As scenic settings go, Ballyhara has it all. On a 0.45 hectare site (1.5 acres) with private gardens, this is a house with wide views of the Irish Sea to one side, the Wicklow mountains and Magheramore to the other and, everywhere else you look, trees, plants, sweeps of countryside and landscaped private gardens. The owners are selling after more than 40 happy family years, downsizing now that the family has downsized.
The property nestles into a wooded hillside and was designed for the owners by architect Vivian Brangan in 1975. It is built around an inner courtyard with a fountain at its centre; floor-to-ceiling windows throughout give courtyard views and an immense amount of light.
The property is a bungalow, with full wheelchair access. It was, the daughter of the house explains, “very much a family home, cleverly built so that every single room in the house would be constantly used. As a family we spent every weekend in the drawing-room and mezzanine, where we had a piano and big open fire. Because it’s a bungalow there is a spiral staircase leading up.”
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The house has always been the family's focal point for christenings and weddings
With a floor area of 285sq m (3,067sq ft), Ballyhara has five bedrooms (three of them ensuite), kitchen/family room, utility, drawing-room and family bathroom. Local agent Stephen Clarke describes it as a house that captivates everyone who sees it. Joint agents Clarkes, Ashford and DNG are seeking €850,000.
Welcoming air
The main rooms, such as the large, mezzanine drawing-room with its a high, vaulted ceiling and warmly welcoming air, are south-facing. The spacious and bright working kitchen/family room (where, according to the family, “all the action happened”) is rustic in style, has a timber-panelled ceiling, quarry-tiled floor and extensive fittings. The stylish entrance hall is quarry-tiled and has another vaulted timber ceiling.
The owners continually worked on the house, changing things about, adding to it and “tweaking”. An outside patio, from where there is a full panoramic view of sea and mountains, was given a glass windbreaker, making it comfortable enough for family breakfasts and evening glasses of wine.
Careful to preserve views of the unique vistas from Ballyhara’s setting, the owners were vigilant in preventing overgrowth in the extensive gardens. Originally landscaped by Kilquade Nurseries, these have rhododendron and hydrangea as well as plants and trees of many kinds, and a pristine lawn. The house has always been the family’s focal point for christenings and weddings, the surroundings facilitating a glorious “childhood playing in the woods behind the house and, just a walk away, at the beach”.
Ballyhara is a five-minute drive from the N11. It is 4km from Wicklow town and even less from the main beach at Brittas Bay.
