Villa-style homes for Dublin commuters

With new house prices in the Dublin suburbs continuing on their upwards spiral, buyers are looking further afield, where there is frequently much better value available. A good example of this will be seen this weekend when a small development of high quality homes, built in the style of Italian villas, go on sale on the outskirts of Navan town. Prices will range from £420,000, according to the selling agent, John Farrelly.

The five-bedroom detached homes in Flaxon Hall are among the most original to come on the market for a considerable time. There will be only 10 homes in all and and the odds are most will be bought by families commuting to work in Dublin, a journey that will become infinitely easier if the politicians deliver on their promise to reopen the railway line between Navan and the city.

At this stage, Barrbridge Developments has completed a beautifully decorated showhouse with 2,800 sq ft of floor space, fitted out by Helen Leonard of Nora Lally Interior Design. Even the most expensive homes occasionally come with very few extras, but not so in Flaxon Hall. The attention to detail is impressive. The standard features include integrated electrical appliances, a free standing gas range, under-floor electric heating, a built-in vacuum cleaning system in all rooms, wooden flooring in the reception rooms and marble tiles in the entrance hall and bathrooms. Unusually, full concrete floors have been provided at first floor level to ensure a high degree of sound insulation.

Designed by Eoin MacVeigh of architects BMV Consult, the style and layout of the houses suggest they are aimed at families who value not only good living space but elegant reception rooms for entertaining.

To facilitate these two functions, there is a separate entertainment suite to the left of the entrance hall, and a family zone on the opposite side, both with double glazed doors. The family zone comprises a livingroom with large French windows to the front, a superb kitchen at the rear and in between a larger than usual utility room with a side entrance.

The elm wood integrated kitchen units and the polished granite worktops will put most new homes in the shade.

The more formal rooms, the interlinking drawingroom and diningroom, have a pair of matching French windows to the front and rear, and warm wallnut wooden floors. The drawingroom has a large white marble fireplace.

Every new home these days comes with a guest lavatory, but in Flaxon Hall it is not the usual cramped affair under the stairs. There is a spacious cloakroom with polished granite top and wash-basin plus a separate lavatory.

Upstairs, there are four double bedrooms and one single, three of which have en suite bathrooms. The main bedroom runs the full depth of the house, with an en suite that has a bath and a separate shower, while the walk-in dressingroom comes with attractive floor-to-ceiling wardrobes.

The showhouse has a huge conservatory in the rear garden, costing an extra £33,000. In addition, there is planning for a summer house in the garden complete with lavatory and shower, which will set buyers back another £24,000.

Not surprisingly, prices in Flaxton Hall will be reviewed as soon as the first few units are sold but, according to Ann Bannon of the selling agents, they will still be at least £200,000 cheaper than similar homes in the Dublin suburbs.