It’s a good thing that the owners of Evergreen, an impressive designer house in Greystones, Co Wicklow, enjoy playing golf. The four-bedroom house is in an enviable location, within the curtilage of the restored Killincarrig Manor, once owned by the town’s famed Burnaby family, and overlooking the 18th fairway at Greystones Golf Course. The house practically sits on the course; golfers pass through Farm Lane on their way from the ninth to the 10th hole, but there’s no danger of stray golf balls hitting the tall, commanding arched windows, as a large green space on the estate provides a buffer zone between the house and the fairway.
The owners of Evergreen are an Irish couple who lived in the US for many years, raising their family just outside Boston. They’ve been dividing their time on both sides of the Atlantic, but now they’re planning to spend more time in the US and have decided to sell this superb 312.2sq m (3,360sq ft) B3-rated home and perhaps look for something smaller and more manageable in Dublin as a bolt-hole. Evergreen is for sale through McGovern Estates asking €1.75 million, and we have it on good authority that prospective new owners would be looked favourably upon for membership to Greystones Golf Club.
The house blends contemporary with classic, somewhat mirroring the manor house nearby. As you enter through the Georgian-style front door and along the Travertine-tiled floor of the entrance lobby, you’ll feel an initial confusion, as stairs and entryways seem to splay out in different directions and levels. On the middle level, take a left and you’re into an open reception room, a large L-shaped affair, with a Travertine-tiled floor, dual-height ceiling, large pendant chandelier and double-height arched windows. The room also has its own 19th hole: a fully fitted drinks bar with a draught beer tap and two wine coolers. There’s also a Bose integrated sound system and it’s no surprise that this room has seen many a party get started. Many of the other rooms boast the Bose system, so you’re never too far from your favourite sounds.
A short flight of steps leads up to a huge kitchen-diningroom area which was fully refurbished in 2022, and features a Newcastle Design kitchen with bespoke cabinetry and Silestone Calacatta gold countertops. There’s a large island unit with a solid-oak wood countertop, a five-ring gas hob with canopy extractor hood, new integrated appliances and a wine cooler. Pendant and chandelier lighting add a luxe sheen and dual-aspect windows with plantation shutters bring in lots of light. Double-height arched windows with French doors lead out to a lovely southfacing balcony giving great views out over the golf course and the tree-lined Co Wicklow landscape.
Rate of home mortgages over 90 days in arrears falls to lowest in 15 years
Greystar buys Dublin student housing scheme for around €150m
Typical price paid for home by first-time buyer up €88,000 on five years ago
Housing in Ireland is among the most expensive and most affordable in the EU. How does that happen?
From the kitchen-diningroom, a set of stairs leads up to a large office/reception room, which used to be two small rooms, but has been turned into one large and versatile space with engineered oak wood floor. This can be used as anything from a home gym to an office to a kids’ den.
From the hallway, a short flight of steps leads up to the formal livingroom, which has an engineered oak wood floor and bespoke bookcases. The bookcases bookend a handsome polished stone open fireplace, and double-height windows run across the width of the room, with French doors leading out to a big balcony overlooking the golf course. A spiral staircase used to stand in the corner, leading up to the main bedroom suite, but the owners replaced it with a regular staircase, leaving a supporting beam which is now a quirky architectural feature in its own right.
The main bedroom suite has dual-height ceilings and double-height windows, with French doors leading out to a private terrace. There’s a large en suite wet room which was renovated only last year, with a mosaic tiled floor, a rainwater shower and a glazed shower panel. There’s also a large walk-in wardrobe with bespoke floor-to-ceiling storage units.
The other three bedrooms sit downstairs at garden level, all with picture windows looking out to the golf course. Bedroom two has both an en suite and walk-in wardrobe, and bedroom four also has an en suite. The family bathroom is also on this level.
There’s a guest WC with feature wallpaper just off the entrance lobby, and also a handy boot room with bespoke units. The room is plumbed for a washer and dryer, and the central heating thermostat is also here. On the garden level is a linen room where the hot water cylinder sits, and there’s more storage under the stairs in the livingroom.
Outside there’s parking for several cars on the drive, and there are also two granite-built outbuildings, one of which is a handy garage/storage unit for golf clubs and golf trolleys, the other a fully fitted-out studio flat, with a kitchen, bathroom and livingroom. There’s a large outdoor patio/terrace to the side of the house for al fresco dining, and there may be scope to build stone steps to join this terrace with the kitchen should you so wish.
The house may be nestled down a quiet lane, but it’s just a 10-minute walk from Greystones, which won an international liveable communities award from LivCom in 2021, its second time scooping the accolade. Greystones is well served with restaurants, cafes, parks and seafront amenities, and the Dart gets you to Bray and Dublin city centre with ease. The N11 is just a five-minute drive away.
