Residential

Cream of the 1960s crop

Two light-filled retro properties – this one near Bray and another in south Dublin – offer a blank canvas with plenty of garden space

Frances O'Rourke's face
Frances O'Rourke
Thu Aug 8 2013 - 00:00

This house just off the N11 near Bray, Co Wicklow, is all about space, inside and out. Its 550sq m (6,000sq ft) includes a swimming pool and sauna, a huge entertainment room downstairs and a separate two-bedroom apartment – and it sits on 14.5 acres of landscaped gardens, woodlands and paddocks secluded behind tall fir trees.

Built in the 1960s, it was designed to let in light: French doors from the livingroom and three bedrooms at the back of the house open on to a large balcony which wraps around the house on three sides.

Badger's Hill, Kilcroney Lane, Enniskerry, is for sale by private treaty through Hunters for €1.9 million. There is a definite 1960s vibe to this house: it's not hard to imagine partygoers in minis and sharp Mad Men suits gathering around the bar in the huge downstairs entertainment room with plenty of space to spare.

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A turquoise and dusty pink bathroom and an old-fashioned pine kitchen would suggest new owners, even if they like retro style, will want to modernise some parts.

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Hardwood flooring upstairs and down and a beautiful parquet floor in the entrance hall are particular features.

To the left of the front hall is the large living-dining room, which opens into the kitchen. There is also a large utility room. To the right are five bedrooms, two of them en suite, all with built-in wardrobes.

The hall to the bedrooms ends with a door into the pool/sauna area, which looks on to the patio and magnificent garden. A lift in the corner of the dining room accesses the large family/entertainment room below. There’s also a study at this level.

The separate two-bed apartment, added recently, is as bright as the rest of the house. It opens off the downstairs hall, but could be closed off. It has good-sized bedrooms, a bathroom and a livingroom/kitchen divided by a breakfast bar.

Outside there is a large double garage. The property includes an enclosed 2.5-acre paddock with three disused stables. The house has a security system and an E1 BER.