Putt down roots on the green
Design-driven four-house development breathes life into cottage site, writes
WILLIE Nolan, who is considered the father of Irish professional golf, was born in Bray but spent much of his short life living in the north Dublin suburb of Baldoyle. There, his memory lives on, in the form of the only road in Ireland named after a golfer.
Perched on an elevated corner site on Willie Nolan Road sits Harford Green, a new enclave of mock-Edwardian houses designed to appeal to both trader-uppers and local downsizers.
The scheme, built on the site of an old derelict cottage, consists of just four semi-detached family homes. The location is expected to be a draw — Harford Green is just 2km from Burrow beach and 5km from Howth village.
Each house has 1,615 sq ft of space and is priced from €595,000. Despite the scheme consisting of just four homes, there have been more than 200 enquiries since a soft launch last weekend. The official launch is tomorrow. Harford Green is the first Irish development for Coliemore Homes, a new boutique developer led by husband-and-wife team Matthew Lyster and Patricia Duignan, the company’s design director.
Duignan says of Harford Green: “We consider design as the primary driver, and that’s reflected in the layout. Matt and I have two young kids, so we asked ourselves ‘what would we want in a home?’.”
There is clay brick to the external elevation of each house, with natural granite to the windowsills and wall cappings.
Unusually for a new development, a flight of steps with railings leads from the paved front driveway to each front door, a pale green Ultra Tech door with glazed panels to the side from Munster Joinery. The entrance gives the impression that the home has a basement level, but that’s just an illusion — each house is built on raised foundations.
Munster Joinery also supplied the AluClad glazed sliding patio doors that open from the dual-aspect kitchen-cum-diner to the rear of the house. Three skylights to a vaulted ceiling add extra natural light. The near-full width sliding doors lead out to a timber-decked terrace.
Nolan Kitchens supplied the Hampton shaker-style solid wood painted kitchen units, a quartz-granite worktop and splashback, softclose doors and drawers, and island unit. Also on the ground floor is a living room with a bay window, a guest lavatory, utility room, and a cloakroom under the staircase.
The bay window to the first floor looks out from the master ensuite bedroom. A family bathroom, two double bedrooms and one single bedroom complete the first-floor accommodation. The wardrobes are from Nolan Kitchens.
The sanitary ware in the bathrooms and ensuites are from Spanish firm Porcelanosa’s Noken line. The Noken range was created in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Design, in the eponymous late architect’s signature style.
Extra touches at Harford Green include
9ft-high ceilings and underfloor heating to the ground floor. Heating and hot water at the
A2-rated homes are provided by an air-to-water heat pump, and roof-mounted PV panels. Utility bills at the houses should amount to less than
€500 a year, according to the developer. Viewings of the two showhouses at Harford Green, both of which will feature next month in the new TV3 series Showhouse Showdown, will be held tomorrow and Sunday, from 2pm to 4pm.