6 beds, 5 terraces, 1 cinema: A boomtime Killiney superhome

Hendre, a very large three-storey modernist house on a hillside overlooking Killiney Bay, is back on the market less than four years after it sold at auction in November 2013. The Irish couple who bought it then run an international business and are moving to London, where their two children are in college and from where it will be easier for them to travel for work.

The 640sq m (6,900sq ft) six-bedroom house on just over an acre on St George's Avenue in Killiney has an AMV of €3.9 million prior to auction on June 15th by Sherry FitzGerald.

Designed by architect Mark Curran of Smith & Kennedy Architects, it is built to maximise views across the bay towards the Sugar Loaf, with floor-to-ceiling glazed windows and five outdoor terraces off reception rooms and bedrooms on all three floors.

It is designed for “work-life integration” says the owner, with a large study and a conference room at garden level, as well as a home cinema,  sauna, steam room and gym.

Rented out

The original Hendre was an Orpen-designed house built in 1907 but by 2000 it was semi-derelict, and permission to demolish and build a new house there was sought.

The house wasn’t built until 2007 and was rented out until 2013 when it was put on the market by receivers, initially seeking €3.65 million. It was eventually bought by the current owners at auction in November 2013 for €2.2 million.

The basic design is as it was in 2013 although the owners carried out renovations that mainly involved “finishing” the house, fixing tiles that didn’t fit, sanitary ware that wasn’t working; it’s now in walk-in condition.

Ground-level accommodation includes a long kitchen/breakfastroom with a limestone floor and limestone-topped island unit and countertops. It opens into a dining room that can seat up to 16 and a large living room with a small bar up a few stairs in the corner.

Four of the bedrooms, all en suite, are at garden level, with the main self-contained bedroom suite on the top floor: there’s an en suite bathroom, dressing area and up a few stairs, a sixth bedroom.

Hendre is set on very private grounds on a sloping site with a large lawn to the front and mature trees encircling it at the side and back. There is rear access to the property from Glenalua Road.

Hendre made headlines when it went to auction in 2013 around the same time as nearby Paddock Wood, a larger modernist house owned by entrepreneur John Nagle, and designed by a different architect, on the other side of Killiney Hill Road. Paddock Wood sold at auction for €4 million.