Silvermere is an architect-designed, four-bedroom split-level house in a truly gorgeous spot in Blainroe, Co Wicklow. Magheramore beach is within walking distance, and Wicklow town, the M11 and Blainroe Golf Club are all about a five-minute drive away. It’s an impressive home, renovated and refurbished to a very high standard and in walk-in condition. The garden is set out to maximise family time spent outdoors with a number of seating spots, patios and sheltered sunny nooks.
It’s one of those houses that expands from its entrance at ground-floor level to take full advantage of a sloping site with another floor tucked in underneath. Built in the early 1970s the current owners moved in seven years ago and undertook a complete interior renovation. The house now has a laid-back, New England coastal style that complements its split-level layout and saltbox roof.
Silvermere’s privacy and secluded setting were what first attracted the owners to the house – it’s set in rolling countryside, borders a private woodland that the owners have access to, and has a 200m-long driveway. The house, which extend to a substantial 274sq m (2,949sq ft), is surrounded on three sides by porcelain-tiled terraces, allowing sun worshippers or those simply in need of their daily dose of vitamin D to make the most of the daylight hours.
The front of the house is single-storey and is accessed through double doors that lead into the main dining area. The large, refurbished kitchen to the left of this space while a sunroom overlooks the property’s rolling lawns with Lugnaquilla’s blue peak in the distance. The owners, one of whom is a keen woodworker, were very much hands-on with the renovations, and installed the kitchen themselves. The units and cabinets were sourced from Ikea and the countertops are granite. The floor is oak.
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To the right of the entrance hall is the main bedroom, along with a home office and a guest WC. The bedroom is west-facing, allowing for lovely evening sun, and is fitted out with a custom-made oak bed. The room’s salvaged oak wall gives it a particularly warm and cosy feel while sliding doors open out into a sunroom, which faces south over the gardens. The bathrooms are exquisite and feature travertine tiling and bespoke basins.
The livingroom has an attractive log-burning stove as its centrepiece and a picture window that makes the most of the views over the Wicklow mountains. A pair of tall narrow apertures afford a glimpse of the sunroom on the far side. It’s just one of a number of clever architectural touches that allow the house’s living areas to flow effortlessly into each other.
Silvermere is built for entertaining, and the best of the parties could happen on the ground floor where the games room and bar are. This area opens out on to a south-facing terrace with a pizza oven. There are three more bedrooms and the family bathroom on this level of the house. One of the bedrooms would be ideal for guests, with double doors that open on to another terrace.
The owners are moving abroad, and are reluctantly leaving what has been an ideal home for them. One of the best things about the house, they say, is the wildlife that thrives in its gardens and in the adjacent woodland. They particularly enjoyed the company of the owls that nest nearby and the sight of red kites and kestrels. The location of this house is excellent, sitting as it does within a short distance of Blainroe and the beautiful beach at Magheramore. Silvermere is being brought to the market by McGovern Estates, seeking €920,000.
