Glenalla is a large, contemporary home in lush Co Wicklow countryside with some of the best views that county has to offer. Proving some things don’t change, Glenalla has its origins in a 19th century farm cottage on the site: the views and shelter of the location were appreciated then too. The name was given it by a Welsh owner who, when living in the cottage in the 1950s, called it Glenalla after the south Wales village of her childhood.
When vendors David and Sian Sutton built the present Glenalla in 1997 they demolished the original cottage but kept the name.
The very contemporary home they are now selling has four bedrooms (the main en suite), two reception rooms, home office, TV room/ den, large kitchen/ breakfastroom, boot room and family bathroom over a 237sq m (2551sq ft) floor area. Agent Sherry FitzGerald is asking €885,000 for the private treaty sale.
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Glenalla's vistas stretch over the Glencree valley, all the way to Enniskerry and the Sugar Loaf. Many windows frame valley views and a thriving garden owes much to the sheltered, fertile nature of the land.
The interior has original design flourishes, seen immediately in the dual-height entrance hallway with flagstones from the original cottage and, straight ahead, the formal drawing room on a raised mezzanine.
The drawing room has a polished timber floor and carved hardwood fireplace. Windows, here and elsewhere, are an architectural feature; two in corners of this room overlook the garden.
Left of the hallway a discreet stairway leads to a mezzanine office in the roof space over the kitchen/breakfastroom.
The ground floor kitchen, designed by Newcastle Design, is off the hallway. Predominantly an ivory white colour, surfaces on worktops and a central isle are of quartz and the cooker by RangeMaster. Views stretch to Enniskerry.
A bootroom off the kitchen, with Sugar Loaf views, leads to a covered veranda leading to a carport and sun veranda in the garden. The main, en suite, first floor bedroom has a walk-in dressing room and great views. The other three bedrooms are on the ground floor, as is the TVroom/den.
Glenalla’s sheltered spot enjoys a micro-climate; heather and ground cover plants have been blooming a month ahead of time. A grove of silver birch separates the garden from the paddock, there is a private well and, for a rainy day garden party, the garden has a timber chalet.
Foxwood, a broadly similar house on the other side of the valley, sold for €985,000 a year ago.
