nursery but is fully fitted as a dressingroom with built-in wardrobes. French doors lead to a balcony that overlooks the back garden and over the countryside beyond. Buyers will have the option to convert this room to a fifth bedroom with access from the landing.

There is also some flexibility in the double height space over the livingroom downstairs, which is overlooked from a balcony from the upstairs landing. In a previous phase, buyers opted to convert this space to an additional bedroom, and this is also an option here. While it would be a shame to take away from the drama of the room below, couples with young children may prefer not to have such a drop, no matter how well protected it is by balcony rails.

Each of the four bedrooms is a comfortable double. The second bedroom has an en suite, while the third bedroom has access to the large family bathroom. Space has also been carved out upstairs for an unexpected luxury - a walk-in hot press, with a wall of shelving alongside a monster hot water tank. This sort of space is a blessing in a family home and it's a pity that more developers don't think to include it in their houses.

Balcartie will appeal to families who may have been looking in the Malahide area, where large scale family homes are now selling for well over €1 million.

Here they are getting more for their money in terms of living space and gardens, which should compensate for being slightly further into the suburbs.

There is also the attraction of having an 18-hole golf course in their back yard. Designed by Christy O'connor Jnr, it opened last June and is already proving popular as a destination for golfing holidays, as well as with well-heeled locals.

Membership is currently at €17,500, though this may rise as the area becomes more populated.